Treasure Island
by Byron Haskin
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Actor: Basil Sydney, Bobby Driscoll, Denis O'Dea, Robert Newton, Walter FitzgeraldDirector: Byron Haskin
Brand: Buena Vista Home Video
Cinematographer: Freddie Young
Editor: Alan Jaggs
Producer: Herbert Smith
Producer: Perce Pearce
Producer: Walt Disney
Writer: Lawrence Edward Watkin
Writer: Robert Louis Stevenson
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Live, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 96 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-04-29
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Product features:
- Ahoy, mateys! Come aboard the good ship Hispaniola and set sail in search of buried treasure in one of Disney's most critically acclaimed adventureics -- presented in its original, uncut theatrical version! In his first all-live-action feature, Walt Disney has vividly brought to life Robert Louis Stevenson's timeless tale of buccaneers and buried gold. Authentic locales, rich color photogr
DVD Reviews of Treasure Island
DVD Review: Baby Boomers' Delusions
Summary: 3 Stars
There's something sad about we Boomers. It's this tendency to look back at mediocre 1950s entertainment (television, film, or music) and glorify it. Such is the case with Disney's "Treasure Island."
This was a Disney production, like so many during the 1950s, that was aimed at an adolescent audience, not the public at-large. It motors through the story with limited style and very little substance. I am not being facetious when I say that the old Classic Illustrated comic book provides more story depth than this film. Just compare the two!
One of the greatest defects is the failure to provide any of the set up which is an important part of the book and was treated in excellent fashion by the vastly superior 1934 version. Unforgettable characters like Billy Bones, Black Dog, and Blind Pew seem to make an obligatory appearance and vanish with little impact. Ben Gunn shares a similar fate. And Jim's mother doesn't appear at all.
The primary characters, with the exclusion of Silver, are little more than cardboard figures. Jackie Cooper might have been annoying in the 1934 film but at least he had some life and expression to him. Bobby Driscoll as Jim walks around wide-eyed and in a trance for most of the movie.
Now many of the "five star" reviewers rave about Robert Newton's performance. Did they actually read the book? Silver was a complex, violent, scoundral. In this respect, Newton partially fits the bill. But Sliver was also a con artist. And a key part of the tale is how he cons Jim.
The 1934 version has been criticized for Wallace Berry playing Silver as being somewhat warm and fuzzy. This is a legitimate point, to a certain degree. But in contrast to Newton's portral, Berry is much closer to Stevenson's Silver. Berry is convincing in his con, Newton is not.
Newton looks like a homicidal maniac throughout the film. It really stretches belief that educated adults would put any trust in him. More importantly, an adolescent the age of Jim would be in deathly fear of such an individual. Being frightened is not the same as being conned!
To be sure Berry mugged a lot and hammed it up. But that's what we could expect from Berry---and he made it work. Newton didn't have the same magic. He growls through his lines, and that incessant eye-popping makes you want to set up an appointment with your ophthalmologist. He mugged just as much as Berry, but lacked the talent to pull it off.
Of course, the core of the novel deals with the relationship between Silver and Jim. There's just not any chemistry in this version, particularly when you compare it to the way Berry and Cooper worked it.
Beyond Newton's vastly overrated performance, the Disney version lacks much the tension that was incorporated into the 1934 film. I've already alluded to the weak set up. Let me be a little more specific.
In the Berry-Cooper version, the appearance of Black Dog creates a dark omen, and a threatening Pew establihes an impending danger. The wonderful Lionel Barrymore as Billy Bones ties it all together. When the pirates do finally raid the Admiral Benbow, we are as fearful as Jim and his mother, who are in hiding as these cut throats ransack their inn. The Disney version just doesn't take us there. There are numerous other examples, but for the sake of brevity, I'll compare Jim's encounters with the pirates in both films.
In the 1934 film, Jackie Cooper is menaced and intimidated when in the company of these seadogs. There's even a very subtle suggestion of pederasty. It makes us feel uncomforable. In contrast, when Driscoll is threatened, we are not. The best illustration of the differences between the films in this regard is the way each treats Jim's encounter with Israel Hands. The earlier film builds to a steady crescendo before Jim kills the pirate. The Disney version does not.
To conclude, the Disney film is fine if you are either an adolescent or a Baby Boomer. It provides a quick, capsulized accounting of the tale. If you are looking for a more substantial film presentation of Stevenson's classic, go with the Berry-Cooper version
Description of Treasure Island
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