Treasure Island (1990) (DVD)

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!!!!!

Guys, does it get any better than this? Incredible, cast, costumes, sets, locations, music, acting and dirtecting. My grandparents taped this onto VHS for me when it had it's original run on TNT cuz we didn't have cable. The recording I had was interspersed with commercials from 1990, some real nostalgic gems. The tape eventually wore out and I couldn't find a replacement for years. Glad to see it's available for streaming.

Brilliant, wonderful adaptation of R. L. Stevenson's classic seafaring tale -- this is beyond doubt THE best pirate film to have yet been made. Bar none. If you don't clap this one to your heart, ye be a false-sworn landlubber, by thunder, and here's my affydavy on that! Update, October 2010: See the comments section -- it is being reported that a DVD release may finally come in 2011. Yarrr! And about time, too. Tremendous cast, sterling production values, brilliant cinematography, rousing musical score, crack screenplay, and vibrant performances make this an enduring classic. I also want to put in a plug for the greatest pirate film to star a swashbuckling female, "Anne of the Indies" (aka "The Pirate Queen"), which has sadly never been released to home video in No. America but has aired on cable TV and is available on PAL Region 2 DVD (as Die Piratenkonigin) in Germany. If you have an all-region DVD player, you should run, not walk, to Amazon Deutschland and pick this up. It's the original English-language release, just switch off any German language options or subtitling. Jean Peters stars as Captain Anne Providence and gives her all in a wonderfully engaging, if corny, color production from about 1951. Peters is genuinely athletic, beautiful, and obviously loved this role. Anne of the Indies beats all other pirate queens hands down. Now, if only they'd make a film about Grania O'Malley, we'd be splicin' the mainbrace!

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.

I had just read the book again and wanted to see it as a movie. I thought that it was well acted, Charlton Heston makes a perfect Long John Silver, and very true to the book.

I rented this to see Charleston Heston as Long John Silver. I was dissapointed. Not all that good.

I ordered this movie on the strength of reviews by other Amazon members and I was not disappointed. Quite frankly, this is as good as it gets. While I understand how some strict Christian folk might struggle a little with some of the (by modern standards) minor profanities, this version is just dark enough, just rough and tumble enough to convey the magic of the original novel. Anybody who has read Under The Black Flag by David Cordingly - a superbly detailed history of piracy, which I obtained from Amazon.com - will realize that even this movie's depiction of real pirates has been consciously sanitized. Chuck Heston's mastery makes this the ultimate Treasure Island, and the supporting cast was brilliantly selected. The immensely gifted Christian Bale has set a standard for the portrayal of Jim Hawkins that will never be surpassed. Likewise, Oliver Reed and Christopher Lee have used their collective genius to immortalize two characters that might otherwise have vanished from your memory as soon as their parts were over. The remaining cast, including Julian Glover, Clive Wood, Isla Blair and Richard Johnson are all similarly perfect for their parts, and the parcel of rogues who comprise the motley crew could not be more believable. Beautifully filmed in Jamaica, every scene is a rich visual delight, especially the ones shot on and around the superbly-maintained HMS Bounty, which passes for the Hispaniola. This movie has had a lot of very good reviews. There's a reason for that. It's brilliant.

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

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.

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This DVD is only for region 1. There is no info about this in the describtion.

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.

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 !