Treasure Island

Treasure Island

Year: 1990

Runtime: 131 mins

Language: English

Director: Fraser Clarke Heston

AdventureFamily

Jim Hawkins runs the Benbow Inn when pirate Captain Billy Bones collapses there, chased by buccaneers led by Blind Pew. Jim and his mother fend off the attackers, find Billy’s map and join Dr. Livesey with the Hispaniola crew to hunt the island treasure. Long John Silver sparks a mutiny, but Jim helps loyal officers resist and protect the prize.

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Treasure Island (1990) – Full Plot Summary & Ending Explained

Read the complete plot breakdown of Treasure Island (1990), including all key story events, major twists, and the ending explained in detail. Discover what really happened—and what it all means.

Captain Bones, Oliver Reed is an aging pirate who arrives at the Admiral Benbow inn, a rough place run by Jim Hawkins Christian Bale and his widowed mother Isla Blair. Bones keeps a wary watch for a one‑legged visitor and becomes a dangerous nuisance, casting a shadow over the quiet seaside home.

One day, a fiery pirate named Black Dog John Benfield appears at the inn, clashes swords with Bones, and then retreats into the night. Bones starts to suffer a heart attack, and before Jim can intervene, the enigmatic Blind Pew Christopher Lee arrives, hands Bones the Black Spot, and departs. Before dying, Bones passes Jim the key to his chest, a clue that will pull Jim into a much larger world of treasure and betrayal.

Mrs. Hawkins and Jim ransack Bones’ chest to hunt for rent money, and Jim pockets a packet of papers. Pew and Black Dog return with more pirates to seize the papers, threatening the Hawkins family. Dr. Livesey Julian Glover and his men intervene, scattering the attackers and killing Pew. Livesey and Jim carry the papers to Squire Trelawney Richard Johnson, where one map, drawn by Captain Flint, reveals that £700,000 lies buried on a distant island.

Trelawney decides to secure passage aboard the ship Hispaniola, hires Captain Smollet Clive Wood to command, and, with the help of the celebrated one‑legged pirate Long John Silver Charlton Heston, recruits a skilled crew of sailors. Livesey and Jim join the voyage as ship’s doctor and cabin boy, while Smollet keeps a wary eye on everyone, suspecting that mutiny might creep into the ranks—a concern that unsettles the hopeful but impulsive Trelawney.

As the voyage begins, Jim overhears three sailors—Silver, Israel Hands Michael Halsey, and Dick Johnson Steven Mackintosh—plotting a mutiny. When land is sighted, Jim hurries to alert Livesey, Trelawney, and Smollett, who secretly prepare their own countermeasures. Smollett allows some crew to go ashore to limit mutiny risk, then gathers Trelawney’s servants (Hunter, Joyce, and Redruth [James Cosmo]) and takes refuge in the cabin, while Jim sneaks ashore to spy on Silver and witnesses the murder of two sailors who refuse to join the conspiracy. There Jim also meets Ben Gunn [Nicholas Amer], a marooned former crew member whom Captain Flint left on the island years earlier.

Livesey and Hunter locate Flint’s old stockade and plan a new base of operations. Meanwhile, Hands uses a cannon to sink the jolly boat during a retreat, and Redruth is killed in the ensuing chase across the island. Gunn guides Jim to a cave and hands him a cryptic message for the Squire.

The next morning, Silver tries and fails to parley for the treasure map. The pirates storm the stockade, wounding Joyce and the Captain, but the defense holds, inflicting heavy losses. That night, Jim steals Gunn’s coracle, makes for the Hispaniola, and cuts the anchor line. Hands, badly wounded after a clash on deck, agrees to help Jim beach the ship, then turns on Jim, stabbing at him from the shadows; Jim fires, killing Hands.

Returning to the stockade, Jim finds the mutineers in control and his friends missing. He admits he has stirred up trouble, and Silver is nearly toppled by George Merry [Pete Postlethwaite], who wants Jim dead. Silver reveals he cut a deal with Livesey for the map, and the mutineers reassemble to keep Jim alive as a hostage. The next day, Livesey tends the wounded pirates, and Jim confides in him about the Hispaniola and Silver’s role in his survival. Livesey hurries to warn the others.

The mutineers set off with the map in search of the treasure, but they are unnerved by a spectral voice that seems to be Captain Flint—actually Gunn in disguise. They discover the treasure has already been looted. Merry attempts another surge, but Livesey’s party arrives to drive the mutineers away. Jim, the Doctor, and Gunn regroup in Gunn’s cave where Gunn reveals he moved the treasure there months earlier. They load the Hispaniola and head home.

Silver, unwilling to face trial, menaces Gunn and steals a gig, slipping away to freedom. The remaining crew return with their fortune, and Jim vows never to return to the cursed island, a promise born of hard lessons learned in a place where greed, loyalty, and survival collide.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 14:54

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Treacherous Adventure Quests like in Treasure Island

Exciting journeys where allies become enemies and danger hides in plain sight.If you liked the high-seas danger and hidden mutiny in Treasure Island, explore more movies like it. This collection features thrilling quest stories where the path is as dangerous as the prize, focusing on suspenseful adventures with themes of betrayal and survival.

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Narrative Summary

Stories typically follow a linear quest structure where a group sets out for a tangible goal. The central conflict arises from a betrayal or mutiny within the group, forcing the protagonist to outwit a cunning adversary. The narrative builds tension through a series of close calls and confrontations, culminating in a final showdown over the prize.

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They are grouped by their shared combination of a fast-paced adventure plot, a tense and suspenseful tone driven by internal threat, and a focus on survival against treacherous companions. The experience is defined by a constant sense of danger and the thrill of the hunt.

Coming-of-Age in a Dangerous World like in Treasure Island

Young protagonists thrust into perilous situations that force them to grow up fast.Fans of Jim Hawkins's journey in Treasure Island will enjoy similar movies about a young person's coming-of-age amid danger. These stories feature a naive protagonist confronting harsh realities, forced to find their courage and learn difficult lessons about loyalty and greed in a perilous setting.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative follows a young protagonist who is reluctantly pulled from a safe, ordinary life into an extraordinary and threatening situation. Their journey is one of rapid maturation, learning to navigate complex adult conflicts like betrayal and greed. The central theme is the loss of innocence tempered by the development of inner strength and moral conviction.

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They share a core focus on a young character's formative journey set against a backdrop of significant danger and moral complexity. The emotional arc from innocence to experience, combined with a medium emotional weight and a hopeful resolution, creates a distinct and compelling viewing pattern.

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Characters, Settings & Themes in Treasure Island

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Characters, Settings & Themes in Treasure Island

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