Treasure Island (1990) (DVD)

I just recently read Treasure Island and wanted to see an older movie made off of the story. Knowing how talented Christian Bale is now, it was fun to see him back then. The movie held pretty true to the book with the limitations of no CGI and a seemingly lower budget. I did not appreciate the way his mother was portrayed and character development lacked a little, however, overall it was entertaining and enjoyable.

This made-for-tv movie capture the essence of it's source material with an incredible line up, suave writing and directing and some great locations. It is by far my personal favorite Treasure Island film.Jim Hawkins serves as cabin boy on a lawful voyage to Treasure Island, where gold and mutiny await. However, several members of the crew would have the treasure for themselves.These aren't your Disney pirates. These are men, drunks and hard lifers. The left overs of an old, once-feared pirate crew.They are led by the ship's cook Long John Silver, a multifaceted character given even greater depth by Charlton Hesten, whose performance obliterates stereotypical pirate archetypes. Despite the parrot on his shoulder.This is a reasonably long movie but the pace is upbeat if deliberate at first. It covers a lot of ground. In its telling, it gives a glimpse into the lives of many aboard ship. A wealth of talented actors make the background characters feel well rounded, despite sometimes minimal screen time. Israel Hands, George, Hunter , Blind Pew, Billy Bones, Ben Gunn and Dick are very memorable. More time is devoted to Captain Smollett, Squire Trelawney and Doctor Livsey who are friends to Hawkins and enemies to Silver. Their interactions provide much interest on this epic treasure hunt.The quality of the score cannot be overstated. Experienced Irish folk group The Chieftains provide lilting sea shanties, jigs, vicious percussion, and even haunting pipe melodies that drift through the frames and add palpable atmosphere.A quick IMDB trawl shows the quality of the line up. Christian Bale(Jim Hawkins) and Charlton Hesten(Long John Silver) have been at the top of their respective eras in film with examples being The Dark Knight and Ben Hur respectively. Christopher lee (Blind Pew) we know from The Lord of the Rings, while Oliver Reed (Billy Bones) is another older actor, whose final performance in Gladiator proved most memorable. Julian Glover (Dr Livesey) has been in The The Empire Strikes Back, as well as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, along with Isla Blair (Mrs Hawkins). James Cosmo (Redruth) has been in Braveheart, Trainspotting and recently Game of Thrones while Pete Postlethway (George) of The Usual Suspects, Inception, Jurasic Park and Alien 3 makes an appearance.The film has aged very well, thanks to its down to earth and grimy feeling, rather than the high adventure often associated with the title. It's filled with big characters, ropes and ships and threats and cries for rum or murder. Gun shots and the occasional saber fight. I wholly recommend this film to anyone interested in the bloodthirsty tale of Treasure Island.5/5

I remember watching this back in 1990 when it debuted on TNT. The second time it was aired i had my father record it on VHS. I hated having to fast forward through all the commercials. I watched the VHS tape over and over. My mother read me Robert Louis Stevenson's book when i was little, before the movie came out. I was also fascinated by Pirates and buried treasure. I remember seeing a commercial back in the early 90's announcing how the movie was released on VHS. this was back in the days of pre internet. I could not find the VHS anywhere. Many years later with the help of ebay i finally found it. I still watch it all the time. FINALLY!!! it is now on DVD. THIS IS THE GREATEST FILM ADAPTATION of TREASURE ISLAND EVER!!HESTON IS LONG JOHN SILVER. When you watch this Tale , Charlton Heston is not in the movie. Long John Silver IS The person you are watching. It also has many GREAT English actors. Peter P. aka George Mary, is now deceased, he was also in the movie "The Town" as the head of the Irish Mob who owned the Flower Store. He did a great job playing a pirate. Also Oliver Reed who plays Billy Bones is fabulous. He is now deceased as well. You Might remember him in "Gladiator" as the rich Gladiator Owner who buys and helps Russell Crowes character. You also have Horror Legend and Lord of the Rings Sauromon's Christopher Lee as Blind Pew. Julian Glover as Dr. Lucy , is also currently on HBO's Game of Thrones. Christian Bale has become the biggest now with his role in Batman and such. But Charlton Heston is simply amazing. The cinematography is breathtaking. Shot on Location in Jamaica and in Cornwall England. I also like many, went out and got the soundtrack by the Chieftans. If you want to find it, check Amazon. It is an import. I paid around 30$ as it is VERY hard to find. Overall the movie is stunning. It also follows the book closer then any other treasure island movie, with dialogue straight from the book. This is in my top 5 favorite movies of all time. Its been 21 years since i was a 7 year old watching it on TNT. I am 28 now and i love the movie more and more. No special Effects or CGI, it is flat out old school beautiful movie making. I will watch this movie till the day i die. 21 years later, IT HAS FINALLY ARRIVED ON DVD!!!!!

As I recall the great book, this comes closest thanks to Heston and Bale in this gritty and adventuresome script and beautifully mounted production. A better director would have produced a masterpiece, but of the 1935 Cooper effort for MGM and the Disney version with outragious mugging by Robert Newton of the early ‘50s, this is the best. Language and violence may be too much for kids, but enjoyable for those mature enough to appreciate good pirate yarn.

This movie first aired on TNT in 1990. I remember watching it with my father and loving the movie. 30+ plus years later it still holds up. It's pretty obvious that a decent chunk of $ was used to make this. So if you're into an honest adaptation to the book, this is it. Plus it has a solid cast.

Finished watching "Black Sails" and wanted to see where the story went. This version has a baby Christian Bale playing Jim and does a good job.I'm in my 70's.

We watched it for school and I was not disappointed.

The DVD was excellent.

DVD en zone 1 - Il vous faut donc dézonner votre lecteur.Un des plus beaux romans d'aventure retranscrit ici par ce téléfilm.2h10 de bonheur en 16/9.Christian Bale en Jim Hawkins, adolescent à ses débuts... il a fait du chemin depuis !Et Charlton Heston en Long John Silver, ici dirigé par son fils Fraser (réalisateur).Evasion garantie !

Es una pobre adaptación de la novela de Robert L. Stevenson, lo peor son las escenas obscuras todo el tiempo, hace que no luzca la actuación de Heston como debiera.

Completamente soddisfatto della transazione

Diese kanadisch-englische Kinoverfilmung ist ein echter Geheimtip! Toll besetzt ( Charlton Heston als Long John Silver, der junge Christian Bale als Jim Hawkins, Oliver Reed als Billy Bones, Christopher Lee als Blinder Pew und Julian Glover als Dr. Livesey ), sehr romangetreu, mit tollen, atmosphärischen Bildern, Karibikfeeling, und einen schönen, stimmigen Soundtrack. Die Piraten sind dreckig, die Charaktere, wie aus dem Buch entsprungen und Charlton Heston liefert hier zweifellos eine der besten Darstellungen seiner langen Karriere - eine echte Paraderolle. Seeräuberherz, was willst du mehr! Lässt fast alle anderen, zahlreichen Verfilmungen des Stoffes hinter sich. Auch wenn ältere deutsche Zuschauersemester wohl auf ewig den legendären 60er Jahre - Weihnachtsvierteiler mit Ivor Dean und Michael Ande vorziehen werden, den heutigen Sehgewohnheiten kommt die straffere 1990er-Verfilmung sicher weitaus mehr entgegen, als der zuweilen doch sehr gestreckte und nach heutigem Empfinden sicher etwas sehr gemächlich dahinplätschernde Vierteiler. Schauspielerisch jedenfalls ist es schwer eine Verfilmung zu finden, die dieser hier auch nur annähernd das Wasser reichen kann. Regie führt übrigens Fraser Clarke Heston, Sohn des Hollywoodurgesteins, der es sichtlich verstand, seinen alten Herren mit großer Wirkung in Szene zu setzen. Leider gibt es keine offizielle deutschsprachige DVD oder Bluray, was mir absolut unverständlich ist, angesichts der Masse erhältlicher Verfilmungen des Stoffes.Der Film erschien vor ewigen Zeiten nur - in sagenhaft mieser Bildqualität - als deutsche Warner Brothers-Kaufcassette (VHS). Wer Englisch kann, ist klar im Vorteil, denn dann gibt es den Film sowohl auf DVD wie auf Bluray (Widesreen).

Young Jim Hawkins' life gets a lot more exciting when his mother's inn, The Admiral Benbow, is one day crudely patronised by 'The Captain'. The Captain (aka Billy Bones) swiftly pays for extended lodgings and becomes a permanent fixture, intriguing Jim with his wayward tales and rowdy behaviour. Which. when he's not scrutinising the incoming ships from off the local cliff tops, are abundant whilst he drinks heavily in the inn at night, creating a rumpus. But one day some gruesome cut~throat types show up looking for The Captain, so's that they might get their hands on something he owns ~ A treasure map, once belonging to the fearsome Captain Flint! An item that will soon lead Jim on the dangerous adventure of a lifetime, sailing The Spanish Main to find Treasure Island, aboard the Hispanola, with a crew made up of heroic men of adventure, and villainous see dogs out to steal Flint's treasure...I first saw this back in the very early nineties, and immediately it stood out to me as a very classy and enjoyable adaptation of Stephenson's classic tale. The cast are absolutely first rate, with too many of them delivering fantastic performances to single anyone out. It's crammed with action and excitement, and the skirmishes and fights are handled with a frenetic, often bloodthirsty realism that you just don't get in most PG rated, made for TV, family films..Aside from the cast, the production values are high and the film is well handled by Fraser Heston (Charlton's son), who clearly sees this as a labour of love. The soundtrack by The Chieftan's is haunting and mysterious and the locations (Pinewood, Clovelly and Jamaica!) and costumes add a lot to the proceedings.Overall I think this is a superb little effort and deserves to be seen by a much wider audience, as it's almost too good to be just a TV movie, as unfair as that sounds, and it does for Stephenson's story, what Lester's Musketeer films did for Dumas', in producing a rollicking good story off the back of their well known adventures.This may not be the best pirate movie ever, but I'm struggling to think of many better ones.The American Turner Home Ent disc is not the most exquisite print you'll ever see and maybe a little dark in some scenes, but it does the job and wont spoil your viewing pleasure.The only extra is a commentary from the director, that although sounds like he's reading from a script is still pretty informative and fun.5/5 Highly Recommended.