Search - Treasure Island on DVD

A Little Disappointing

S. Stevenson | 01/09/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"After mistakenly getting this 1998 version of TREASURE ISLAND instead of the classic Disney one, I decided I would at least give this film starring Kevin Zegers (Air Bud) and Jack Palance a chance. But... maybe I shouldn't have taken that chance at all.

The film opens out with a scene involving the pirates on Treasure Island, where Flint is having the treasure buried. We are shown how Pew and Long John Silver come to be blind and peg-legged. Billy Bones (Patrick Bergin) then arrives at the Admiral Benbow Inn where a long-haired Kevin Zegers greets him with a dash of rum. Billy Bones felt rightly cast, but Pew was not at the least bit as frightening as Stevenson describes, and Black Dog could have been a bit better as well.

Some of the shots are amazing - on the island and on board the Hispaniola - and Kevin does an okay job as Jim Hawkins, though swinging between sounding like a little girl and a thirteen-year old whose voice just won't stop cracking.

Problems arise in this version due to changes from the original story that just don't quite work that well. We never really SEE Long John Silver and Jim interacting on the boat that much, so we can't possibly understand why the old pirate has taken a liking to the boy. The ending shoot-out was mildly disappointing. However, I did feel that Ben Gunn was cast very well, and it was most humorous to watch him.

All in all, this is mild at best, with a few great cinematic shots, but not enough meat to carry things along."

A miserable affair

SeeBodyOoks | 08/01/2003

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I love Treasure Island, but I hated this movie. This uninspired version plods along until the end, and then it becomes wretched. Jim teams up with the pirates to kill the Doctor, Squire, and Captain. This movie was so bad I felt sick after watching it. Jack Palance would have made a fine Long John in a better directed version. On the plus side, the camera work is decent and the Hispaniola is beautiful.Go for the Disney or Charlton Heston version instead."

Total perversion of a wonderful story

Michael S. Meadows | Ohio, United States | 02/25/2003

(1 out of 5 stars)

"We rented this out of our love for the Treasure Island story as well as our respect for Jack Palance's acting skills. While Mr. Palance performed well, the story itself was totally twisted. The "good guys" became the "bad guys" and the "bad guys" turned out to be actually the "good guys". Par for our modern PC culture which fortunately R. L. Stevenson knew nothing about (and yes, I have read the original story). SPOILER: the story ends by the "hero" Long John Silver sailing to Jamaica with Jim Hawkins and Ben Gunn (the "good guys" of the show were killed during a fight at the treasure -- but the story was so twisted that you were actually glad they received their "just reward" in death!). The only reason I rated this a "1-star" was because there was not a "zero-star" rating."

Did the film makers read the book?

J. M. Connors | Sparks, Nevada USA | 03/11/2003

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Anyone who has actually read the book will be disappointed with this version of the film. Despite pretty good casting, the film is ruined by an unforgivable altering of the story. Peter Rowe owes an apology to all fans of R. L. Stevenson."