Treasure Island [VHS]

Charlton Heston was a great actor. I will always be a big fan of the original planet of the apes as well as anything else he stared in.This 1990 remake of Treasure Island is not bad for a remake, but it is a remake. With that said, I am also a big fan of the original Treasure Island with Robert Newton as Long john Silver. Not even Charlton Heston can beat the original of this one. As remakes go, I would recommend this one - but not over the original.

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!!!!!

The video is just fine but the box is TERRIBLE. One of the worst I have ever seen. Super flimsy and not even stiff for protection. I tossed it and moved the disk to a blank box I had purchased a few years ago at Micro Center. If your adding this for a collection I would recommend doing the same.

After I read Treasure Island, I am a female, so I just read it now as an adult, and loved it, I wanted to see one of the many movies that were made from the book. This one is really great and keeps exactly with the book.

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.

Well it's about time this movie came out on DVD - I've been waiting for it since 1994. Now we can only hope it will turn up on Region 2 DVD soon, so it can be generally available in Europe also. I wanted to review it seriously, but it is simply too good to review. Charlton Heston, Christopher Lee and Oliver Reed all give some of their most commanding and charismatic performances ever. The rest of the cast is equally brilliant (gotta love the squire and the doctor) and well, it with its superior ending, I actually prefer this film to the book (and believe me, I'm actually quite fond of the book and I read quite a lot of books, so this reviewer is not one of those who haven't noticed Lord of the Rings was a novel before it was a film or the like - you may disagree, but I actually have considered my opinion).As for the movie as it is, I can find no flaw with the directing.The music is absolutely stunning and I often listen to it during the day - which I think says a lot: I own a number of soundtracks, but you really don't normally listen to film music during the day. I can't put on the soundtrack to Star Wars and read the newspaper, that makes no sense. But the music from this movie, I can listen to it on the train, while reading, while writing, anything.This is really just the perfect adventure movie - more serious than Indiana Jones or Pirates of the Caribbean (not to criticize those, but Treasure Island feels 'real') - yet still pure fun.I can only give this film the highest recommendation of all - though obviously, until a Region 2 dvd is released, buying the Region 1 version in Europe will only be feasible if you have some way of watching it ;)Hope you enjoy it

My favourite version of Treasure Island, and of the versions I've seen it is also the closest to the book. Not only is Stevenson's text well represented in the dialogue and the narration, but director Fraser Heston has captured the spirit of the book as well. Oh, there's a bit of the jolly pirate stereotype of romance, but the danger and the bite of piracy is back in place. Cutlasses and sabers draw blood here; cannonballs shatter and splinter wood and bone and heroes and villains alike die lonely deaths. But here also is the sense of adventure and excitement that made the book a classic in the first place...For fans of the N.C. Wyeth illustrations from the famous edition of the novel, this film is like a Wyeth painting come to life. Here is Billy Bones (the late great Oliver Reed) with his telescope on a barren crag overlooking a barren seascape, and here is Blind Pew (brilliantly brought to life by Christopher Lee) tap, tap, tapping his way into Jim Hawkin's nightmares at the Admiral Benbow Inn, and here are the Loyals making landfall at Treasure Island while Captain Flint's old gunner takes shots at them from the Hispaniola.Charlton Heston as Long John Silver is a triumph. It's not the usual Heston role, here immersed in pirate dialect and nautical slang. He brings the perfect blend of strength, charm and menace to the role and you can't bring yourself to dislike the old scoundrel.The film is also noteworthy for an early starring role for Christian Bale as Jim Hawkins, a fine part convincingly played.The cast is rounded out with good performances by some of Britain's great character actors including Julian Glover, Richard Johnson and Pete Postlethwaite.Paddy Moloney and the Chieftains provide a magnificent musical backdrop to the age of piracy. If the only pirate music you can think of goes "Yo ho ho...", have a listen to the Chieftains' music here.Unsurpassed and probably unsurpassable as a true adaptation of Stevenson's literary classic. I can't too highly recommend it.

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).

I forgive most of Mr Heston's politics for this one movie. By far the best TI every made: a young Christian Bale as Jim Hawkins, with an appropriately young Mrs Hawkins rather than the old lady we think of, Christopher Lee is perfection as Blind Pew, and Captain Smollet, the Squire, and Dr Livesey play their one-character-note people to perfection. Best of all (1) you get to hear the "terrible oaths" mentioned in the book but never spelled out, and (2) interpolations offer high humor, as "Oh Shut Up, Israel, you'd think you'd never seen a man with his throat cut before!", or the realization (after several watchings) that Dick is just the same as young Jim, except that he made the wrong decision and playing pirate isn't nearly as much fun as you'd think.Finally, as you'd expect, the pirates must have had great fun charging the stockade while shouting "ARR!"