We read the book "Robinson Crusoe" as a family...and chose this film as the movie to watch after having read Defoe's novel--considered by some to be the first true English novel.
The book gives quite a "back story" to the familiar one most people expect: the survival of a shipwrecked Crusoe on the deserted island. Crusoe's relationship with his parents, his decision and yearning for the high seas, his toiling as a slave himself to a Muslim master (and eventual escape), and his purchase of a plantation in the Brazils all preceded his one great adventure. The film blasts through all this in a quick minute or less! I guess that is understandable...it isn't easy to tell a 350 page novel in such detail in just 90 minutes.
According to the short biography on the DVD we read, the director Buñuel was hostile to religion...perhaps he was "smothered" with it in childhood. This may explain the omission of much (but not all) of the spiritual aspects Defoe had throughout the book.
Defoe's character struggles with ungratefulness to God, then re-discovers how blessed he is in his life despite the problems of loneliness and despair. Truly, the novel is inspirational for anyone who faces these fears (and who doesn't?) Defoe's hero isn't a mere spiritual wanderer, though--he works and works hard for his sustenance....the island is a bit of "Eden" that Crusoe must work. This movie avoids a lot of this struggle.
Buñuel took out much of the spirituality of the book instead, he added a deep friendship Crusoe has with his dog "Rex". The subplot of Crusoe's attachment to the dog is an important way the director shows the character's need for friendship.
The 1954 film does a good job in the more "physical" aspects of the story. O'Herlihy is a fine Robinson, changing his look as time goes on. And his eventual befriending of the savage whom he names "Friday" is an interesting turning point. Crusoe craves friendship--but he also is suspicious of his new companion.
The "adventure" portion of the film is interesting and well-done even for a film shot 50+ years ago. Crusoe's building of his home, his survival in the hostile environment, and his hard work of husbandry and farming are shown with good faithfulness to the book. Especially endearing is the scene where Crusoe eats his first hot, fresh baked "bread" in several years...bread he has just made.
Crusoe is a man of integrity and eventually helps save the captain of a ship whose crew is engaging in mutiny...he and Friday do a good job of assisting the stranded captain. He even extends a kind gesture to the mutineers--instead of taking them back to civilization to be hanged, he leaves them on the island with detailed instructions on how to survive...as he did for 28+ years.
Overall, a pretty decent adaptation of the book...BUT...what Daniel Defoe's novel truly awaits is for a detailed telling of the story (perhaps in a miniseries) that shows Robinson as a young man--rejecting his father's sage advice--and going through the various struggles detailed in the book...before he is rescued to tell his tale of survival.
The book gives quite a "back story" to the familiar one most people expect: the survival of a shipwrecked Crusoe on the deserted island. Crusoe's relationship with his parents, his decision and yearning for the high seas, his toiling as a slave himself to a Muslim master (and eventual escape), and his purchase of a plantation in the Brazils all preceded his one great adventure. The film blasts through all this in a quick minute or less! I guess that is understandable...it isn't easy to tell a 350 page novel in such detail in just 90 minutes.
According to the short biography on the DVD we read, the director Buñuel was hostile to religion...perhaps he was "smothered" with it in childhood. This may explain the omission of much (but not all) of the spiritual aspects Defoe had throughout the book.
Defoe's character struggles with ungratefulness to God, then re-discovers how blessed he is in his life despite the problems of loneliness and despair. Truly, the novel is inspirational for anyone who faces these fears (and who doesn't?) Defoe's hero isn't a mere spiritual wanderer, though--he works and works hard for his sustenance....the island is a bit of "Eden" that Crusoe must work. This movie avoids a lot of this struggle.
Buñuel took out much of the spirituality of the book instead, he added a deep friendship Crusoe has with his dog "Rex". The subplot of Crusoe's attachment to the dog is an important way the director shows the character's need for friendship.
The 1954 film does a good job in the more "physical" aspects of the story. O'Herlihy is a fine Robinson, changing his look as time goes on. And his eventual befriending of the savage whom he names "Friday" is an interesting turning point. Crusoe craves friendship--but he also is suspicious of his new companion.
The "adventure" portion of the film is interesting and well-done even for a film shot 50+ years ago. Crusoe's building of his home, his survival in the hostile environment, and his hard work of husbandry and farming are shown with good faithfulness to the book. Especially endearing is the scene where Crusoe eats his first hot, fresh baked "bread" in several years...bread he has just made.
Crusoe is a man of integrity and eventually helps save the captain of a ship whose crew is engaging in mutiny...he and Friday do a good job of assisting the stranded captain. He even extends a kind gesture to the mutineers--instead of taking them back to civilization to be hanged, he leaves them on the island with detailed instructions on how to survive...as he did for 28+ years.
Overall, a pretty decent adaptation of the book...BUT...what Daniel Defoe's novel truly awaits is for a detailed telling of the story (perhaps in a miniseries) that shows Robinson as a young man--rejecting his father's sage advice--and going through the various struggles detailed in the book...before he is rescued to tell his tale of survival.