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Treasure Island (DVD)

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German director Hansjorg Thurn gives a cruel twist to the well-known story of Treasure Island, exposing the worst aspects of human nature.

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The movie begins, like Robert Louis Stevenson's novel, with 17-year-old Jim Hawkins (played by Francois Goske) and his mother in dire straits after his father dies. Jim finds a map belonging to legendary pirate Captain Flint, revealing the location of buried treasure. He embarks on a dangerous voyage, meeting the one-legged Long John Silver (Tobias Moretti) and other cruel pirates who had worked with Captain Flint and now want his treasure.

Another of the ship's crew is Sheila (Diane Siemons-Willems), a new character. She is Captain Flint's daughter and believes the treasure is her inheritance. The movie steers further from the book as it goes along. Jim falls in love with Sheila; the pirates fight among themselves; and Benn Gunn (Andre Hennicke), who was left on the island years ago, takes gruesome revenge on the intruders. Dr Livesey, a gentle, trustworthy character in the book, becomes a sly, grasping man who meets a messy end when he tries to retrieve the treasure from a swamp. This violent movie with endless bloody fighting scenes is boring. Don't waste your time - it's awful.

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