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Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

That was an excellent one.

Simply Perfect

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It's 1659. The British aristocrat Robinson Crusoe (Dan O'Herlihy) is a third son with a wish to travel despite his father's objections. He's on trip from Brazil to buy slaves in Africa when his ship is caught in a storm. He is marooned on a deserted island. He finds the shipwreck, salvage some supplies and rescues Sam the cat. He finds Rex the dog on the beach. He would battle loneliness, cannibals, and joined by Friday.Robinson Crusoe is one of those classic novels that gets remade over and over again. This one is pretty good. It doesn't always take advantage of the lush outside shoots. The interior is rather bland. I like the splashes of color from the exterior shoots. Part of the charm of the movie is to see Crusoe change over time. Dan O'Herlihy is able to stretch the character although he doesn't instill the required sympathy. Crusoe is a haunted lonely man on the verge of madness. He's also very an aristocratic englishman. It's not quite as cute as Tom Hanks with a volleyball. The direction isn't daring enough. The camera work is functional. Also the non-stop narration feels like an easy cheat. It's still a well-made movie with an immersive performance.

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.

On 30 September 1659, the ship of the aristocratic British Robinson Crusoe (Daniel O'Herlihy) sinks and he miraculously survives in a deserted island somewhere in South America. He retrieves the dog Rex and the cat Sam, together with some supplies, weapons, clothes and tools from the shipwreck; builds a shelter; and learns how to survive, cooking, farming, harvesting the crop and gathering a cattle. Then the loneliness disturbs him, especially after the loss of Rex. When he sees a group of cannibals in the island, tension and fear become part of his life. Later he saves the life of a savage that was going to be eaten by the cannibals; he names him Friday (Jaime Fernández) and they become friends. When Robinson Crusoe sees Caucasians in the island, he finds that Captain Oberzo (Felipe de Alba) was the victim of a mutiny and he helps him to retrieve his ship. After twenty-eight years, two months and nineteen days, Robinson Crusoe leaves the island to return to the civilization. "Robinson Crusoe" was my favorite novel in my childhood and I do not know how many times I have read this book. Luis Buñuel, who is one of my favorite directors, makes a faithful transposition of this timeless story of survival, loneliness, fear and friendship to the cinema. This is probably the first conventional movie of Buñuel that I have ever seen and his usual surrealism is limited to the sickness and daydream of Robinson Crusoe. Daniel O'Herlihy is a perfect Robinson Crusoe and this movie is recommended for the whole family. My vote is nine.Title (Brazil): "Robinson Crusoé" ("Robinson Crusoe")

Well of course I'm not talking about Robinson (he's actually quite "alone" most of the time, as you surely know), but about the movie adaptation. There have been quite a few (even the Tom Hanks starring "Cast Away" can be counted in, if you want to), so why is this different and/or better? Well the thing is, that this movie sure worked when it came out, with some very nice dialog, some funny scenes and a great central performance. The question remains, how this will be received by an audience that is more than well aware of the Robinson story. Will they be bored? I guess some might and probably will find the movie somewhat boring. Not me though. Mr. Bunuel shows again, what he's made of. And while this isn't his best work or anywhere near that, this is more than entertaining (with a few stabs at the church/God). You might know the story, you might have watched others play Robinson, but this (a bit camp) movie is worth your time!