In celebration of talk like a pirate day (Arrrr) I'll be sharing with you my four favorite incarnations of the legendary pirate Long John Silver. Of course as many of you know Silver is from the classic adventure book by Robert Louis Stevenson, and the book has been adapted many times to the silver screen, and so considering what today is I thought I'd pay respect to my favorite versions. I'm listing these in chronological order.
1. Robert Newton from the Walt Disney production of Treasure Island (1950, dir. Byron Haskin)
This is the man who arguably set the standard for talk like a pirate day. This is definitely one of the earliest instances of a pirate talking like, "Y'arrr matey! Shiver me timbers! Arrrr!" Otherwise known as a West Country Accent. It's a shame Newton hasn't gotten the praise and attention he deserves. He would play Long John two more times, the first being the Australia produced sequel Long John Silver (1954, dir. Byron Haskin) and in the television show The Adventures of Long John Silver which only lasted 26 episodes. For other great Newton performances check out Henry V (1944, dir. Laurence Olivier) and Around the World in 80 Days (1956, dir. Michael Anderson). The latter of which was his last film.
2. Charlton Heston in Treasure Island (1990, dir. Fraser Clarke Heston)
In this made for tv film we see a rather unlikely candidate for the role, Charlton Heston. While he is an Academy Award winning actor I don't think people have given him credit as an actor for the most part. With this performance and his performance as Sherlock Holmes in The Crucifer of Blood (1991, dir. Fraser Clarke Heston) he was an actor who could do more than just play tough guys, though he was good at that as well. In this film he does manage to portray the welcoming and almost surrogate father figure side of Silver but can easily turn into the cut throat swashbuckler. In this clip we see him deliver the famous line, "Them that die will be the lucky ones." Also, yes that is a young Christian Bale playing Jim Hawkins in the movie.
3. Tim Curry in Muppet Treasure Island (1996, dir. Brian Henson)
Tim Curry is one of those actors who is always going to give a great and scene stealing performance no matter what the film is, and of course this film is no different. Matter of fact, he has apparently said that this was one of his favorite movies to work on. Given the performance he gives it is pretty obvious that he was into it. Just watch him the musical number below, he is having more than a good time.
4. Brian Murray in Treasure Planet (2002, dir. Ron Clements & John Musker)
We started this list with a Disney film we end it with a Disney film. In the science fiction rendition of the novel we get a version of Long John that puts a lot of emphasis on the father figure aspect of the character. Murray truly delivers on this performance and can go back and fourth between loving mentor to ruthless pirate. But even when he is the ruthless pirate he doesn't want to hurt Hawkins. Just listen to his speech in this clip.
Alright me mateys, what's your opinion? Be there a version of the character I forget that ye love? Share in the comments below.... y'arrrr! And be sure to like the blog's Facebook page ye scury dogs!
Okay I'm done talking like a pirate.
No comments:
Post a Comment