Treasure Island

Jim Hawkins helps his mother run the Benbow Inn when a seaman arrives and dies after a brutal raid by pirates. The dying sailor clutches a map that points to a treasure, drawing a gang of marauders led by Blind Pew. Jim and his mother fend off the assault and uncover Billy Bones’s chart, which pulls Jim into a voyage aboard S.S. Espaniola with Squire Trelawney and Dr. Livesey to seek the treasure on island. On arrival, the ship’s cook Long John Silver manipulates the crew, sparking a mutiny the crew plans to claim the booty for themselves. Jim and the Espaniola officers survive the upheaval and press on amid danger, with Jim’s quick thinking keeping remaining crew together.

Directed by Fraser Clarke Heston, this 1990 television adaptation reimagines Stevenson's Treasure Island for family audiences. It draws on Robert Louis Stevenson’s original 1883 novel while staging a cinematic shipboard adventure featuring Charlton Heston, Christian Bale, and a strong supporting cast.

Despite being a television movie, it left a distinct impression through its sturdy cast and era specific production. Charlton Heston's Long John Silver dominates with presence, while a young Christian Bale demonstrates early screen confidence. The film helped bring Stevenson's island tale to a broad TV audience.

Critics praised the performances and the production quality given the TV format. The film threads loyalty and greed, showing pirates as both danger and charm through Silver. Jim Hawkins matures under pressure, learning to rely on wit and teamwork in a perilous world. It's a brisk, character centered adventure about survival and trust.

As a television movie, it did not post a theatrical gross; it was produced for TV and aired to home audiences in 1990. Box office figures are therefore not applicable, and the impact came from broadcast reach and home video.