Very Cool!!!

Strong and Moving!

Absolutely the worst movie.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

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.

Don't watch this version if you loved the classic. Has virtually nothing to do with the original story. The heroes are turned into villains and killed off, along with most if not all of the original dialog. If only they had done this same with this film in pre-production. Having read the book recently, I've gone back and watched the original film and the Disney remake. I thought this might be fun for comparison. Fun is not quite the word. Jack Palance is about as good a substitute for Long John Silver as the Isle Of Mann is for a tropical island with a few hot house plants stuck in the background. What is going on in Canada? I'd say there were some strange films coming from there lately, but this is ten years old and strange doesn't begin to describe it. More like bizarre! And here is the Spoiler of Spoilers in a pre-spoiled mess. Instead of Jim Hawkins sailing back to England with the good guys and the treasure, they kill the bad guys and good guys, and he runs off to Panama with it with Long John and Ben Gunn. Wait? What? That's right. And Long John doesn't even know the names of the sails even though he's supposed to be a sailor. Huh? What? The bad guys are bad. The good guys are bad. Everyone dies. And the last two members of Flint's crew don't know anything about sailing.

I've read the book a few times, I saw the movie from 1934, 1950 and 1972, and all of them were at least close to the book. This movie is really a big disappointment, the actors are bad, really bad. It starts with Jack Palance as Long John Silver, there is no charismatic and intelligent pirate leader. Captain Smollet, Officer of the English Empire bargains with Trelawney for a part of the treasure. The story details have totally changed - they really let the key characters, Trelawney, Smollet and the doctor die and Long John Silver, Ben Gunn (his enemy) and Hawkins get the treasure and sail the ship home. I really wondered that there were no alien-Nazis in the end.Time for a mutiny!

*** SPOILERS ***(I'm not sure if SPOILERS really applies to a story that's about 150 years old, but I don't want to overstep the guidelines. If you don't know how "Treasure Island" ends, and you want to find out when you see the film, then skip the rest of this message.)*** SPOILERS FOLLOW ***What can you say about a version of "Treasure Island" where Captain Smollett blackmails the Squire and Doctor into giving Jim's share of the treasure to him? And where Jim really does end up joining the pirates in earnest, because he overhears their conversation? And where ALL the "good" guys -- the Captain, the Squire, the Doctor, and all the rest of them -- get killed in the last five minutes, and Jim, Long John Silver, and Ben Gunn go off by themselves with the treasure in tow?Not to mention where Long John has a wooden leg and an occasional crutch instead of NO leg and a truly can't-move-without-it crutch?The Captain comes to a particularly painful end, with a broadsword (thrown through the air like a spear) through the guts. Another good guy gets a jarringly nasty wound in the face, basically blasting his left eye away -- something you get to see for a brief moment before he falls.This is without question one of the WORST literary adaptations ever filmed. I don't mind filmmakers making changes to a story to make it flow better on screen, or even just to be more engaging or interesting, but the changes made here are simply bizarre.It's a shame, because Jack Palance could have made a great Long John Silver. And the locations (I think on the Isle of Man) are wonderful. But save yourself the trouble and give this one a pass. The only reason to watch a film of "Treasure Island" is for the story, and this one will give you heartburn.