Treasure Island Reviews

• Lackluster release of a classic Disney film

  
  By ATJLR5VAS2QE5 on 2003-05-14
  There's no doubt about it-Disney's version of Treasure Island is a classic (particularly the iconic perfomrance of Robert Newton as Long John Silver, a role that people *still* identify as the quintessential pirate), and the restoration of this movie is pretty good, and that's why I've rated this disc 5 stars.

  *But*, the extras stink. Actually, who am I kidding? There are no extras! None, not even a trailer (like the oldest Gold Collection releases even had). There's no mistaking that this disc is meant as a tie-in to Trasure Planet, but you'd think that Disney, which has gotten *a lot* better with its DVD releases in the last 18 months, would put out a disc with at least cursory features (trailers, a classic short, and maybe some vintage intro or something by Walt himself). Apparently, I'm wrong.
  
  

• Interesting and captivating

  
  By A1CDZM5YMB61PD on 2005-10-22
  When Captain Billy Bones (played by Finlay Currie) give young Jim Hawkins (Bobby Driscoll) a pirate's treasure map, he sets him off on the trail of adventure. When Long John Silver (Robert Newton) gets wind of what's going down, he positions himself to be ship's cook, and fills the boat with his pirate friends. Befriending Jim, Silver plots to get the gold for himself. But someone will prove quite capable of foiling Silver's plans - young Jim Himself! [Color, released in 1950, with a running time of 1:36.]
  
  This is a great movie, one that is surprisingly good in spite of its age. Indeed, for me this will always be the very touchstone of Treasure Island movies. Robert Newton does an excellent job of portraying Long John Silver, and to this day, whenever I imagine a pirate talking, I hear his voice and accent. Now, don't take this movie too lightly. Even though it was created by Disney Studios, it has a lot of gunplay, blood, men hit with swords, and just the sort of violence you would associate with pirates.
  
  But, don't get me wrong, this is not a modern blood-and-gore movie; it's an interesting and captivating movie that you will want to watch with your whole family. My family loves this movie just as much as I do, and highly recommends it to your family!
  
  

• A Classic movie treated poorly by Disney!

  
  By A3OVWQ38UBKLLU on 2003-04-25
  One of the best live action movies in Disney history. The dvd does not even have a trailer. Nothing. It is in full screen (which is not a problem as it is its OAR) but let alone no second disc, how about putting something on the one being released? It's a shame Disney is not giving their own movies the respect they gave the Miyazaki trilogy (WOW what a set). All 3 double disc. This is a 5 star movie with a 1 star dvd presentation.
  
  

• classic tale told in classy production

  
  By on 2001-12-18
  (...)Who in the world actually thinks that a movie made from a book should include every line of dialog from the book? The beauty and art of cinema is supposed to be in the many interpretations of the same story/tale. Each director/producer team makes these interpretaions for themselves. Byron Haskin (director) and Perce Pearce (producer) have made a wonderful adaptation of the R.L. Stevenson classic tale.

  This Disney movie can be enjoyed by both children and adults. I personally have seen this movie as a child in the 1960's, as a teenager in the 1970's and yet again as an adult in my thirties in the 1990's and appreciate it now more than ever. Who says that a child can only be entertained by cartoon characters and silly songs? As a child I loved the adventure storyline and friendship between pirate Long John Silver and young boy Jim Hawkins.

  The quality of this film can be traced directly to the production team of Haskin/Pearce and indirectly to Walt Disney himself. All of the Disney films by this production team ( Treasure Island, The Sword and the Rose, Robin Hood and His Merrie Men and, I think, Song of the South) have the same beautiful stage sets with a look not seen elsewhere, rousing and thrilling musical scores by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, lush cinematography shot in the English countryside and excellent casting and acting. If the characters were not perfectly casted then there were certainly none that seemed out of place. Treasure Island has all these good qualities about it.

  And finally, this movie as well as the others listed were released when Walt Disney himself were still alive. After Walt died the quality of Disney fare became... uh.... well, one can see the quality of today's Disney with Eisner in charge. I'll leave it at that. I hope that I am wrong, but I don't think cinema like this will ever show up again. To bad! What a great treasure of a movie! (Pardon the pun)
  
  

• Disney's first live-action feature is one of their best!

  
  By A2UQIIJ2CD8REE on 2002-07-17
  Robert Louis Stevenson's tale of treachery on the high seas comes to life in Disney's first fully live-action feature film, Treasure Island! The always wonderful Bobby Driscoll, Disney's star of Song of the South and So Dear To My Heart, plays young Jim Hawkins, the son of a local tavern keeper woman. The ocean brings all sorts of seamen into the tavern where the small boy lives and works, filling his head with ideas of adventure and excitement on the open sea. But fantasy becomes reality when a pirate treasure map comes into Jim's possession. Suddenly, he and his adult friends, the sensible Dr. Livesey and the pompous and careless Squire Trelawney, are planning there own adventure on the good ship Hispanola, in search of the treasure of the infamous Captain Flint. But before they can sail, they need a crew, and the foolish Squire allows their strange new friend, innkeeper and retired Navy cook Long John Silver, to sign one on for them. Long John quickly befriends Jim Hawkins and immediately gathers a crew, but rather than recruiting former Navy men as promised, Long John Silver hires on his REAL shipmates, PIRATES! Pirates of every shape and size! Soon, the crew of good guys, and bad guys in disguise, heads out to sea in search of Treasure Island. However, by the time they reach the isle, Jim Hawkins has overheard the mutiny Silver and his men are planning. Now it's good guys versus bad pirates in a battle over life, liberty, and untold riches! No one is sure of the outcome, but the real question is, is Long John really Jim's enemy, or his friend?
  No child should go through life without experiencing this Disney classic! Treasure Island is truly one of the best films to come out of Disney's wonderful vault. It's full of fun and adventure, with great characters and settings, a perfect mood, and a superb cast. Robert Newton OWNS the role of Long John Silver! There will never be another loveable villain like him! For more fun with Robert Newton in the role of Long John, search for the 1953 film "Long John Silver Returns To Treasure Island," a sequel made by some other studio in an attempt to cash in on Disney's Masterpiece. Like I said, Robert Newton plays Long John again in that film, so for that reason alone, it's worth checking out. Also, pick up Muppet Treasure Island if you're a fan of Tim Curry and the Muppets! It's great fun!
  
  
• Walt Disney's first completely live-action film.
  By A1O80PSB9GURAC on 2001-06-26
  Like so many adventure stories, there have been numerous film versions of Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island". Walt Disney's 1950 live-action film gets my vote as the best version. Robert Newton, of course, steals the film as Long John Silver, but praise should also go to Bobby Driscoll as Jim Hawkins and the top-notch British supporting cast. This film has almost nothing that is mostly associated with Disney movies, including no songs or funny characters, but that doesn't bother me. I still love it, mainly because of the two main characters, Long John and Jim Hawkins, and the well-developed relationship they have.
  
  
• 5 stars for the film. 1 star for the DVD!
  By A19A6Q12DGQVRO on 2003-04-30
  I have loved this movie since I was but a wee lad (born in 1967). I had the record LP as a child and still have the VHS tape. It remains to this day my favorite live action Disney film and the best pirate movie to date. Sadly,this DVD is a travesty!!! The colors are good but there is still lots of work to be done on it to call it "fully restored". Plenty of grain remains on the print. And what's all this about no special features?!?! No 2nd disc?!?! This film is a milestone in Disney's history! Yet here it is treated as second rate! Nothing more than quick sell DVD to put on the same display self as Treasure Planet when it was being released to DVD. Disney is famous for re-releasing lack luster DVDs at a later date in some sort of special addition form. Well? Get on with it! Give us what we want. No need to wait. I'll buy it right now! Shame on you Disney! What would Walt say?!
  
  
• Thrilling Adventure/One of Disney's Masterpieces
  By A3A03ETOTJRR0T on 2004-10-11
  "Treasure Island" is one of Disney's masterpieces, a superb adaptation of the wonderful Robert Louis Stevenson novel which had one of the most vivid characters in history, Long John Silver, here brought to life in all his colorful glory and brio by Robert Newton. This is a fantastic production from stem to stern. Set in England in 1765, the period captured in beautiful Technicolor detail, it tells the story of young Jim Hawkins (Bobby Driscoll), working at the Admiral Benbow Inn in his mother's absence, who becomes in possession of a treasure map that pits him against pirates on a hunt for buried gold. The story comes alive with a cast of British character actors who are vivid and memorable and larger-than-life enough to appeal to kids and adults alike, ranging from Geoffrey Wilkinson as Ben Gunn (absolutely delightful, reminds me of "Dobie the Elf" from the "Harry Potter" series) to Newton, the definitive Long John Silver. Newton's crusty one-legged pirate with the terrific real parrot on his shoulder, complete pirate regalia, saucy wink and mannerisms (including his "Ahr! Shiver me timbers!") has never been bettered. There is also an interesting mutual respect and relationship that builds between Long John Silver and young Hawkins. I'd put it in a league with Errol Flynn's swashbuckling adventures. It isn't at all marred by the over-sugary element that can give some Disney productions tooth decay; there's actually some surprising, appropriate violence. Talented Bobby Driscoll, a clean-cut and cute Disney kid (and the only one with an American accent in the production), holds his own against this formidable cast to make a very appealing protagonist. On all counts- thrilling adventure for all, matey!
  
  
• Disney Classic Inspired by Stevenson's Great Novel
  By A2AOZQ3WTNVVOK on 2007-05-27
  Disney has always called on classic stories for inspiration. Robert Louis Stevenson's great classic "Treasure Island" provided the inspiration for this Disney adaptation. The adaptation deviates from Stevenson's and becomes a classic separate from Stevenson's.
  
  Young Jim Hawkins (the late Bobby Driscoll, who appeared in "The Fighting Sullivans," "Song of the South," "So Dear to My Heart," and was the voice of Peter Pan in the Disney classic) encounters pirate Captain Billy Bones. Bones is an imposing figure, and yet he is kind to Jim Hawkins. Soon, other, more vicious and threatening, characters appear on the scene, all looking for Billy Bones' treasure map, which is now in the possession of Jim Hawkins. One of those of these characters is Long John Silver (the late Robert Newton, who also played Mr. Fix in the epic 1950's classic "Around the World in 80 Days").
  
  Jim Hawkins is now caught up in a series of events over which he initially has little control. A group of men decide to pursue the treasure shown on the map, and they decide to take Jim Hawkins aboard as a cabin boy. Jim is our observer throughout this tale, and we see many of the events that transpire through his eyes. Thus, we gain knowledge of an impending mutiny and come to realize how vicious the pirates masquerading as crewmembers are.
  
  The excitement and action increase when the pirates mutiny and everyone searches for the treasure. Jim comes into his own as he realizes that he is the one person in a position to make thing happen, if he only dares. Though Disney modified many things from Stevenson's story in this adaptation, Jim Hawkins' coming of age story remains relatively intact. We also learn why Long John Silver is beloved by all who have seen this classic as we see his vicious side and the care and concern he has for Jim Hawkins.
  
  I remember seeing this story decades ago as a young child. The violence in the movie (though there is minimal blood) seemed normal for a pirate movie. I also thought little of the drinking and smoking that occurred throughout the movie. Watching the movie as a parent, I was a little surprised at the violence, drinking and smoking that occur in this movie, but I also realize that I survived seeing all those things and, more importantly, I remember my enjoyment of the movie as a child; i.e., for those of you who think children should be protected from these images, get a life. Pirates drank, were violent and smoked. Disney managed to keep the rough stuff to a level that achieves a PG rating. If you object to drinking, smoking and violence in real life, then use this story to help explain why we do not do those things.
  
  I do consider this movie a family movie, in spite of my comments above. You may wish to wait until the youngest in the family is 7 or 8 years old, just so that you can explain the effects of alcohol and smoking and that life in that era was very different from our life today.
  
  Disney's version of "Treasure Island" is a grand classic. The movie does mute some of Stevenson's morality tale and does remove much of Stevenson's characterizations. These changes were necessary to adapt Stevenson's classic to a 96 minute film. In spite of those changes, "Treasure Island" survives as a marvelous coming-of-age story that is both entertaining and inspirational. My children loved this movie when they were in elementary school and I suspect yours will too.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  
  
  
• THE BEST PORTRAYAL OF SILVER
  By A23WIR1UONF5BI on 2004-11-20
  Let me tell you... When I was 4, I rented this from the video store every day of my life. My dad wound up buying the video off of those guys. It totally rocks. Robert Newton hits the nail on the head. Pieces of eight!
  
  
• How can I be the first reviewer for this?
  By A24F1UX8ZT5IXY on 2000-03-22
  Long John Silver has to be the greatest pirate ever to come across the screen-- this technicolor extravaganza is one of Disney's greatest live-action films and just shows how family entertainment has fallen so low in the last fifty years. Strange though that the film centers around the relationship of a foul-mothed rum drunk dirty swab and and his courting of an impressionable little boy-- oh yeah and there is not a woman to be seen in the entire film- -we hear about Jim Hawkin's mom but never see her! Arrgh shiver me timbers all other pirate films ain't worth a biscuit compared to this here one says me
  
  
• For children only - No!!
  By on 2001-09-27
  Although 30 years of age I still love this. It is a pity that nowadays few people seem to appreciate the charm of this movie. If you ever read the book you'll find Robert Newton is exactly the Long John Silver presented by Stevenson. And not to forget the fine British cast. They make the movie all the more worthwile. There are other, more recent versions but they lack both energy and charme. And in comparison with the book: Sometimes they've even kept the exact words, but also changed part of the story.
  
  
• Robert Newton is the definitive Long John Silver
  By A16QODENBJVUI1 on 2002-10-06
  There have been a vast number of versions of TREASURE ISLAND, and I am sure the future will bring a great many more, but this one remains the one to watch for one and one reason alone: Robert Newton. There have been many, many fine Long John Silver's, from Wallace Beery to Orson Welles to Jack Palance to Charlton Heston, but none of these others got anywhere near to the performance of Robert Newton. One of the great character actors of the forties and fifties, Newton isn't very well known in the United States because he did only limited work in Hollywood (even TREASURE ISLAND was filmed in England, not in the Caribbean or Hollywood). But fans of film will remember him in Sir Carol Reed's great film ODD MAN OUT (he plays an artist who wants to paint the dying visage of James Mason), in Coward and Lean's THIS HAPPY BREED, and an appropriately terrifying Bill Sikes in Lean's OLIVER TWIST. Newton was a glorious ham actor, in the best possible sense, and to watch him chew up scene after scene, always being over-the-top yet taking the part with complete seriousness. He is everything one can possible imagine in Long John Silver.

  To be honest, apart from Newton's utterly dominating performance, there isn't much reason to prefer this version TREASURE ISLAND to any other. Apart from his Long John, the film as a whole is solid if unspectacular. While we have seen perhaps the finest Long John Silver we are ever likely to see in Robert Newton (who was so glorious in the role that Disney did both a sequel film and a television series featuring his Long John), we have yet to see the definitive film version of Stevenson's tale. The book contains darker elements than have ever been brought to screen. The 1934 MGM version (with Wallace Beery as Silver and Jackie Cooper as Jim Hawkins) is highly sanitized family fare, though it is perhaps the version with the best overall cast. It would, however, be nice to see an adult version of the tale, with all the darkness and complexity left intact. But even after that film does appear, this film will be well worth going back to just to relish Robert Newton's incomparable performance.
  
  

• "The Disney Version" is better than the novel.
  By ARFCORBCTKX1J on 2004-05-21
  Don't believe it? Read the book. The reviewer who said "...every screen production I have seen comes across as a cartoon or at best, 'an animated feature'," wasn't paying attention.

  Robert Louis Stevenson's pirate story _is_ a children's fantasy. (Stevenson - whose grandson would later become one of Disney's "house directors" -- says as much in the book's introduction.) The principal characters are well-drawn and believable, but the story is 98% adventure. There is no _dramatic_ thrust to events. And it's told from the view of a 20-year-older Jim Hawkins, which tips off the reader that Jim is never in any real danger.

  The emotional focus of the story is Jim's attraction to / repulsion by Long John Silver. In the novel, the adult Jim briefly acknowledges that he was attracted to Long John Silver as a surrogate for his recently deceased father, but turned away, because Silver is plainly untrustworthy. Stevenson fails to develop the relationship any further.

  Not the screenwriters -- they bring it front and center. The story is now properly focused where it should be -- can Jim _really_ trust Long John Silver?

  Silver is also worried about Jim, who plainly doesn't need "Piracy for Dummies" to recognize Silver is not altogether on the up-and-up. In a scene not in the book, Long John attempts to sweet-talk Jim -- one might even call it a seduction -- ending with the presentation of his parrot as a gift. The effect is subtly erotic -- especially as the gift comes from someone with such an obviously phallic name. (One is tempted to think Stevenson's name choice was deliberate -- he must have known how cabin boys were "mistreated.") And though Silver is married in the novel (to an unseen wife), the movie leaves his marital status unstated.

  Long John Silver is a morally ambiguous character, and the film plays up this ambiguity. Silver alternates between protecting and threatening Jim, and you believe his sincerity in both instances. At the end, Jim is forced into deciding whether he should let Long John escape or be turned over to justice, completing the film with a solid dramatic "bang!" (The novel simply peters out -- Silver is taken captive, later wandering off with some of the loot.)

  Robert Newton's interpretation of Long John Silver has always been controversial. There's no question it's totally "over the top." But that's how we expect pirates to behave, and it's how Stevenson wrote the character. I've seen "Treasure Island" several times -- Newton isn't simply chewing the scenery. His is a conscious interpretation, and he's in full control at all times. It's a great performance.
  
  

• Incomplete, inconsistent and misleading version!
  By A20EEWWSFMZ1PN on 2004-10-03
  One day a mysterious person comes to stay at an inn ran by a boy and his mother. It is obvious that this stranger led a rough sea going life. What was not obvious is that events with his previous associates would eventually lead to adventure and "Treasure Island."
  
  The only thing in this movie that relates to the book or the other movie versions is the Title.
  
  Half of the characters are missing. Much of the dialog is missing. The whole point of the story is missing. It was not necessary for the movie as other movie versions did not do this.
  
  In an attempt to be cutesy Byron Haskin lost the mystery and the morals of Treasure Island. You definitely do not want to spend any money on this version (Bobby Driscoll)
  
  A better choice is Treasure Island (1990) Charlton Heston, Christian Bale.
  For that matter "Muppets Treasure Island" is closer to the book and the singing is better.
  
  
  
• Outstanding movie - where are the extras?
  By A1AJKRJT8VY208 on 2005-12-10
  I loved this terrific adventure movie as a child, and I find that it still holds up quite well after all these years.
  
  This DVD loses one star because although the transfer is very good, it is slightly flawed. And the utter lack of extras for this milestone film in Disney's history (it was the studio's first live action feature) is inexcusable.
  
  
• Not brave enough
  By A2WJSVSBXEYEF on 2006-12-02
  An English Teacher's review. To my fellow educators:
  
  I have just finished spending the better part of an afternoon watching all three film versions of "Treasure Island." I've seen the version with Charlton Heston, the one with Jack Palance and the 1950 Disney version.
  
  It is my unpleasant duty to report that a proper film of "Treasure Island" has apparently not yet been made, as all three were so abysmally bad that I was unable to finish them.
  
  What no director has yet come close to capturing, is the relentless grandeur with which the book itself unfolds, and the simple directness of Stevenson's 19th century morality tale. Without exception, all three of these films seem to flounder in a sea of confusion about what this book should actually be; and none of them seem to have even the tiniest jot of the kind of vision displayed by classic illustrators such as Wythe.
  
  Again and again with each film, someone seems to have made the decision that the story exactly as told by Stevenson apparently wouldn't be interesting enough or exciting enough for the big screen. What I really want to know is if any of these directors actually READ the book, or had a personal relationship with it? I find it hard to believe that they did, since the films all give the impression of slapdash commercialism or outright confusion about what the book actually is.
  
  Jim Hawkins is living quietly with his parents in a seaside inn, when the Captain shows up with his sea chest and a mysterious fear of "a seafaring man with one leg." The Captain should be tall, mysterious, powerful and terrifying. In two of these films, he seems to be played by short wrinkled winos; and in the third by some middle-aged guy who is apparently married to the lighting director's sister. It only gets worse from there.
  
  The tragedy of the Captain is that he is still physically vigorous and imposing at the start of the book - but Stevenson is bringing a doom to him that will shatter even the English oak of his adamant constitution - the combined forces of rum, terror and stroke.
  
  The Captain's fate - to fall dead of a "thundering apoplexy" on the floor of the inn, forshadows the essential purpose of Stevenson's novel - to illustrate that a life of bloodthirsty avarice and short-sighted greed leads only to an ignominious death. In the guise of a boy's adventure story, Stevenson pursues this deeper moral with a terrible purpose and with great dignity and power. His pirate characters are not comic or lighthearted. They are not caricatures. They are not the wax mannequins of a Disney ride; they are real men with fears and desires and second thoughts; even with regrets. They do not dance or traipse merrily through this story - they grimace and battle through it, gritting their teeth against the death, (from violence, sickness, treachery or rum,) that is always staring them in their faces. Jim Hawkins' innocence and youth is the perfect foil for the pirates' hard-bitten cynicism and gold-lust. It is no accident that, despite the courage and resourcefulness of the cabin party, (led by Captain Smollett,) it is still only Jim Hawkins' youthful optimism and curious spirit that ultimately saves them from "death at the hands of the pirates." Stevenson is alluding to the biblical command to "be like the little children in order to be saved."
  
  To tell this story properly, it must be told absolutely straight, and with the same committed earnestness with which Stevenson tells it. None of these films is that brave.
  
  To make a film that is faithful to Stevenson's moral, the director will need more courage and simplicity of purpose than we find in all three of these films combined. Those of us who love and understand the novel for what it is must continue to hope for a film that does it justice.
  
  
  
• Old memories
  By A13TR55M33PLYI on 2004-07-16
  Emotions ran high when I saw this movie again after more than 50 years. It was as exciting now as when I was a young child. Robert Newton's performance is a classic. After half a century, he is still the baddest (best) pirate ever.
  
  
• A Great Disney Film!
  By on 1998-12-30
  Live action Disney at its best takes the classic pirate tale & turns it to pure Disney gold. A treasure of a movie!
  
  
• A THRILLING DISNEY MASTERPIECE
  By A3H9JSM1SUTE4O on 2003-05-27
  Robert Louis Stevenson's timeless tale of buccaneers and buried gold, TREASURE ISLAND was Walt Disney's first live action feature. Shot in England in 1949 with meticulous attention to production design, the film has striking scenes reminiscent of N. C. Wyeth's great illustrations. Wide-eyed, eager, and innocent Bobby Driscoll is a perfect Jim Hawkins and gruff, scary, and charismatic Robert Newton made stub-legged Long John Silver his own for all time. Sadly, there are no extras of any kind on this disc. The film has been restored (a few violent shots were cut in an earlier VHS release) and digitally transferred in its original, full screen, aspect ratio. It looks great.

  It's hard to watch the naturalistic performance of young Driscoll and not be reminded that 20 years later he would be found in a filthy, abandoned tenement, his dead body covered with needle marks. He was 32. He never recovered from the fame heaped upon him at such an early age. Treasure Island is a great film that honors Driscoll's memory and is almost true to the original story by Stevenson (there are some changes in the ending). Recommended.
  
  

• Yo-ho-ho!
  By A8F2AZWB20X1H on 2003-12-26
  Robert Louis Stevenson's classic adventure tale comes magically to life in this excellent production. Robert Newton gives the performance of his life as Long John Silver, the scoundrelly pirate captain who heads up the most likeable group of rascals and rogues that ever belted out a chorus of "Fifteen men on a dead man's chest, yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum." Bobby Driscoll, who tragically never was able to make the jump from child to adult star, is excellent as Jim Hawkins and the supporting cast is very good indeed. But this is Newton's movie. Hamming it up delightfully from one scene to the next, he walks off with the film. The movie strays from the book in a few places, most notably in the end; but when we see Silver sailing off into the sunset, cackling wickedly after appropriating all the loot, we feel somehow that maybe this is how Stevenson should have ended the book. Disney's "Treasure Island" is a treasure in itself.
  
  
• There'll never be another!
  By A2Z28WKY1LHBKY on 2006-08-04
  This is THE immortal pirate story, in its incomparable filmic garb. No-one will ever outdo Newton in his incarnation of Long John; and virtually everything else in Stevenson's tale comes together perfectly. I put this down, first, to the incredible dialogue fashioned by Stevenson. Reading the book, the words he puts into the mouths of his varied characters are so vivid I can actually hear them in my mind's ear. The individual personalities are so strong that they leap from the page. The film does not let him down, even though it may have changed one or two elements in the story. Particularly good are the costumes, and the 18th century atmosphere generated by the settings: inn, seaport, ship and island. I feel sorry for anyone who cannot respond to this delightful creation. Sez I.
  
  
• The best adventure film for a kid ever! And us kids at heart.
  By A3VMANTSNR87EF on 2007-01-19
  Treasure Island has that magical touch to it Walt Disney was famous for. Treasure Island teachers one at a young age not everone is who they seem. Lots of good guys and bad guys and Pirate Treasure leads to a wild ride! This film should be required for all youngsters! There is a special place in my heart for this film. This was Robert Newton's finest hour playing Long John Silver!
  
  
• Great one
  By A1IAZMUYE2ZGKE on 2007-04-03
  I bought this for my son because I wanted him to see the old classics instead of all that Nickeloden crap. It was a good one. We both enjoyed it very much.
  
  
• Treasure Island
  By AS5ZGA35UNFFZ on 2007-09-07
  This summer I read Treasure Island to my six-year old grandson. The Treasure at the end of the book was this movie. This was the first book with no pictures he had ever read (listened). The book and the movie paralell closely. Much of the dialogue was Stevenson's prose from the book. The combination was fun for both young and old.
  
  
• All Aboard With Long John Silver
  By A37B3O457INKEA on 2003-08-29
  Jim Hawkins is a tavern owner's son who acquires a map showing the location of buried treasure. He shows it to an adventurous squire who recognizes its value and outfits the good ship Hispaniola to set off in search of the prize. The squire hires Jim as a cabin boy and persuades his own physician to join the crew as ship's doctor. The gullible squire's first big mistake is to sign up a rascal named Long John Silver as ship's cook. His second mistake is to allow Silver a chance to recruit some of his old shipmates from his pirate days as members of the Hispaniola's crew.

  TREASURE ISLAND is an excellent movie with plenty of realistic action and convincing settings. Robert Newton is brilliant as Long John Silver and Bobby Driscoll shines as young Jim Hawkins. A strong supporting cast includes Basil Sydney, Denis O'Dea, Ralph Truman, Walter Fitzgerald, Finlay Currie and Geoffrey Wilkinson.

  Director Byron Haskins also directed THE WAR OF THE WORLDS.
  
  

• THE Classic Long John Silver Makes It Great
  By A2M33FZFD3LYMH on 2003-09-08
  What can you say about a classic like Disney's Treasure Island. Robert Newton absolutely owns the role of Long John Silver. What a performance! Sure the rest of the cast is so-so, but Newton earns my five stars for them. Tim Curry was excellent in the Muppet version, but I'll still vote Newton the top honors. He just made my skin crawl. And then he's so pitiful. The pirates' pirate.
  
  
• The Quintessential Pirate Movie
  By A292Z24CE2R1DQ on 2006-08-21
  While this is a Disney film, the experience is fast moving and true to the original story. The acting, particularly Robert Newton as "Long John Silver", is a bit over the top, but it just adds to the fun. Robert Newton is the architypal pirate and a great role model for September 19th's Talk Like A Pirate Day!
  
  
• Treasure Island
  By A10ODC971MDHV8 on 2007-06-27
  Byron Haskin's definitive film version of Stevenson's salty tale stands out for Newton's glorious, scenery chewing performance as Long John, the most charming and devious cut-throat sailing the seven seas, and Driscoll also holds his own as Jim. The Disney studio spared no expense in bringing "Treasure" to the screen again (it was previously filmed in 1934), as both production design and color photography are first-rate. To would-be pirates of all ages, all aboard for this flavorful, exciting adventure.
  
  
• Lots of fun
  By AAJDTH9RQKMPX on 2007-07-20
  I saw both this version and the classic Wallace Berry, Jackie Cooper version of Treasure island as a child in the 1950's. I have seen and owned copies of the Berry/Cooper version over the years and had thought that this would probably be a sanitized Disney remake. After hearing several reviewers praise this version, I purchased a copy from Amazon. What a joy. My wife, 22 year old son and his wife sat down with cokes and popcorn and were more pleased than we had any right to be. Wallace Berry is one of my favorite actors from silent and early talkie films and nobody plays Wallace Berry better than Wallace Berry. However, Robert Newton has to be the definitive Long John Silver while Bobby Driscoll makes a terrific Jim Hawkins. The rest of the cast while not as distinguished as in the earlier version were excellent in each of their roles. Wish Disney had not taken the liberty with the ending, but other than that, very true to Stevenson's book. Picture and sound quality were excellent. Highly recommended.
  
  

• Swiss Family Robinson (Vault Disney Collection)
• 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (Special Edition)
• Return to Treasure Island
• Journey to the Center of the Earth
• Davy Crockett -Two Movie Set