Rueiro Stevenson's novel is one of the greatest books for boys ever written, and I still have the edition my mother gave me thirty-two years ago and which I have read innumerable times since. Although I also did read and enjoyed Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, Coral Island and other boys's adventure classics, none of them enchanted me as much as Treasure Island did. This must be the children's novel with the greatest number of film and TV adaptations in history. I have seen the 1934 version, which is very faithful to the book but it also is a typical product of its time in the cherubic cuteness of the kid and the gentleness of Silver. That is OK for an audience of little children, but the first time I saw it I was 16 and I found it a bit too corny, and the final scene between the kid and Beery is a tearjerker that has nothing at all to do with the novel. In the book Jim tells us that Silver simply sneaked off the ship unnoticed and was never again heard of. Then the 1950 Disney version is also too cute –it wouldn't be Disney's otherwise! - although it has a bit more action than its predecessor and the pirates are a lot rougher. The one thing for which this one is best remembered is the great Bobby Newton. He was the best John Silver of them all: a rascal with a twinkling eye who can be charming, amusing, a father-like figure, a solicitous crewman… and then the next minute he'll be a natural leader of cutthroats, a cold-blood murderer and a ruthless pirate son-of-a-bitch. But at the end you still root for him because Newton was able to give his character something that makes him an aristocrat among common criminals. As to the modest and mediocre 1972 version, apart from the presence of Orson Welles it doesn't have anything else to offer. And finally I want to mention a curious Soviet version from 1971 and which I saw in YouTube the other day, called "Ostrov Sokrovishch", and which although it is less than 90 minutes long it manages to be reasonably faithful to the novel. Now, coming back to this version discussed here... although in the book Jim never tells his age, we can estimate that he is between 12 and 15 years old. A very young boy would have never been left alone for hours in charge of the inn in those rough days of the highwayman, and an older and bigger teenager would have surely stood up too Blackdog and Blind Pew with less fear and he even might have landed them a good wallop or two. So, in this aspect Christian Bale makes the perfect Jim. And he is well accompanied by a remarkable pair of British baddie heavies: the hell-raiser Ollie Reed as Billy Bones -a role he was born to play- and the always excellent Christopher Lee as the infamous and disgusting Blind Pew. As to the rest of the cast, they are all good too, and the guy playing Israel Hands is a real bastard indeed. As for Charlton Heston (one of my favourite actors), unfortunately he is totally miscast here. I'm sorry, Chuck, but you were far too old for the role. Twenty years earlier it might have been fine, but not when you are sixty-seven. But then Chuck was the director's dad and obviously he came aboard cheap. Another aspect of this film that I find remarkable, for it was quite risqué at the time, is the frequent use of the words "bastard", "son of a bitch" and so. Of course, if the film were made today this wouldn't be "acceptable" in a story for children and teenagers, and the Censors Office would surely see to that. But that is how seamen in the 18th century –or any other time in history, for that matter- spoke like. And this is a story in which a teenage boy finds himself mixed up with the bloodiest pirates in England, he sees men getting shot, chopped up and blown up to pieces, and then he kills a man in self-defence and nearly gets lynched, gang-raped and hanged by the rogue's mates. All of this is in the book, it wasn't just made up for this film. A superb adaptation, almost 100% faithful to the original, with a good script, a polished cast, a fantastic art direction and a nice fiddle score to get us into the mood for the adventure. Ho ho ho and a bottle of rum!

TheLittleSongbird I have always loved Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, it is such a great story and a real page-turner. Of the four versions I've seen so far- this, 1950, the Muppet film and the recent one aired over the Christmas break- I do agree with those that say this is the best one.The wonderful story is still as compelling as before, throughout here it is well paced and interesting. The dialogue is witty and complex as well as maintaining the basic feel of the book's prose. Add to that assured direction, authentic locations that are rich in atmosphere, sumptuous costuming and photography, energetic action sequences and a music score that is both rousing and with a Celtic lilt and you have a treasure. But you cannot mention the cast mentioning this Treasure Island. To me at least three cast members are definitive, they are Charlton Heston as Long John Silver, Christian Bale as Jim Hawkins and Nicolas Amer as Ben Gunn.Heston is perfectly cast in a role he was born to play, his interpretation is charismatic and complex being both menacing and human, and it is easily one of my favourite performances of his. Likewise with Bale, whose appealing, never overly-sentimental and easy-to-identify-with Jim Hawkins has only been surpassed I feel by his performances in American Psycho and Empire of the Sun. Amer's Ben Gunn is both amusing and poignant, a perfect balance and the only performance of the character so far I've seen to have that perfect balance.That's not all. We also have Richard Johnson's generous Squire Trelawny and Julian Glover's gutsy Dr Livesey, as well the most vivid and most dangerous Billy Bones in Oliver Reed, a genuinely scary Blind Pew in Christopher Lee, an excellent Clive Wood as Captain Smollet and standout turns from Pete Postlethwaite, Isla Blair and Michael Halsey.Overall, a fantastic version, both as an adaptation and on its own terms with a wonderful cast especially. 10/10 Bethany Cox

boll-weavil Most of the comments expressed so far have correctly pointed out this version as the best and, unlike someone's reference to George C Scott's Scrooge, it does actually come directly from the book and not from years of ingrained television adaptations.The reason it is so good is because it echoes correctly the strata of fear that the book is based on. As a child, Jim Hawkins is scared of everyone from the physically hideous Blind Pugh to the men of bloodthirsty reputation - Israel Hands and Blind Pugh and that fear is shown by the pirates in their reverence for Captain Flint and of course, Long John, who commands by reputation alone.In preserving this intact, the whole book and thus, the film, is believable.I know people question some of the language (incorrectly in my view as all those words were spoken by landsmen not natural sailors and were very much in use in that time - the word 'bugger' for example, appears in the diaries of Pepy's hundreds of years earlier).Its easy to say that the film draws influence from early versions but that's inevitable. The Chieftans soundtrack and a very fine cast make it far superior and much more believable. As someone said earlier, you need a proper Silver who can both turn on the charm to convince a young lad but also control a band of cutthroats and Heston achieves that superbly well. You can see clearly how easily intimidated the pirates are because they are uneducated and that's obvious from the exchanges between them and Long John. Postlethwaite is brilliant in these and totally convincing ! Finally, I think someone mentioned a continuity problem earlier.Although having run off, Jim does see a pirate killed, this is only after he has jumped off the jolly boat and run inland.The two aren't connected.He does that for devilment I think and there are other examples of his reckless behaviour elsewhere in the book. What a great story though - the triumph of the stereotypical English gentlemen over the bloodthirsty pirates.I think we all agree on here, this interpretation is spot on !

gfender Although this was a made for TV movie, Ted Turner wanted, and got, a great movie from an old story that has been shot on the screen many times. But none, in my opinion, as good as this.Charelton Heston's performance was magnificent. Had the movie been produced for theatrical release, I believe that Heston would have gotten nominated for yet another Academy award, as probably would have the cinematography as well. I highly recommend this movie for a delightful evening that the whole family can and will enjoy. Go ahead, pop some popcorn and find out. And for you true Charleton Heston fans, I'd also recommend another obscure title, "Mother Load."