Pirate Island

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Movie
German title Pirate Island
Original title Nate and Hayes
Country of production United States ,
New Zealand
original language English
Publishing year 1983
length 99 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Ferdinand Fairfax
script John Hughes ,
David Odell
production Lloyd Phillips ,
Robert Whitehouse
music Trevor Jones
camera Tony Imi
cut John Shirley
occupation

Island of the Pirates (Original Title: Nate and Hayes ) is an American - New Zealand adventure film from 1983 with Tommy Lee Jones .

action

The South Pacific , mid- 19th century : the daring ship captain and privateer William Hayes, known as "Bully", makes a living by trading arms with the indigenous tribes of various islands. When he got into a dicey situation, he was able to break free, but was subsequently taken prisoner by the responsible authorities. Sentenced to death, he reports in the form of a flashback of the act that took place:

Following his job, officially declared as a “trading company”, he was commissioned to bring the young couple Nathanial (“Nate”) and Sophie to an island. They are the children of two missionary families there and want to return home for their wedding. As the film progresses, a love triangle develops that lasts throughout the film - because Hayes also takes a liking to Sophie, who for her part cannot decide between the two men.

After Hayes has cast off again and the couple begins the wedding, the ceremony is suddenly disrupted by the slave trader Pease and his henchmen. They kill most of the residents, kidnap a number of indigenous people (and ultimately Sophie) and set fire to large parts of the island.

Nate is wounded but survived. Due to a misunderstanding, he believes that Hayes was responsible for the attack, which increases his hatred by the jealousy regarding Sophie's advances to Bully. He pursues him, but has to let him help him after he is stranded on a sandbar . Hayes finally succeeds in convincing Nate that Pease and not he is responsible. Both men therefore pull themselves together and set about saving Sophie.

Both of them first find Pease on another island, where he wants to sell the captured natives as slaves to the German diplomat Count von Rittenberg. Nate and Hayes can ultimately eliminate Pease people, but Pease and Sophie manage to escape on board the German's steam-powered armored cannon boat .

In the face of a message that Sophie left behind (she assumes, without Nate's knowledge, that Nate was killed on her home island), Nate's old jealousy flares up again. While he resumes the chase with Hayes, they both agree that Sophie should ultimately decide who to take as her husband.

When Pease sells Sophie to the local chief on another island, the latter wants to have her sacrificed immediately. Nate and Hayes can prevent this at the last moment and free Sophie. However, they are now pursued by Pease, the Count and his superior gunboat. Using a trick, however, they manage to board the ship, overwhelm the crew and hunt down from Rittenberg after a fencing duel with Hayes. Finally, the gunboat is sabotaged and detonated, which also kills Pease.

Sophie finally decides on Nate - and together (the plot now jumps back to the death sentence from the beginning) they manage to save Hayes from execution and save.

background

  • The film was released for theatrical release in the USA under the alternative title " Savage Islands ".
  • The character of "Bully" Hayes is not made up. It goes back to the real person William Hayes , a ship captain who was active in the South Seas at the end of the 19th century . For the film, the character was then made even more rough so that it comes closer to the definition of a pirate. The real "Bully" Hayes was also murdered in 1877.
  • The film was not a great success: co-created in the wake of the blockbuster " Raiders of the Lost Ark ", Steven Spielberg was already in the production phase of the follow-up " Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom " at the time of shooting . In order not to start at the same time as this one, “Insel der Piraten” was released earlier - with moderate success. Curiously, there is a fight scene on a suspension bridge at the beginning of the film - a scene similar to the one in the finale of "... Temple of Doom". So the co-production was actually “faster” with this idea.
  • The figure of the German Count von Rittenberg, his crew and his gunboat is a mixture of partial anachronism:
    • At the time of the film's story (mid-19th century), the German Empire , which was only founded in 1871, did not yet exist. Thus, the imperial war flag that can be seen in the film should not have existed on the ship.
    • German colonialism was already taking place at the time of the film, but only in the form of the German Confederation and with a focus on trade. A more military colonial policy like the one shown in the film would therefore more likely fall into the late 19th century.
    • There were also German gunboats at the time of the action - however, these were optically more similar to sailing ships (compare the Von der Tann ) and at that time did not yet operate in these parts of the world.

reception

  • The intention of the makers was probably: "Indiana Jones" meets "Treasure Island". The result is rather "confused meets inconsequential." ( TV feature film )

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