Treasure Island (1990) (TV)

Director:

Fraser Clarke Heston

Writers:

Fraser Clarke Heston (writer)
Robert Louis Stevenson (novel)

Release Date:

22 January 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure

Tagline:

Sail the high seas. Battle the pirates. Live the adventure.

Plot:

Young Jim Hawkins, while running the Benbow Inn with his mother, meets Captain Billy Bones, who dies...

Plot Keywords:

Historical | Based On Novel | Title Spoken By Character

Cast

Charlton Heston	...	Long John Silver
Christian Bale	...	Jim Hawkins
Oliver Reed	...	Capt. Billy Bones
Christopher Lee	...	Blind Pew
Richard Johnson	...	Squire Trelawney
Julian Glover	...	Dr. Livesey
Isla Blair	...	Mrs. Hawkins
Clive Wood	...	Captain Smollet
Nicolas Amer	...	Ben Gunn
John Abbott	...	Joyce
James Cosmo	...	Redruth
James Coyle	...	Morgan
Michael Halsey	...	Israel Hands
Michael Thoma	...	Hunter
Pete Postlethwaite	...	George Merry (as Peter Postlethwaite)

Also Known As:

Devil's Treasure (Australia) (video title)

Runtime:

Spain:131 min | Sweden:122 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Finland:K-11 (new rating: 2001) | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11

Filming Locations:

Clovelly, Devon, England, UK

Company:

Agamemnon Films

Trivia:

The ship used in the film is The Bounty from the 1962 production of Mutiny on the Bounty (1962).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the scene where Flint's men are attacking the inn, Mrs. Hawkins is carrying a candlestick... with an electric cord running from it.

Quotes:

Long John Silver: What a splendid thing it is to be young and have ten toes.

Movie Connections:

Version of "A Ilha do Tesouro" (1963)

A Treasure of a Treasure Island!

One of the great literary classics is brought to life in this wonderful made for television version. An incredible cast, headed by Charlton Heston as Long John Silver, beautiful location footage and a great soundtrack from Paddy Maloney performed by the Chieftains, makes this one of the liveliest productions ever filmed. Cleverly scripted and directed by Fraser Heston, the viewer is treated to a wonderfully faithful adaptation of R. L. Stevenson's classic adventure tale.

Christopher Lee is near unrecognizable in the ghastly make-up of Blind Pew. Add to that the most incredible voice-work and you have one of Mr. Lee's most fascinating characterizations. Although on-screen for a relatively short time, Pew is instrumental to the plot, and Mr. Lee certainly makes the most of his limited time, effectively creating one of the most frightening and memorable characters. Never before, or since, has Blind Pew been quite so well played. His interaction with the late great Oliver Reed as Billy Bones at the Benbow Inn is a wonderful moment, particularly for Hammer fans.

The cast includes a phenomenal assortment of remarkable actors. While Charlton Heston is less than perfectly cast, he does turn in a commendable performance and in no way detracts from the production. It is evident that he is enjoying his role. Young Christian Bale in an early performance is excellent and well cast, as Jim Hawkins. Isla Blair does a great job as young Jim's protective mother. Along for the ride we also have Julian Glover in a standout performance as Dr. Livesey. His confrontation with the swaggering Oliver Reed as Billy Bones is a high point in this film. Richard Johnson as Squire Trelawney and Clive Wood as Capt. Smollet round out the cast, with Nicolas Amer (whom I thought was actually Jasper Carrot) as a suitably deranged Ben Gunn. An exceptional cast, which fits together beautifully, results in my favorite version of this oft-filmed classic. While at times reminiscent of some of Hammer's adventure films, it certainly benefits from modern film technique, and rightly exceeds even the best of Hammer's pirate yarns.

Even if you are just checking this out for Christopher Lee's or Oliver Reed's performance, you'll find yourself engrossed in a wonderful family film and wondering why more classics aren't given such great treatment. Highly recommended!