Leofwine_draca TREASURE ISLAND is a European-made version of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novel mostly watchable thanks to an overbearing performance from Orson Welles as Long John Silver. The main problem isn't his overacting, which is fine, but rather the fact that he's dubbed in some of his scenes, which is a real travesty. The rest is a workable little production that utilises some nicely exotic Spanish locations and a seasoned cast of Euro genre actors including Rik Battaglia, Maria Rohm, Aldo Sambrell, and Paul Muller to make things work. This has a noticeably gloomy tone with some sequences which feel like they've come straight from a horror film, which is little surprise given that Andrea Bianchi (BURIAL GROUND) and Antonio Margheriti (WEB OF THE SPIDER) worked on the direction alongside John Hough, the man behind THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE. It's no classic and can't really be considered the definitive version of the story, but it's worth a look regardless.

zardoz-13 The Internet Movie Database lists three directors for the 1972 version of "Treasure Island: Andrea Bianchi of "Strip Nude for Your Killer," John Hough of "The Watcher in the Woods," and Antonio Margheriti of "Seven Dead in the Cat's Eye." Out of all three, only Margheriti helped to pen the screenplay. I don't think that there is any way to distinguish precisely who did what, but this cinematic adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic adventure novel is extremely faithful to its source material. Orson Well es steps into the role immortalized by Robert Newton, but Welles doesn't chew the scenery with the same gusto as Newton did in the Disney version. Instead, Welles plays Long John Silver as a realistic but cunning dastard. The remainder of the cast doesn't fit their roles like a glove, but Spaghetti western star Rik Battaglia makes a reasonable facsimile of Captain Smollett who has the helm of the ship. Reasonably successful, too, are Lionel Stander as Billy Bones and Walter Slezak as Squire Trelawney. Clearly, several other cast members have been dubbed, and the film was lensed in Carboneras, Almería, Andalucía, Spain as well as Monte Gelato Falls, Treja River, Lazio, Italy. Prolific cinematographer Cecilio Paniagua of "100 Rifles" did a splendid job of photographing this sea-going saga and camera operator Silvano Mancini pulls some fantastic zooms. There are moments of memorable beauty when Paniagua's cinematography is captures a scene whether aboard ship or on land. One of the best things about this version is its apparent realism. Miniatures were eschewed in favor of the genuine article, particularly the ship. Despite its physical authenticity and some good performances, "Treasure Island" follows most of what Stevenson wrote, but the filmmakers have changed a few things. First, after our heroes flee from the ship, Jim Hawkins made his way back aboard the ship and runs it aground. This scene is missing, while some of the secondary villains don't stand out as much as they did in the novel. Second, Captain Smollett doesn't get wounded during the stockade stand-off. Otherwise, on the whole, this rendition of "Treasure Island" is worth watching.

MARIO GAUCI In my childhood, this was a perennial on Italian TV over Christmas - but, somehow, I never got to watch it! It's surely the least of the three most renowned film versions of the R.L. Stevenson classic but, in itself, is decent enough...if still mainly interesting for the contribution (both as actor and writer) of Orson Welles.Welles' presence alone elevates any film he appears in - though he's quite restrained here (certainly in comparison to Robert Newton) and, unwisely, adopts perhaps the silliest accent since THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI (1948)! As for his script - co-written, under the pseudonym O.W. Jeeves, with Wolf Mankowitz - it's reasonably faithful to both the spirit and letter of Stevenson's original. However, the low-budget hurts the overall effort (Welles must have identified with such a predicament, as his own films were too often plagued by compromise!) and the 'modern' score composed by Natale Massara is quite inappropriate.Still, despite a good cast - including Kim Burfield (unexceptional but not bad as Jim Hawkins), Walter Slezak (as Squire Trelawney), Lionel Stander (as Billy Bones), Paul Muller (as Blind Pew) and Maria Rohm (as Mrs. Hawkins) - it's essentially a 'kiddie' film and is, therefore, in sharp contrast with most of producer Harry Alan Towers' output (particularly his collaborations with Jess Franco)!

caesarmoridon I find this to be the definitive version of Treasure Island. I thought that Orson Wells's performance was exactly what it needed to be as a pirate. He was evil, but charming, violent but kind, he was as two sided as a coin. In my mind that is what a pirate is romantically. I saw this film first when I was 10 years old approximately and loved it then. I saw it again in the 1990's and fell in love with it again. With all the bad, weird and annoying versions of this classic novel like treasure planet (lame!) It is nice to have a standard to base them upon in cinematic form. This is it. Not Orson Wells greatest film by far but an enjoyable treat yes!