Treasure Island (1966)

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Movie
German title Treasure Island
Original title Treasure Island /
L'île au trésor
Treasure Island 1966 Logo 001.svg
Country of production Germany , France
original language German , French
Publishing year 1966
length 340 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Wolfgang Liebeneiner
script Walter Ulbrich
production DEROPA Film- und Fernseh GmbH ( Walter Ulbrich ),
Franco London Film ( Henri Deutschmeister )
Robert Paillardon
music Jan Hanuš
Luboš Sluka
camera Roger Fellous
Guy Suzuki
cut Viktor Lamy
Ferdinand Sartin
occupation

The Treasure Island is an adventure four-part series that was produced in 1966 by the director Wolfgang Liebeneiner for the German television station ZDF in co-production with the French broadcaster ORTF . The four-part series is based on the novel of the same name by the Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894). In France and the GDR, the series was broadcast in 13 parts. It has become a television classic through repeated broadcasts.

action

The old privateer

In England in 1758 a curious old fur seal named Bill Bones takes up quarters in the lonely inn Zum Admiral Benbow on the coast not far from Bristol . Jim Hawkins , the innkeeper's son, soon discovers that the unusual guest is a former pirate who went to sea under the infamous pirate Captain Flint . The drunkard Bones chose this remote hostel because he is on the run. He feels persecuted by former members of the crew of the Walrus , Flint's sailing ship. They would have after his heavy, iron- shod sea chest , which Bones kept in his room. In particular, Bones fears the impending arrival of a "one-legged" man, and he regularly gives Jim a four-penny piece so that he can keep his eyes open and let him know if he sees a one-legged man. Eventually, a member of Flint's pirate ship actually appears. It is the "black dog", but after a short fight Bones can put it to flight. However, Bones is now tracked down. A little later the "blind Pew" appears and pushes a piece of paper with a black mark into Bones' hand, the sign that his death is sealed. Excited by this, he suffers a stroke and dies in the middle of the dining room. Since Bones has owed the bill for months, Jim and his mother search his belongings. In his seaman's chest you will find u. a. a bag with gold coins, but have to hide because of the arrival of the pirate gang. In the hiding place Jim hears that the pirates are only after a treasure map, which is tied in a package at the bottom of the chest. Even before the pirates, Jim manages to get the treasure map into his possession. Doctor Livesey , the level-headed doctor of the region, and Squire Trelawney , the adventurous magistrate of the region, are finally initiated into Jim's discovery, the treasure map. Trelawney immediately decides to go on a treasure hunt, to charter a sailing ship in Bristol and to hire a crew. Jim is to accompany her as a cabin boy on the adventurous journey.

The ship's cook

As Dr. Livesey already suspected that Trelawney's loquacity had made the whole of Bristol wind that it was going on a treasure hunt. Jim, who never got out of his fishing village, is impressed by the hustle and bustle in the big city of Bristol. In the harbor he discovered the Hispaniola , the magnificent sailing ship that Trelawney chartered. The recruitment of the crew was slow at first until Trelawney met the owner of the local tavern "Zum Fernrohr", the one-legged John Silver , who also offered himself as a ship's cook. With Silver's help, a team could be hired within a short time. Jim briefly suspects that Silver might be the "one-legged man" Bones had always warned him about. This worry evaporates when he gets to know Silver better on a harbor tour. Silver is an extremely charming person and a valued member of Bristol society. The hired captain, on the other hand, Alexander Smollett, looks grumpy and unsympathetic. He is dissatisfied with the selection of the crew and also complains to Livesey and Trelawney that the crew apparently knows more about the purpose of the trip, the treasure hunt, than he does. His advice to store weapons and ammunition in the captain's cabin for safety, however, is finally followed. With the loudly sung, distinctive shanty : "Fifteen men on the dead man's chest", the Hispaniola set sail. Jim, for whom it is too stuffy below deck, lies down to sleep in a dinghy on the deck of the ship. There he secretly becomes an ear-witness of a conversation Silver has with other team members. He becomes aware that almost the entire crew of the Hispaniola consists of former pirates from Flint's crew, Silver was the helmsman there. As soon as the treasure is found, he plans to start a mutiny . Jim can barely avoid discovery by throwing mussels that were still from Bone's sea chest onto the deck of the ship, thereby distracting the pirates from his lair. Jim tells Trelawney, Livesey, and Smollet what he heard that night. Trelawney realizes his misjudgment. Together they realize that there are only seven loyal people on the ship, while 19 crew members are former Flint pirates. The Treasure Island is reached, the call "Land in sight" sounds.

The log house

After reaching Treasure Island, the Hispaniola anchors in Skeleton Bay. Captain Smollet allows the crew to go ashore. Most of the pirates, including John Silver, row ashore in two dinghies. Jim Hawkins, too, since he can no longer stand it after months at sea on the ship, has joined the landing party and explores the tropical island alone. He happened to be an eyewitness to how John Silver struck down a shipmate with his crutch after a dispute and then stabbed an emotionally cold man. Israel Hands is instructed by Silver to grab Jim, Jim then flees aimlessly into the interior of the island. He meets a neglected and confused guy, Ben Gunn, who also once was one of Flint's pirates, but alone on this deserted island years ago exposed was. Jim tells Ben Gunn the whole story of the treasure hunt, Ben Gun hopes for a return to civilization. He always fantasizes about cheese, which he has missed for years. He also claims that he has grits on his head, which Jim doubts. There is a change of perspective , Dr. Livesey now reports on what happened while Jim was away. Dr. Liveseys rows ashore and explores an old fortified log cabin that Flint once had built. The log house is surrounded by a high palisade-like wooden fence, which, because there is no gate, has to be climbed. The Livesey-loyal part of the team decides to leave the Hispaniola and hide in the blockhouse. In the rowboat on the way to the island they are shot at by pirates who remained on the ship with a cannon and lose most of their weapons when they capsize. Jim escapes renewed persecution by Israel Hands and can take refuge in the log cabin. Silver, meanwhile elected captain by the mutineers , appears with a white parliamentary flag at the log cabin. He wants to negotiate about the handover of the treasure map, Smollet does not even think about accepting Silver's suggestions and expels him from the blockhouse area. In a subsequent attack by the pirates on the log cabin, some of them are killed, but the ship's command also has losses. Unexpectedly, Dr. Livesey over the log house fence and goes on an excursion alone. Jim follows him, but in a short time he got lost on the island. He discovers a small boat (a coracle ) built and carefully hidden by Ben Gunn and takes it to the estuary, the anchorage of the Hispaniola.

The decision

Arrived at the Hispaniola, Jim can cut the anchor rope unnoticed. However, he is not alone on board. Israel Hands stayed behind as one of the ship's guards, but is apparently seriously injured on deck after a fight. He asks the boy to help him. However, Jim notices that Hands has a knife. He is on guard when he brings him something to drink. At the moment when Hands tries to attack Hawkins, the drifting Hispaniola jerks aground. Hawkins is the first to get up and escape into the rigging . He can kick his pursuer Hands into the sea with one kick. Happy to have escaped this danger, Jim makes his way back to the log cabin camp, where he is shocked to find that it has been taken by the pirates. The ship's command has disappeared.

Jim is overpowered and captured by the pirates. Silver prevents Jim from being killed immediately and declares him a hostage. Nevertheless, the remaining pirates decide to remove Silver from his captaincy and give him the black mark. Pushed into a corner, Silver draws his last trump card and presents - also to Hawkins' immeasurable astonishment - the original treasure map with the drawn treasure, which he negotiated in a comparison with Livesey, Trewleny and Smollet. The pirates are thrilled and celebrate Silver; there is no longer any question of his removal. Everyone including the captured hostage Jim set out to find the hiding place. They are surprised by an eerie song that echoes through the mountain gorges. The ghost of Flint seems to pound the shanty over the fifteen men on the dead man's chest. Silver suspects that the enigmatic vocals could possibly come from Ben Gunn. When they arrive at their supposed destination, the pirates will be disappointed. There is only one piece of two guineas to be found, nothing else. When they angrily want to take revenge on Silver and Hawkins, shots are fired: The ship's command has been ambushed with Ben Gunn. Some of the pirates can flee, only Silver stays behind with Jim.

It turns out that Ben Gunn has already found the treasure over the years on the island and brought much of it to safety. So it was safe for the doctor to give Silver the map. The expedition members load the treasure onto the Hispaniola and set off on their journey home with Ben Gunn and Silver as prisoners. On the way back, after a stopover, Silver managed to escape from the ship with part of the treasure. Ben Gunn observed this but did not reveal anything for fear of Silver. The rest of the treasure will be shared among the loyal sailors. Gunn consumes his share relatively quickly in taverns. Some of the treasure is said to still be on the island - but Jim vows never to return there.

music

The remarkable film music is a defining feature of the film adaptation. After mediation by the composer Robert Mellin (who had written the music for the adventure four-part Don Quixote von der Mancha in 1965), the Czech composer Jan Hanuš was hired, who asked his colleague Luboš Sluka for help . The music was played by the Prague Film Orchestra (FISYO) with around 45 people with the participation of a mixed choir by Pavel Kühn . However, the singers did not speak the German language and had to learn the extensive text of the pirate song Fifteen Men on the Dead Man's Box phonetically. So they had big problems with pronunciation and it sounds unclear. So at the beginning it sounds more like Seventeen Men instead of Fifteen Men . The lyrics are Stevenson's own poetry for his novel. It alludes to the small, treeless rock island of Dead Chest Island , southeast of the Caribbean island of Tortola . The legendary pirate Blackbeard is said to have abandoned some buddies there with nothing more than a cutlass and a bottle of rum.

Production manager Walter Ulbrich thought the music was very successful, and although Robert Mellin was of the opinion that it was unique and should no longer be used, he used it in excerpts both for the follow-up productions " Tom Sawyers and Huckleberry Finns Adventure " (1968) as well in “ Die Lederstrumpferzählungen ” (1969).

synchronization

The information on the German voice actors comes from synchrondatenbank.de

role actor Voice actor
Jim Hawkins Michael Ande Michael Ande
John Silver Ivor Dean Alf Marholm
Captain Alexander Smollet Jacques Monod Erik Jelde
Dr. David Livesey Georges Riquier Alois Maria Giani
Squire John Trelawney Jacques Dacqmine Niels Clausnitzer
Bill Bones Dante Maggio Ernst Constantine
Israel Hands Jacques Godin Klaus Höhne
Ben Gunn Jean Saudray Anton Reimer
The blind pew Jean Mauvais Erich Ebert
The black dog Sylvain Lévignac Klaus Kindler
Tom Morgan Roger Lumont Kurt E. Ludwig
Abraham Gray Leroy Haynes Wolfgang Hess
Dirk Taylor Michel Charrel Herbert Weicker
James Brandon Jean Mauvais Eberhard Mondry
Redruth Lucien Hubert Wolf Rahtjen
Tom Richardson Maurice Gautier Norbert Gastell

Others

  • The four-part series was shot in color on 35mm film. However, the first broadcast was still in black and white, since color television was only introduced in the Federal Republic of Germany on August 25, 1967.
  • Hannes Messemer or Horst Tappert were originally intended for the role of John Silver .
  • The shooting took place in Brittany , Corsica and Lake Garda . In Corsica, the coast and the interior were partly decorated as a “tropical island”, with agaves that grow directly on the shore (and by the log cabin), with exotic flowers and with a few palm trees, two of which are on a ridge (near the graves, the Ben Gunn had created). In the scene in which Jim Hawkins explores Treasure Island for the first time, one sees Strelitzia flowers stuck in the sand and steppe candles hanging upside down from a deciduous tree .
  • An exact copy of the treasure map drawn by Stevenson was made for the film.
  • During the chase on the ship, Jim Hawkins actor Michael Ande fell so unhappy in his knife that his life could only be saved by emergency surgery. The accident was not cut out because Ande, in shock, continued playing the scene until the end. Ande was doubled to complete the final scenes of this chase with Israel Hands . Clearly recognizable in the scene in the ship rigging in the fight with Israel Hands.
  • There are several inconsistencies: During the trip to the island it is mentioned that Dr. Livesey always reads through the book The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire and then immediately starts over. However, the first volume of Gibbon's work did not appear until 1776, while the action takes place in 1758. John Silver speaks of the Admiral Hawke, under whom he (allegedly) served and lost his leg, as a dead person (on the way there he wishes Hawkins that God may save Admiral Hawke). But Admiral Hawke, born in 1705, was still alive in 1758 and still had his greatest weapon success (the "storm battle" in the Bay of Quiberon in 1759) ahead of him. Captain Smollet's double-barreled pistol has a percussion lock, but this was not developed until 1807. Mr. Trelawney's rifle, with which he shoots gunner Tom Morgan, is also a percussion weapon that did not exist in 1758.
  • Since Ande has grown quite tall compared to the boy in the book, the scene with the apple barrel in which Jim Hawkins overhears the pirates could not be implemented true to the book. She was moved to a Hispaniola dinghy.
  • Since the Hispaniola was not suitable as a prop for the open sea and threatened to tip over in weak winds, there is no scene with wind-filled sails in the film. In some scenes the ship was pulled backwards to suggest full sails. These scenes were then played backwards on the editing table to create the effect of a moving ship.
  • The Hispaniola was almost completely destroyed by a storm after all ship scenes were over. The damaged ship was filmed and subsequently incorporated into the plot. John Silver introduces her to young Jim Hawkins in Bristol as Southern Cross , who got into severe storms.
  • Actor Jean Mauvais played a double role: after he died in the first part as the blind Pew , he reappeared in the second part as the pirate Brandon .
  • The actor in Long John Silver , Ivor Dean (German voice: Alf Marholm ), had the idea of ​​making a sequel after the success of the four-part series and developed a script draft with the English director Robert S. Baker . Due to his death in 1974, however, the project was put aside for the time being. It was not until 1986 under the title The Return to Treasure Island ( Return to Treasure Iceland ) the draft of the script disinterred and ten part series with Brian Blessed as Long John Silver and Christopher Guard filmed as adult Jim Hawkins.
  • In 1970 the film was shown in cinemas in the USA. However, the 360-minute film was shortened to 84 minutes for the theatrical version, which meant that large parts of the plot fell victim to the scissors. In addition, the film music was replaced by a rock. Despite its failure in the US, the theatrical version made it to video in the 1980s.

Awards

  • 1967 - Perla television award for film music at the film and television fair in Milan.

literature

DVD

  • Treasure Island (2 DVDs), Concorde Home Entertainment 2006 (No. 2289)

Music CD

  • Adventure classic - original music from the legendary TV four-part series , 2 CDs, BSC Music / Cine Soundz Prudence 398.6619.2 (Germany 2001)
  • Die Schatzinsel - Original soundtrack for the legendary four-part TV series , 1 CD, BSC Music Prudence 398.6629.2 (Germany 2002)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Synchrondatenbank.de accessed on May 22, 2012