With scarcely a Jolly Roger in sight, this three-hour adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic first aired over two nights at New Year.
One of the most frequently dramatised novels of all time, the tale is stuffed with all the favourite piratical tropes such as x marks the spot, a parrot on the shoulder and even the curse of the black spot. This adaptation, however, seeks to take a more gritty and realistic tone.
Assembling an impressive cast of British TV talent, including Philip Glenister, Rupert Penry-Jones, David Harewood and Daniel Mays, the showpiece casting is that of Eddie Izzard as Long John Silver. Bald and tattooed with a broad London accent, this is a far cry from the executive transvestite persona of his stand-up comedy. Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood and a grotesque, scene-stealing cameo from Donald Sutherland as Captain Flint gives the ensemble an international dimension also.
Pre-credits, there are newly created prequel scenes to set the story, showing Flint’s betrayal of his crew and the loss of Silver’s leg. Afterwards, it is on to more familiar ground at the Admiral Benbow Inn, where we meet young Jim Hawkins (Toby Regbo) who resides with his widowed mother and yet yearns for adventure. Their mourning is disrupted by the arrival of the hunted and dangerous Billy Bones.
Soon enough, with the treasure map discovered, dark scenes give way to spectacular shots of the good ship Hispanola in open water. Yet all is not well on board as in both the crew galley and at the Captain’s table, unrest is fermenting. Sliver’s men plot and scheme under their breath, while the weak and greedy Squire Trelawney (Penry-Jones) cuts young Jim and the Doctor (Mays) out of their share of the treasure.
With his distinctive look and energetic performance, it is Izzard who dominates as the scheming and controlling Silver. Taking young Hawkins into his confidence, he worms his way in to the ship’s company and takes over in short order. Regbo for his part makes a likeable Jim Hawkins, believable as the wide-eyed innocent who grows up across the story. Another great turn comes from Shaun Parkes as one of the more troublesome pirates who continually butts against Silver’s authority.
This is classic boy’s own fare and is visually impressive, but some of the pop video style transitions, fish eye lenses and slow-motion sequences tend to distract in what is an essentially period piece. In the director’s favour, there are some clever moments of fantasy too. In short, a great cast makes for enjoyable but not essential viewing and positive proof that Izzard is destined for greater things as an actor.
Extras: A fun and informative commentary from director Steve Barron and the irrepressible Eddie Izzard covers the background story and technical decisions behind the adaptation.
Despite billing itself as The Making of Treasure Island, the five-minute feature contains little more than vox pops from some of the faces involved, mostly recycled from the interviews also present on the disc. It’s sadly lacking any real discussion of the adaptation itself and crucially devoid of any input from the writer.
Short interviews with Izzard, Wood, Regbo, Glenister and Penry-Jones provide some brief thoughts on their characters and the experiences of filming. Additionally, there is Anatomy of a Stunt, a brief discussion of one of the major falls from the ship with the stunt coordinator, and A Tour of the Hispanola, a two-minute discussion of the ship used for filming.
Released on DVD and Blu-ray on Monday 11th June 2012 by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
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