Powerful

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

A different way of telling a story

Simply put, this may be THE MOST FAITHFUL film adaptation of a novel EVER MADE. My 1991 book ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON: LIFE. LITERATURE AND THE SILVER SCREEN (McFarland) explains it in full, but this film is like it was adapted and directed by Stevenson himself. Charlton Heston IS Long John Silver. Christian Bale IS Jim Hawkins (brilliant at 15 years old). Christopher Lee and the great Oliver Reed, along with every other actor--inspired casting. Paddy Moloney and the Chieftains--beautiful. So tasteful--and made before too much camera movement and rapid-editing became the norm. A wonderful experience that can be seen over and over again, just like the novel which never wears out its magical welcome. Any subsequent attempts at adapting this are foolish and unnecessary.

Fraser Clarke Heston directed his father Charlton Heston, who plays pirate Long John Silver. Christian Bale plays Jim Hawkins, who runs a coastal Inn with his mother, and encounters drunken pirate Billy Bones(played by Oliver Reed) who lets slip that he has a treasure map from Captain Flint's ship. The Inn is attacked by pirate Blind Pew(Christopher Lee, quite menacing) who also wants the map, but is forced back by the authorities, led by Squire Trelawney and Dr. Livesy, who, along with Jim, take to the high seas in pursuit of the treasure, with Long John Silver also aboard, and planning mutiny...Among the best remakes in cinema history, with an outstanding script that brings Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel to vivid life, along with a sterling cast and lush production that is high adventure of the first order.A classic!

About a month ago, Robert Newton was Long John Silver to me. I thought you just can't beat his portrayal, no way, no how. That was until I saw Charlton Heston in the 1990 version. He nailed it. It's one of those performances of a literary character that is so good it's as if the character walked off the page. I'm, talking about Jeremy Brett-Sherlock Holmes, Hugh Laurie-Bertie Wooster, David Suchet-Hercule Poirot perfection here.Christopher Lee was perfect as Blind Pew, and used a surprising voice. I say surprising, because we all know what his voice sounds like. Deep, booming, and sophisticated. Well, as Blind Pew, his voice is high-pitched, and for lack of a better term "wretched-sounding", which for this character, is a good thing.The rest of the actors were all perfect as well, including Christian Bale as Jim Hawkins and Oliver Reed as Billy Bones. But it is Charlton Heston who steals the show. His Long John Silver is gritty and frightening, yet somehow we can't help but feel a little pity for him. Every second he is on screen, you feel like you are watching a real pirate. As much as I like Robert Newton, Jack Sparrow, etc, Heston's Long John Silver is the real deal.The cinematography is excellent. It's colorful, and the exotic locations are captured very well. There's no shaky-cam, no unneeded camera movements, no fancy stuff, just good old-fashioned cinematography.The music is performed by a band known as "The Chieftans". Although it is only a band, not a large orchestra, their Scottish-flavored music fitted the atmosphere well, and occasionally was quite rousing in a swashbuckling sort of way.The plot, atmosphere, and characters are very faithful to the book, the effect could be described as "deja-vu".Overall, this is a movie that doesn't try to be groundbreaking or push limits. It doesn't try to be modern, hip, or cool. It just tells a good story, and tells it well.10/10

This is one of my favorite movies. I was introduced to it by an old family friend who had copied it when it was originally broadcast on cable. My sisters and I ruined the tape with watching. My father has declared this movie his very favorite, and we all have the music from it (yay, Chieftains!). It is an incredible movie, which was my introduction to Christian Bale. I like this one even better than Empire of the Sun. My only gripe is that they have stopped printing this movie, even on VHS. It is a bear to get hold of a copy, let alone a decently-priced one. I hope that someday, a DVD will be made for all of us devoted fans of this brilliant movie.