Treasure Island (1995 film)
| Company type | Television film |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film, Television |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Founder | Ken Russell |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
| Products | Musical film |
Treasure Island is a 1995 British made-for-television musical film, both written and directed by Ken Russell. It draws its inspiration from Robert Louis Stevenson's 1883 novel Treasure Island. Notably, the film features Russell's then-wife, Hetty Baynes, in the role of a gender-reversed Long John Silver.
Cast
- Hetty Baynes portraying Long Jane Silver
- Gregory Hall as Jim Hawkins
- Michael Elphick in the role of Billy Bones
- Charles Augins as Blind Pew
- Osmund Bullock playing Captain Smollett
- Martin Burns as Itchy
- Jeanette Driver in the role of Lani
- Bob Goody as Dr. Livesey
- Georgina Hale portraying Mum
- John Halstead
- Royce Mills
- Joe Bradley
- Michael Chmielewski
- Martin Francis
- Barry Lowe
- Erick Rainey
- Stephen Tiller
- Scott Woods
Production
Ken Russell developed this film with the intention to "make a point and have fun," expressing dissatisfaction with conventional television adaptations of literary works, which he deemed excessively lengthy, slow-paced, repetitive, expensive, and overly sentimental.
He pursued a minimalist budget and crew approach, proposing twelve projects to Channel 4, who selected Treasure Island for its appropriateness as a holiday broadcast.
Having cherished the novel since childhood and having previously produced it at age eight, Russell chose to narrate the story exclusively through Jim's viewpoint, departing from the book’s dual perspective shared between Jim and Dr. Livesey. He regarded this shift as correcting a fundamental issue in the original narrative.
Other notable modifications included reimagining Long John Silver as a female character and presenting Jim Hawkins with a more mischievous personality.
Songs
- "The Scrubbing Song" by Larrington Walker
- "Sexy" composed by Adrian Sutton, Barry Kirsch, and Gary Shail, with lyrics by Ellie Bird
- "More Than Just a Friend," music by Jonathan Parry-Price, lyrics by Rufus Stone
- "The Pirates' Song" composed by Adrian Sutton, Barry Kirsch, and Gary Shail, lyrics by Ellie Bird
- Reprise of "Sexy"
- "Finale"
External links
- Treasure Island on Letterboxd
- Treasure Island at BFI