Treasure Island (1990) Review

As with the original novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, so too the best and most accurate telling put to film. A top-rated, top-shelf, all-time favorite since I was a young boy. That’s 30 years and counting. The 1990 “made-for-tv” version of Treasure Island aired on TNT on January 22, 1990. I was six but remember watching as I’ve always loved pirates. I taped it even on a VHS. My mom probably regretted letting me watch this. This isn’t the cartoonish Disney version from 1950 with Robert Newton. This version is straight from the 1990s. Raw, real, rum drinkin’, goddamnin’, murderin’ thieves. Plus, there’s a few stars in the cast. Christ, I love this film.

So much to write. Fraser Clarke Heston (remember that last name) wrote the screenplay adhering closely to Stevenson’s novel. He also directs and produces Treasure Island. Peter Snell serves as executive producer. Turner Pictures, Agamemnon Pictures, and British Lion Film Corporation are the production companies while distribution duties fell to Warner Bros. Television Distribution. Filming was on location in Cornwall, England and Jamaica and at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England. The Hispaniola is actually the Bounty II from the Marlon Brando version of Mutiny on the Bounty.

I can’t write enough about the soundtrack. Just as music added to the Twilight Zone, the film score adds depth to Treasure Island. Composed by Paddy Moloney and performed by his Irish folk group The Chieftains, the scores appear on their 1996 album Film Cuts. Traditional Irish folk music at its best.

Stars? Yes, I remember. Charlton Heston makes a memorable and real Long John Silver. Rough, grizzled, cunning, and charming. Did you see a name in the credits and maybe recognize a face? Yes, that’s a young Christian Bale in one of if not his first major starring role. Oliver Reed is Billy Bones. Christopher Lee, the horror legend himself, and I still can’t believe it as he’s unrecognizable as Blind Pew. Julian Glover is Dr. Livesey. When I read the novel, I see the faces and places from this film version.

I hate when the film differs from the original written work by “a long sea mile.” If you like to read, then watch, this proves to be the lone Treasure Island version worth its weight in gold. All 700,000 pounds of Flint’s blood money. At 132 minutes, it doesn’t feel long either and well worth the time to watch.