L'isola del tesoro

That the story is such a classic and that it had Jack Palance in it were two reasons enough to give this much-maligned adaptation a try. Unfortunately, this adaptation of Treasure Island just doesn't work at all and by far the worst version, to me the only really bad one as well. It's a disaster as an adaptation, and judging it on its own terms(which this reviewer considers a fairer approach and always tries to use it) there's little to praise it either. The locations are beautiful indeed if not always tropical enough, the Hispagnola is fantastically rendered and the adaptation is well shot, the start is quite strong and there are a few good performances with Kevin Zegers' appealing Jim Hawkins, Walter Sparrow's humorous Ben Gunn and Patrick Bergin's gusty Billy Bones. Jack Palance is the big name here, he certainly tries his best as Silver and looks the part in a role that on paper he was perfect for but he deserved much better scripting and direction than what he got. Because what we got was a waste of a great actor's talents, there are numerous points where Palance is very charismatic and engaging but when the scripting is particularly poor there is the sense that Palance knew it was poor and gives up. The rest of the acting shows little enthusiasm either, in fact most of the cast go through the motions.

Characterisation is incredibly weak here and not really in the bland sort of way but in the grossly distorted sort of way, where we have the least frightening Blind Pew imaginable and interesting characters like Squire Trelawney now one-sided caricatures, and the less said about the good guys now bad thing the better. What was really disappointing was the lack of development in Silver and Jim's relationship, crucial to the story and very interesting and potentially poignant but hardly seen. And you know something's wrong when you can't really tell whether Silver is good or bad, no other adaptation of Treasure Island has had that problem. But other than the bizarre treatment of the story and characters the main problem with this Treasure Island adaptation was how lazy it felt. The script is one corny muddle with some parts only feeling like padding which only succeeds in slowing down the pacing, and the story is plodding and completely lacking in adventurous spark, intensity and mystery that would have been there if just a little if the stockade assault had not been left out.

When it comes to the changes, changes to a story is not a problem but it can be if the changes are basically useless and drag the adaptation down and that was exactly the case with this Treasure Island. It also depends on the nature of the changes and here it just felt bizarre in a way that you don't want to witness again. The adaptation is hurt even further by too much focus on Black Dog, a secondary character originally and it feels like it, an incredibly rushed and anti-climatic final battle and a very tacked-on and toe-curlingly cheesy ending that leaves a sour taste in the mouth. All in all, lazy and uncomfortably weird, a very bad version(even on its own terms) and not worth bothering with unless you are a fan of Palance or one dead-set on seeing every Treasure Island adaptation available. 3/10 Bethany Cox

Jack Palance is magnificent as Long John Silver in this sparkling new adaptation of an old classic. Packed with a stellar cast of great British character actors and three Hollywood stars, it must rank among the top 5 versions ever made of Robert Louis Stevenson's legendary novel. Shame there's only one sexy female, but at least she was well cast - Sarah Holland played the saucy strumpet with a charm, power and sincerity that made me wish we'd seen more of her. It's true that the Isle of Man location left a lot to be desired, but it was fresh, different and added a surprise zing to the action. All in all, a cracking film worthy of more than a passing nod.

Treasure Island seems to draw the attention of movie and TV people at reasonably regular intervals and it has even been "muppetised".This is easily the worst version of the lot,mainly due to a tired and lethargic stab at Long John Silver by the usually relaiable and compelling Jack Palance,who simply looks too old and frail to be right for the part..I see no reason ,other than the American film and TV industry'S anti-Englishness for so radically altering the characters of the Squire and Doctor from the stalwart types of the book to the cynical opportunists they are portrayed as here.I am enormously pro-American but hate the way Englishmen are shown in the media in the States.This particular instance is just another example of this The Isle of Man is a poor stand-in for the Caribbean and everybody seems to be going through the motions Perhaps it is time to give this particular book a rest until somebody comes up with the money to do it properly

I've never read the book. In fact, the only version of this novel I knew was a comic book version where Dennis the Menace was Jim. And I don't even remember anything about that except that Long John hit one of the other pirates for showing Jim his long underwear, and that Ben Gunn looked like he hadn't seen another person in years.

And this type of adventure movie is not really for me. But it was all that was on, and I seem to recall it was a literary classic. Still, it seemed to be a family adventure if you don't mind the blood (personally, I could have done without quite so much violence). I thought Kevin Zegers did quite a good job as Jim, and while I was surprised Long John was so old, Jack Palance did a fine job with the role as it was written here.

I thought most of the actors did a good job, particularly David Robb as the doctor and Walter Sparrow as Ben Gunn. Sarah Holland had maybe two lines as a young lady who seemed to have less than a stellar reputation, but she still managed to impress.

I wouldn't rank this as one of the great movies. I also had trouble figuring out who was on what side--at times Long John seemed to be one of the good guys! But he was usually with the pirates. One thing is certain: most of the pirates seemed quite mean, ugly, dirty and unpleasant.

It's an interesting way to spend a Sunday afternoon, I guess.

Very free version based on the appealing adventures starred by two fabulous and unforgettable characters , Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver , in which a young boy sets off on a voyage armed with a map to buried treasure. This astounding adventure with an attractive and fantastic starring , Jim Hawkins, and a nasty as well as likable pirate called Long Silver in search of the buried treasure of the buccaneer Captain Flint . Middling retelling filmed in television style with the literary heroes Jack Hawkins and the pirate Long John Silver undertaking several and risked adventures . Again we live the roaring adventure , this time set in a far island . We share the struggles , the heartaches , the laughter of courageous souls who leave their houses they love to dare the wrath of the angry pirates . Jim Hawkins encounters a map that leads to a distant Caribbean island where is a buried treasure . Enchanted by the idea of locating treasure buried by Captain Flint , a group formed by Captain Smollett , Squire Trelawney , Dr. Liveesy and Jim Hawkins charter a sailing voyage on a ship called La Española to a Caribbean island . Upright men and greedy pirates in conflict with their destiny by re-enacting the Robert Stevenson's thrilling story in search for the legendary loot of Captain Nathaniel Flint . Then , the young boy join forces with his friends and , of course , a boisterous , rogue Long John Silver (Jack Palance) sailing to the island of hidden bounty . The young cabin boy Hawkins (Kevin Zegers) has a treasure map and a boatload of kill-crazed pirates eager for the riches hidden on Treasure Island . Unfortunately, a large number of Flint's old pirate crew are aboard the ship, including Long John Silver himself . Jim Hawkins matches with stick-legged , a notably snarly Long Silver and adventures go on . But even greater dangers lie ahead when Hawkins finds out that his trusted colleague Long John is actually a nasty pirate with mutiny on his mind . As young Jim Hawkins is torn between his loyalty to his benefactors and his affection for lovable rogue Long John Silver in their struggle to recover a buried pirate treasure . Along with Hawkins and Long John Silver also appears some classic but modified personages , such as : Squire (Christopher Benjamin) , Captain Smollet (Malcolm Stoddard) , Doctor Livesey ( David Robb) , Billy Bones (Patrick Bergin) , Ben Gun (Sparrow).

So-so and regularly paced story with plenty of thrills , adventures , intrigue , fights and noisy action . The whole piece of adventure teems with emotion , humor , exotic atmosphere and being pretty amusing, but extremely mediocre . Resulting to be an unappropriately adventurous rendition of Robert Stevenson's often-filmed and spine-tingling tale . In the picture there is humor , rip-roaring adventures , swashbuckling , but resulting to be extremely average . Jack Palance's last feature picture , playing in his usual style , I miss Robert Newton's vintage acting , his featured performance as Long John Silver is so iconic that it is thought by many to be the origin of today's stereotypical laced pirate patois, including Sparrow's Jonny Depp . Evocative cinematography shot on various locations in Castletown, Isle of Man , Colby Glen, Isle of Man , Port Erin , The Sound ,Isle of Man , Ireland . Functional as well as moving musical score composed by means of synthesizer . This very free adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson adventure classic was regularly directed by Peter Rowe . Rating : 4.5/10 .

Other renditions -being multitudinous remakes- , as there are many films made of it and based on this classic novel, turning out to be the following ones : Classy version (1934) by Victor Fleming with Jackie Cooper , Wallace Beery and Lewis Stone. Walt Disney take on (1950) with Robert Newton, Bobby Driscoll, directed by Byron Haskin , being a respectable full-blooded second-best the classic Fleming version ; it was followed by a sequel titled ¨Long John Silver¨ also directed by Byron Haskin with Robert Newton , Lloyd Berrell , Grant Taylor , Rod Taylor ; in addition , ¨Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on January 29, 1951 with Bobby Driscoll reprising his film role . Furthermore , European retelling (1974) by John Hough with Orson Welles , Angel Del Pozo , Lionel Stander and Kim Burfield. This ¨Treasure Island¨ (1999) with Jack Palance , Patrick Bergin and Kevin Zegers. TV recounting by Fraser C Heston with Charlton Heston , Christian Bale and Richard Johnson . ¨Muppet's Treasure island¨ (1996) and recent rendition (2012) by Steve Barron , starred by Eddie Izzard , Rupert Penry-Jones , Daniel Mays , Donald Sutherland and Elijah Wood . Besides , "Treasure Island in Outer Space", TV miniseries (1987) set in space directed by Antonio Margheriti with Anthony Quinn as Long John Silver , David Warbeck as Doctor Livesy and Philippe Leroy as Squire . And Disney top-notch cartoon-Sci-Fi version Treasure planet (2002) splendidly directed by John Musker and Ron Clemens .