The Cay

"The Cay" is one of the best books to have been written for children in recent years,and it is now used as a school text in Britain and America.The 1974 T.V.production,starring James Earl Jones as Timothy and Alfred Lutter as Philip,was an excellent film version of this story,and it is a pity that it has not yet appeared as a video.Schools,I know,would make use of it,and its many fans would buy it.It is still going the rounds of European T.V.networks,and I last saw it on Polish T.V.in 2000.

Since I was not yet born in the 70's, I watched it on YouTube recently. I thought the book was great, it had emotional power and I feel like all characters were really likable.

The movie, however, lacks some important detail. In the movie, you barely get to know either of Phillip's parents, but in the book, it explains how hard working Phillip's dad was and how protective Phillip's mom was. It explains they lived in Virginia, and the mom wanted to go back, and soon convinced the father to agree. The only statement in the movie was Phillip stating whatever his mom wants gets.

As well, at one point Phillip went overboard the raft, and Timothy saved him, showing how caring he was. In the movie, Timothy is still caring, but more examples seem to be shown in the book.

I also feel the sound quality wasn't that good of the movie. You could always hear the breeze in the background, making it hard to understand what the characters were saying.

However, James Earl Jones had a really good performance. If you were drawn in by Timothy's character, you won't be disappointed.

The Cay was one of the most important movie in my childhood, l was fourteen years old when l'd watched this picture together with my grandfather in 1977 and has a special meaning to me, firstly because l was a teenager and it was made for this audience, l've been looking for this movie a long time without success but now l found it on Youtube even no subtitles with original audio it was worth to see for the second time after 41 years of waiting, l didn't notice that it was so short, seeing James Earl Jones as Timothy in a fantastic performance, I really hope someday this picture came out on DVD., who knows!!!

PS: For Brazilians cinephiles this picture was titled as "Os Naufragos"

Resume:

First watch: 1977 / How many: 2 / Source: TV-Youtube / Rating: 7.5.

Back when I was in elementary school, my teachers would sometimes show the film strip of "The Cay" on days when there was little to do or they just wanted the students to unwind, like before holiday vacations or on rainy days after lunch. I used to love watching it, but unfortunately, I haven't seen it since probably second or third grade (which would be about 1987!). I agree with another commenter, that it is ashame that this film hasn't been made available on video or DVD. It is a very worthwhile film, especially for children.

The availability of this made-for-TV movie is obscure. I saw it on some Sunday night on TV in 1974, and have wanted to see it again ever since. The story is positively poignant and the acting is superb. The character of Timothy is a wonderfully unique portrayal by James Earl Jones. The adaptation from the book was done well. Want to see it again and own it in my home movie library. I know that the book is still used for literature/english classes at the junior high/middle school level and this film version would be a valuable asset as a "follow-up" for students after reading the book. So, whatever happened to the film? Why is it non-existent? Will somebody in the film industry work on making it available? Please. If anyone has a copy of it, and is willing to share it, connect with me by email.