Treasure Island
Treasure Island
| 01 October 1972 (USA)
Treasure Island Trailers

Young Jim Hawkins finds himself serving with pirate captain Long John Silver in search of a buccaneer's treasure, in this short adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale.

Reviews
Ceticultsot Beautiful, moving film.
ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.
Kinley This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
Leofwine_draca TREASURE ISLAND is a European-made version of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novel mostly watchable thanks to an overbearing performance from Orson Welles as Long John Silver. The main problem isn't his overacting, which is fine, but rather the fact that he's dubbed in some of his scenes, which is a real travesty. The rest is a workable little production that utilises some nicely exotic Spanish locations and a seasoned cast of Euro genre actors including Rik Battaglia, Maria Rohm, Aldo Sambrell, and Paul Muller to make things work. This has a noticeably gloomy tone with some sequences which feel like they've come straight from a horror film, which is little surprise given that Andrea Bianchi (BURIAL GROUND) and Antonio Margheriti (WEB OF THE SPIDER) worked on the direction alongside John Hough, the man behind THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE. It's no classic and can't really be considered the definitive version of the story, but it's worth a look regardless.
zardoz-13 The Internet Movie Database lists three directors for the 1972 version of "Treasure Island: Andrea Bianchi of "Strip Nude for Your Killer," John Hough of "The Watcher in the Woods," and Antonio Margheriti of "Seven Dead in the Cat's Eye." Out of all three, only Margheriti helped to pen the screenplay. I don't think that there is any way to distinguish precisely who did what, but this cinematic adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic adventure novel is extremely faithful to its source material. Orson Well es steps into the role immortalized by Robert Newton, but Welles doesn't chew the scenery with the same gusto as Newton did in the Disney version. Instead, Welles plays Long John Silver as a realistic but cunning dastard. The remainder of the cast doesn't fit their roles like a glove, but Spaghetti western star Rik Battaglia makes a reasonable facsimile of Captain Smollett who has the helm of the ship. Reasonably successful, too, are Lionel Stander as Billy Bones and Walter Slezak as Squire Trelawney. Clearly, several other cast members have been dubbed, and the film was lensed in Carboneras, Almería, Andalucía, Spain as well as Monte Gelato Falls, Treja River, Lazio, Italy. Prolific cinematographer Cecilio Paniagua of "100 Rifles" did a splendid job of photographing this sea-going saga and camera operator Silvano Mancini pulls some fantastic zooms. There are moments of memorable beauty when Paniagua's cinematography is captures a scene whether aboard ship or on land. One of the best things about this version is its apparent realism. Miniatures were eschewed in favor of the genuine article, particularly the ship. Despite its physical authenticity and some good performances, "Treasure Island" follows most of what Stevenson wrote, but the filmmakers have changed a few things. First, after our heroes flee from the ship, Jim Hawkins made his way back aboard the ship and runs it aground. This scene is missing, while some of the secondary villains don't stand out as much as they did in the novel. Second, Captain Smollett doesn't get wounded during the stockade stand-off. Otherwise, on the whole, this rendition of "Treasure Island" is worth watching.
ma-cortes Fabulous and appealing adventures starred by two unforgettable characters , Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver . Again we live the roaring adventure of men against the sea . We share the struggles , the heartaches , the laughter of courageous souls who leave their houses they love to dare the wrath of the angry pirates . Upright men and greedy pirates in conflict with their destiny enacting the Robert Stevenson's most thrilling story . Jim Hawkins (Kim Burfield) encounters the map that leads to a distant island where is a buried treasure . Jim , captain Smollett (Rik Battaglia) , Squire (Walter Slezak's final film ) , Doctor Livesey (Angel Del Pozo) and , of course , a boisterous Long John Silver (a brilliant triumph by Orson Welles who was paid $150,000) carry out a journey to isle of hidden bounty . The young cabin boy Hawkins has a treasure map and a boatload of kill-crazed pirates eager for the riches hidden on Treasure Island . Unfortunately, a large number of Flint's old pirate crew are aboard the ship . But even greater risks lie ahead when Hawkins finds out that his trusted colleague Long John is actually a nasty pirate with mutiny on his mind . As young Jim Hawkins is torn between his loyalty to his benefactors and his affection for lovable rogue Long John Silver in their struggle to recover a buried pirate treasure . Fun story with plenty of adventure , intrigue , fights and action . The whole piece of adventure teems with emotion , thrills , humor , exotic atmosphere and being pretty amusing . Orson Welles who is also screenwriter hands perfectly the role as rogue pirate and gives a memorable acting , as always , though Yul Brynner was also chased by the producers for the Long John Silver part . Delightful performance by Jean Lefebre as Ben Gunn , as well . At the film appears usual secondary actors in several Spaniard-Italian co-productions, such as Paul Muller , Barta Barry , Victor Israel , Jose Jaspe and Aldo Sambrell . Colorful cinematography , the opening scenes were filmed in Italy : Mount Gelato Falls , Lacio , and remaining ones were shot in Mojacar , Almeria , Andalucia , Spain . The motion picture was middlingly directed by John Hough and uncredited by Andrew White . This production is powered by the great Orson Welles. Rating : Acceptable and passable .Other renditions based on this classic novel are the followings : vintage version (1934) by Victor Fleming with Wallace Beery , Jackie Cooper and Lewis Stone ; Disney take on (1950) by Byron Haskin with Robert Newton and Bobby Driscoll ; (1999) retelling by Marc Charlesbois with Jack Palance , Patrick Bergin and Kevin Zegers ; TV recounting by Fraser C Heston with Charlton Heston , Christian Bale and Richard Johnson ; ¨Treasure Island in Outer Space", TV miniseries (1987) set in space directed by Antonio Margheriti with Anthony Quinn as Long John Silver , David Warbeck as Doctor Livesy and Philippe Leroy as Squire ; ¨Muppet's Treasure island¨ (1996) and recent rendition (2012) by Steve Barron , starred by Eddie Izzard , Rupert Penry-Jones , Daniel Mays , Donald Sutherland and Elijah Wood . In addition , a cartoon-Sci-Fi version as ¨Treasure planet¨ (2002) directed by John Musker and Ron Clemens .
PeterB2422 I saw this film as a child and the only things I remember were that it was very slow paced and that Orson Welles was completely unintelligible. He makes James Dean look like a linguist. A sad misstep for an often brilliant actor.
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