Review of Treasure Island

This one IS better than the 1934 version. When you watch that one, all the scenes of Wallace Beery squinting rub off on you, but when you watch this one, all the scenes of John Newton saying "Arr", or a variant of, rub off on you. Driscoll is excellent as Jim, but I think he was better in "The Window"(1949). I don't particularly like Newton saying "Arr" all the time, but that's Disney and Long John Silver for you. The reason that this is superior to the 1934 version is because the 1934 version was not very original, and this one takes as many liberties as possible with the story without exactly changing the story too much. Why do the different versions play around with the scene when Israel Hands throws the knife at Jim? In this one the knife gets Jim high in the left shoulder, but in both the 1934 version and the 1972 version he is not hurt. I have seen the version with Christian Bale and Charlton Heston, but that was a long time ago, and I can't exactly remember if Jim gets the knife in his shoulder or not. I like the battle scene at the stockade better in this one than in the 1934 or 1972 versions, but as for the fight between Israel Hands and Jim, the 1934 version was the best in that respect, but in the 1972 version, the fight between Israel Hands and Jim was horribly staged, but in this one, that fight is so-so. Maybe the main reason that I like the battle scene at the stockade better in this one than in any of the other versions is because I like the actual set of the stockade better than the set of the stockade in any of the other versions. The actual set of the stockade in this one is a marvel-to-behold. Anyways, this one DOES take MANY liberties with the story, but alas, only idiots argue about things like that.