Treasure Island

In a commentary to the DVD of Treasure Island director Fraser Heston said that the genesis of this film was as a lad he heard Charlton Heston read the story to him. Robert Louis Stevenson's classic is an adventure story that has appealed to know about 15 generations and Fraser got to hear his father read the story playing all the parts with different accents. I'm betting this was the genesis of Charlton Heston's interpretation of Long John Silver. If so this film was about 35 years in the making.

Not to dismiss the Wallace Beery/Jackie Cooper version or the Walt Disney version with Robert Newton and Bobby Driscoll, but Fraser Heston's version is a darker version. The other two concentrated on the relationship that develops between Silver and the lad Jim Hawkins with Silver as rogue and surrogate father figure to straight arrow Hawkins. This version emphasizes a very ruthless Silver and a much older Hawkins than either Driscoll or Cooper were played by Christian Bale. Young Bale is no kid the adults have to protect, he aids in the fighting and is if not mature very capable.

The other parts of the legendary adventure are filled most capably with seasoned veterans like Oliver Reed as Captain Billy Bones, Richard Johnson as Squire Trelawney, Julian Glover as Dr. Livesey, and Isla Blair as the widow Hawkins. Most important and unforgettable is Christopher Lee as Blind Pew. Most of these people worked with Charlton Heston before so it was a family shoot in every sense of the word.

Charlton Heston's interpretation of Long John Silver is unique and maybe closer to what Robert Louis Stevenson had in mind. But what a treat young Fraser Heston had to see that one man show of Treasure Island his father put on. If only cameras had been rolling.

Shiver-me-timbers, this is the best version of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic! In fact it is a model of cinematic adaptation. Closely following the book, with whole scenes and dialogue taken straight from its pages, the film never bogs down into the kind of stuffy lifelessness that sometimes afflicts adaptations attempting to be faithful to their literary source. Indeed Frazier Heston's screenplay and direction capture the brisk, page turning pleasure of the book nicely. Add to his sure direction, wonderful locations, a picture-perfect cast and a rousing music score by the Chieftains and you have one of the best pirate movies ever made. And for once they really are pirates and not watered down, sentimentalized versions of them. They're cut-throats all, a scurvy lot of thieves, superstitious and dirty. You can just smell their stench under the hot tropic sun and lush vegetation of Skeleton Island.

Oliver Reed as Billy Bones gets the movie going smartly. We first see him with his granite visage at the head of the skiff, an old sea dog home from the sea. With his great hulk and whiskey whisper purr he exudes danger from every rum soaked pore of his being. Of course his old shipmates, the remnants of the crew of the now dead Captain Flint, are pursuing him. Christopher Lee, almost completely unrecognizable, is Blind Pew, a spectral, skeletal figure of death, whose fury, fueled by blindness is like some great ravaging bird of prey. He is wonderful and like Reed he creates a vivid, memorable characterization. A young Christian Bale is the definitive Jim Hawkins. He narrates the proceedings and is at turns appealing, capable and wily. He is a boy on the verge of young manhood who is about to have his mettle tested with the adventure of a lifetime. There is not a trace of the Jackie Cooper mawkishness about him. Richard Johnson as Squire Trelawney, Julian Glover as Dr. Livesey, and Clive Wood as Captain Smollet are all perfect in their roles. They beautifully capture the essence of quiet courage. Heroes without phony heroics, they are solid men of character sure of themselves and quite capable of dealing with Silver and his scurvy crew.

This brings us to Charlton Heston as Long John Silver. Ultimately for any version of this work to succeed it rests on the shoulder of the actor portraying the Sea Cook. Happy to say, Heston gives one of the best performances of his long career. Turning his stalwart, forthright screen persona on its head, he creates a monster that is complex, charismatic, and bloodthirsty. There is no Wallace Beery, Robert Newton sentimentality here. This is a natural leader of men who can dazzle with his bigger than life personality and tales of treasure, and the next moment plunge his cutlass into the bowels of his victim without even missing a beat. Never has he used his toothy smile to better effect. It is the smile of a vicious carnivore-a shark. On a lighter note Nicholas Amer brings the right balance of levity and pathos as Ben Gunn, the poor maroon. He is amusing without becoming a caricature, and his scene with Jim when describes his yearning for a piece of toasted cheese is wonderful. Both Pete Postlewaite as George Merry and Michael Halsey as Israel Hands are perfectly nasty.

Finally the music score by the Chieftains is superb. It captures by turns the lilting Celtic love of the sea, the grace and sweep of a great sailing ship setting out for adventure and the exotic dangers of buried treasure, pirates, flashing cutlasses, and midnight rendezvous on a far away island in the balmy tropics. Avast, me hearties, this is a film to treasure!

This is probably the closest adaptation from the novel, slightly marred by a tendency to linger over scenes inspired by iconic illustrations of NC Wyeth and others. The pacing when establishing characters is like a too-slow striptease, especially Billy Bones (Oliver Reed), Blind Pew (Christopher Lee), and John Silver (Charleton Heston). Heston's delivery, like Christian Bale's (as Jack Hawkins) is understated, which removes a little of the fun and all of the mercurial affection established by Robert Newton and Bobby Driscoll in th e1950 version. Both Bale and Heston are just a bit too cold to perform the Tango of a sonless rogue and a fatherless boy, so their path to grudging admiration plays out more like a chess game. I'd rather have Reed and Heston exchange roles, but what's done is done. Lee's vocalizations, usually so plummy, are disappointingly squeaky, a surprising choice for such a sinister role, but his physical acting superb. Julian Glover as Dr Livesey, Richard Johnson as Squire Trelawny and Clive Wood as Captain Smollet all capture their characters, though again, Glover's expressiveness is a tad subtle. The Chieftains...well, certainly there are many points in the film where the strident fiddling is extremely appropriate, but but what's missing is a few melancholy bars and some strains of sober suspense. Surely the Chieftains had a plaintive flute or something that could have done the trick. A bit of thumping drums delightfully prefigures "the Battle" music from Master & Commander, but the gunnery work in the assault on the blockhouse is unconvincing visually, especially the recoil effects and explosions. This is a film that could benefit from a little CGI tinkering, since the special pyrotechnics budget was apparently so frugal. The locations are really quite good, and the Hispaniola looks good on the outside, sometimes appearing to be actually sailing. The interior scenes are a bit too stable and a bit roomier than they should be.

I have to agree with everyone who has lauded this film as the best adaptation of Stevenson's novel. "Treasure Island" has long been one of my favorite books and this is the first version that comes closest to my vision of the story. Fraser Heston obviously knew and loved this book, it's evident in every frame. The costumes, the sets, the actors and the music all combine to create an unforgettable cinematic adventure. When I first heard that Charlton Heston was going to play Long John Silver, I was skeptical, but his performance was spot on. He was able to communicate the moral ambiguity of Stevenson's character without making him comical. He comes across as a man who is at once dangerous and compelling.

Christian Bale was a great Jim Hawkins, coming closer to the way I pictured him in the book than any actor previously. The scene on the ship when Israel Hands is chasing him up the rigging was exactly the way I envisioned it, with all the urgency and tension it required.

Let me just take this opportunity to say that, while I wasn't familiar with Pete Postlethwaite before this film, his portrayal of George Merry really made me pay attention. All the supporting actors were perfect. Christopher Lee's Blind Pew is the stuff of nightmares and Oliver Reed as Billy Bones looked closest to the way I had always envisioned him.

The musical score by the Chieftains is one of the most perfect for any TV movie I have ever seen, and better than many for big screen films. It's one of the few scores I purchased on CD so that I could just listen to the music.

In spite of a few continuity errors, this film captured perfectly the look and feel of Stevenson's tale. It's one film I never tire of watching and I highly recommend it.

I read the book about 20 times a week as a kid. I saw every adaptation for the screen. Disney's was crap! Muppet was a joke. Every animated version was dumbed down. Only this one was faithful to the book. Even better, the actors were perfectly cast across the board. Each and every pirate was terrifying. Each and every good guy seemed nice enough until the fights started, at which they were badass!

This movie made me investigate the actors and I was so disappointed that they were all so wonderful in this, but they never had any better roles afterwards.

All actors were great, but the standouts were Julian Glover as Dr. Livesey, Richard Johnson as Squire Trelawney, Clive Wood as Capt. Smollet, and Nicholas Amer as Ben Gunn. Christian Bale, Charlton Heston, and Christopher Lee were fantastic and perfectly cast (surprise, surprise!)

For any kid, whether an actual kid or a kid at heart, let them watch this, rather than every other one (they are, to a one, crappy).