Customer Reviews

Robinson Crusoe [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Luis Buñuel (1900-1983) is celebrated today as "the father of cinematic Surrealism" for creating subversive classics from the beginning of his career, L' Âge d'or (1930), until the end, That Obscure Object of Desire (1977). What a shock to discover, then, that his only English-language film, the once all-but-lost Robinson Crusoe (1954), is a straightforward adventure tale with all of the fun and social comment of the timeless Daniel Defoe novel but with nary a sliced eyeball to be found.

I'm certain ya'll know the story, and the film is faithful: Rob is shipwrecked on a tropical island, saves what he can from the ship before it goes down, and spends most of the rest of the 17th century dodging wild animals, cannibals, and pirates before hooking up with his man Friday.

In the early sequences, we see that Crusoe is all but helpless, not even able to build a fire with no servants to help him. Over the years, he not only perseveres, but triumphs over his environment, building a quite satisfactory fortress of solitude. The loneliness gets to him, though, particularly once his dog dies - "I learned to master everything on my island - except myself!" he ruminates. In a masterful scene, he dreams of his father, who chides him for going off to sea; in another, he feeds some small ants to some big ones, which means something, but don't ask me what. Once he rescues Friday from the cannibals, he gains - not a friend, but a servant, and when his suspicions of Friday get the best of him, Crusoe clamps him in leg irons he rescued from the wreck (he was on a slaving mission, although why he'd want to carry heavy chains from the sinking ship is anybody's guess). Eventually, he comes to recognize Friday as an equal, albeit a lesser one, which leads to a delightful argument about God and the devil between Crusoe and Friday, and if Hitchcock made Psycho just so he could film the shower scene, I can see Buñuel (product of a strict religious upbringing) making Crusoe just for this scene.

A major feather in the proverbial cap for VCI Entertainment, Robinson Crusoe is treated to a brilliant restoration and even includes a few worthwhile extras: the trailer, a poster gallery, an audio interview with Crusoe star Dan O'Herlihy (an Oscar nominee in the role; he lost to Brando in On The Waterfront), and an insert copy of the pressbook. There's also a "before and after" restoration featurette, so you can appreciate how much work went into the digitally remastered edition. Highly recommended.

I'm not sure why this DVD has received lackluster reviews, but I suspect it's due to disappointment from fans of Bunuel's more surreal masterpieces at the two ends of his career (his collaborations with Dali c. 1930, and the last 9 or 10 films of his old age). Still, people shouldn't dismiss Robinson Crusoe. It has much in common stylistically with other movies of his Mexican period, notably Los Olvidados (1950) and Nazarin (1959) but especially his adaptation of Wuthering Heights made just before Robinson Crusoe. There's a directness and simplicity to these films that is deceiving -- and, like I said, disappointing to fans of Bunuel's more flamboyant stuff. I wouldn't call Robinson Crusoe a masterpiece along the lines of The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie or Belle de Jour, but it's interesting and entertaining. (For several interesting reviews, check out the ones on IMDb. On this page, I think "Laughing Gravy" and M. Lucas have hit the nail on the head.)

If you're not a Bunuel fan, then the movie stands on its own pretty well -- mainly because of its surprising faithfulness to Defoe's novel. Huge chunks of Defoe's prose are preserved intact as narration, which I never found annoying. This DVD would make a wonderful teaching aid for high school English classes. (In fact, Bunuel would probably have found it amusing that one of his films can be found in the Family Entertainment section of many video stores.) And O'Herlihy, who has to carry the movie single-handedly for about half the running time, is quite good. His Oscar nomination was well-deserved.

As others have said, VCI's presentation is very nice. There are several minor instances of "ghosting" (mild blurriness caused by the transfer to DVD). Considering that the original negative no longer exists and that Pathe Color was a cheap alternative to Technicolor, I'd say they've done as good a job on the restoration as they could. The long audio interview with the late Dan O'Herlihy is a solid extra.

In summation, I'd say that, if you're interested in this title, it's worth a purchase, especially at it's reasonable listing price. (Even if you end up hating it, you can always donate your copy to a school.) O'Herlihy's performance and the script's faithfulness to the source make this movie respectable entertainment; the presence of Bunuel as director adds an extra layer for viewers searching for "more." And VCI serves everything up with class.

Dan O'Herlihy was nominated as best actor for this glorious performance as Robinson Crusoe in this exceptional approach given for the master Luis Buñuel .
This second period of Buñuel stage we will watch the transition from the surrealistic mood to the cruel irony and awful realism in all the filmography . The mexican atmosphere was a tremendous support to Luis for developing two of his most artistic triumphs as Nazarin and the timeless gem Viridiana. The following films are too of this period: Los Olvidados , El Bruto and El .
You must to keep in mind this period meant to Buñuel a deep ideas exchange with famous thinkers and writers as Octavio Paz and Carlos Fuentes .
In Robinson , we enjoy the disventures of this character in a lone island trying to get the return ticket . But meanwhile in his long long stage he meets to a native and the relationship will be the pretext to Buñuel to load with ironic situations and acid black humor a lot of issues .
Try to get this admirable work . One of the most unknown works of this brilliant and unique spanish director .

VCI Entertainment presents "ROBINSON CRUSOE" (1952) (90 mins/Color) --- (Dolby digitally remastered) --- Robinson Crusoe (1952) is a film by director Luis Buñuel --- The film is based on the novel Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe --- It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor (Dan O'Herlihy) --- I'm told that Dan O'Herlihy, an admirer of Luis Bunuel, was responsible for getting Bunuel hired for this American film even though the producers had no idea who Bunuel was --- O'Herlihy gives a passionate performance in this interesting and lush production, and the story had long appealed to Bunuel --- This film is far more involving than one has any right to expect --- As it works on both the literal and symbolic levels, and can be viewed as a straightforward adventure story, an exploration of loneliness and culture clash, or both.

Special footnote, Robinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1719 and sometimes regarded as the first novel in English --- The book is a fictional autobiography of the title character, an English castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island, encountering natives, captives, and mutineers before being rescued --- This device, presenting an account of supposedly factual events, is known as a "false document" and gives a realistic frame story.

Under Luis Buñuel (Director / Screenwriter), Oscar Dancigers (Producer), Henry Ehrlich (Producer), Daniel Defoe (Book Author), Philip Roll (Screenwriter), Alex Phillips (Cinematographer), Anthony Collins (Composer (Music Score), Carlos Savage (Editor), Alberto Valenzuela (Editor), Edward FitzGerald (Set Designer) - - - - Irish actor O'Herlihy's well-shaded Oscar-nominated performance never allows the first hour to pall - only with the entrance of Friday is it less absorbing --- Shot in Mexico during the director's long self-imposed exile there, The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe contains quite a few Buñel touches. Most of all, it subverts Defoe's Christian message by showing Crusoe wavering in his faith in religion, Western civilization and colonialism --- A film in which an actor is alone on screen for 60 of the 90 minutes' running time would seem a foolhardy venture, but Buñel overcomes most of the difficulties in this adaptation of Daniel Defoe's classic

the cast includes:
Dan O'Herlihy ... Robinson Crusoe (as Daniel O'Herlihy)
Jaime Fernández ... Friday
Felipe de Alba ... Captain Oberzo
Chel López ... Bosun
José Chávez ... Pirate
Emilio Garibay ... Leaders of the Mutiny

SPECIAL BONUS FEATURES:
1. Audio Interview with Dan O'Herlihy
2. Bios
3. Filmographies
4. Photo and Poster Gallery
5. Restoration Demonstration
6. Trailers

Great job by VCI Entertaiment --- looking forward to more Nostalgic Collections --- order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment where there are plenty of copies available on DVD, stay tuned once again for top notch releases --- where they are experts in releasing long forgotten films and treasures to the collector.

Total Time: 90 mins on DVD ~ VCI Entertainment ~ (9/14/2004)

Saw this movie in the '50s and was very very happy to have it for our home collection.

Because of various legal issues, director Luis Bunuel's critically-acclaimed filming of Daniel Defoe's ROBINSON CRUSOE (1954) was virtually unseen (i.e. legitimately) in any medium for many decades.

All that changed when VCI Entertainment released an exquisite, fully restored special edition of this classic film onto DVD.

Dan O'Herlihy plays the shipwrecked Englishman who spends twenty-eight years on a desolate tropical island, sometimes on the verge of madness. O'Herlihy received a well deserved Best Actor Oscar nomination for his fine performance which had him acting solo for the first two-thirds of the picture.

[That's right. Tom Hanks was not the screen's first castaway.]

Though O'Herlihy's filmography boasts major roles in such revered films as ODD MAN OUT, Orson Welles' MACBETH, FAIL SAFE and MacARTHUR, younger audiences probably know him best for his performances in THE LAST STARFIGHTER, ROBOCOP and HALLOWEEN 3.

Sad!

Jaime Fernandez plays Crusoe's faithful native servant, Friday.

Robinson Crusoe may have been a modestly budgeted movie, filmed in Manzanillo, Mexico, but it is still a rousing adventure story of one man's struggle for survival. Over half a century later, it holds up very well.

VCI has included a number of interesting extras on the DVD , such as an audio interview with O'Herlihy and a reproduction of the original pressbook.

Director Luis Bunuel's version of Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe is quite good. It seems fairly consistent with the book. We see Crusoe has a dog to begin with and domesticates a parrot and goats. Much later he rescues Friday from cannibals. Crusoe spends twenty-eight years on the island before returning with a ships captain he rescues. Although we see all those years pass, we are never bored by a mundane existence. The acting, directing, and editing is very well done so that we feel we the audience are part of the adventure and humor. If you enjoyed this be sure to catch Pierce Brosnan in "Robinson Crusoe" (2002).

CA Luster

The long awaited "Adventures of Robinson Crusoe" has finally arrived on home video on DVD by VCI. This DVD entitled "Robinson Crusoe" purports to be a "restoration." The original film had two things going for it - a fine performance by Dan O'Herlihy and vivid color. VCI got one out of two. The so-called restoration's color is sub-par, although they managed to get a lot of dirt and scratches out, the color is not close to being vivid. It didn't help that it was filmed in bargain basement Pathecolor. The sound track has on and off thumping noises that are most annoying. Only if you are a fan of this film is it worth seeing or even buying. This restoration looks like it was one of those digital jobs. VCI should leave the restorations to Criterion and Robert A. Harris. I was really looking forward to this DVD but ended up being badly disappointed.

Bunuel is known as a surrealist, whose works mixes the interior - images and attitudes buried in the subconscious - with circumstances in the real world. It is always and interesting collision, but usually not destined for big box office revenues. This film, his only one in English, is in my view directed at a wider audience. It is very faithful to the book, yet emphasizes some of his traditional themes in surprising ways.

We all know the outlines of the story: a marooned man masters his environment, finds Friday and teaches him the ways of the West while listening to a decidedly non-Western point of view, and finally escapes with Friday. Because of the nearly two decades Crusoe spent alone, it is a very introspective tale of loneliness, a dialogue with God, and endeavor.

What makes this such an exceptional viewing experience are the angles that Bunuel highlights. First, there is a sexual tension between Crusoe and Friday, which I have never seen in any of the other versions. In particular, there is a scene where Friday finds a dress in a trunk and puts it on, appearing beautifully androgynous to the point that Crusoe is disturbed and gruffly orders him to put something else on. Second, Bunuel does not hide the fact that Crusoe was a slave trader and uses Friday as his servant while calling him his friend. This shows Bunuel's mastery of the medium, introducing something that he doesn't tie off in a pat manner but leaves it to create conflict in the mind of the viewer, much as the best essayists do. Third, Friday asks Crusoe many questions about God - essentially those advanced by the Marquis de Sade! - that he can't answer, for example, if God is so powerful, why doesn't God kill the devil; Crusoe answers that God wants man to have a choice, to which Friday responds: then why does God feel wrath when man chooses the wrong way? Crusoe is dumbstruck and merely says to the parrot that Friday doesn't understand. It is beautifully succinct and typical of the fine script.

Unfortunately, the DVD print left much to be desired. It is obviously taken from an inferior film version. Moreover, there are no subtitles, which would help given that the sound track is also unclear.

Recommended warmly. If commercial, Bunuel still weaves his magic in the conflict he creates in the mind of the viewer. I grew up watching this version and hugely enjoyed watching it with my son.

had not seen this movie in over 40 years, this is the way movies use to be made.