JohnHowardReid
Jack Palance's last movie appearance finds him in the lead role of Long John Silver in this well-produced account of the Robert Louis Stevenson novel directed by award-winning TV writer/director Peter Rowe. The rest of the players are able enough, although it could be complained that Rowe's compositions are directed more to the demands of small screen TV rather than big screen cinemas. Nevertheless, Rowe makes impressive use of a real, full-sized sailing vessel, and there is plenty of action for young and old. The cast is credible and even more importantly, the script follows the novel closely and will not disappoint RLS's legion of fans. Jack Palance makes a superb villain and his son, Cody Palance, can be glimpsed in a full-screen close-up as Blind Pew. Available on an excellent New Concorde DVD.
liberalgems
This film does not stray from the original story until the boat lands on Treasure Island! It was a bit shocking at first, but Long John Silver's (Jack Palance) and Jim Hawkins' (Kevin Zegers) superb acting makes this a very enjoyable fantasy to watch! This is a story of two very elderly men and a very capable teenage boy! Jim Hawkins, while polite, is incredibly resilient and thinks very fast on his feet. And Long John Silver is not some evil minion, but a man of honor who believes in democracy, no less! My hats off to the filmmakers for having the courage to re-interpret a classic in such a dramatic fashion. It certainly makes you think about Treasure Island in a totally different way!
germancards
The titles say the film is "based on" the novel by R. L. Stevenson. That seems to mean they chose the same names for the characters. As the film progresses, the plot diverges more and more from the novel. The end is completely different and gave me the impression the budget ran out and they had to kill the cast off and finish the film as quickly as possible rather than stick to the story. I watched them making the film on the Isle of Man and bought the DVD to see what they had produced. I can't think of any other reason to buy it.
heresjay
This two-hour commercial from the Isle of Man Tourist Bureau bears only a superficial resemblance to the Stevenson novel. At the end, all the wrong people are dead and you half expect the strumpet from the first half of the show to make one final appearance. The Isle of Man provides all the locations, even masquerading (poorly) as the tropics. Nevertheless a few good performances emerge from this hacked-up classic. Kevin Zegers gives us at least as good a Hawkins as Bobby Driscoll. The venerable Walter Sparrow shines as Ben Gunn. And Jack Palance rasps out an engaging Silver but it's disappointing to see his name spelt wrong in the credits. Palance fans might like to see him tackle one of literature's most famous old coots, but Stevenson fans should leave this one alone.
AD
