Die Schatzinsel (1972)

Die Schatzinsel: Directed by John Hough, Andrea Bianchi, Antonio Margheriti. With Orson Welles, Kim Burfield, Lionel Stander, Walter Slezak. Young Jim Hawkins has an unforgettable encounter with pirate Captain Long John Silver and his murderous mates.

“At first glance, Orson Welles did indeed seem to be woefully mis-cast in this bastardized [French, Italian, Spanish, British, West German and who knows what else] version of the Stevenson classic. Fortunately, by the second or third viewing you start to focus less on Welles articulation and more on the film itself. It is a menacing version. From the moment shipsu0026#39; cook Silver opens the galley window with his crutch and demands u0026#39;Three cheers for Capu0026#39;n Smollett!u0026#39; this version is dripping with evil. And Welles is just the actor [and his mumbling delivery is deliberately utilized] to bring that evil into sharp focus. Kim Burfield is superb as Jim Hawkins [a kid alternately scared-to-death and naively cocky] , and even when Silver asserts that u0026#39;I thinks gold-dust of this here boy!u0026#39; you know the kidu0026#39;s in trouble. That international crew of pirates brings an air of realism to the production [even if their lips arenu0026#39;t always moving in synchronization with the spoken dialogue] which an all-English crew wouldnu0026#39;t have imparted, and Jean Lefebvreu0026#39;s somewhat dazed Ben Gunn is in fine contrast to Geoffrey Wilkinsonu0026#39;s loopy Disney version. Natale Massarau0026#39;s score is wonderful, though apparently there never was a soundtrack [u0026#39;and moreu0026#39;s the pityu0026#39;], and the cinematography is magnificent. My only two criticisms are that Lionel Stander is badly mis-cast as Billy Bones [the guy still sounded like exactly what he was: a tough-guy from the Bronx], and the piratesu0026#39; treasure-hunting seems much-too-much like theyu0026#39;re out for a leisurely Sunday after-dinner stroll. It definitely lacks urgency. This said, I would rank this version almost on a par with the Disney/Newton version, and well worth owning and watching again and again.”