Robinson Crusoe (1954)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Luis Buñuel

Writers (WGA):

Daniel Defoe (novel)
Hugo Butler (screenplay) (originally as Philip Ansell Roll) ...

Release Date:

5 August 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

EVERY THRILL-SWEPT PAGE BLAZES TO LIFE ON THE SCREEN! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

The classical story of Robinson Crusoe, a man who is dragged to a desert island after a shipwreck |

Plot Keywords:

Island | Based On Novel | Character Name In Title

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 6 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Las aventuras de Robinson Crusoe (Mexico)
The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (USA)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

Mexico

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA High Fidelity Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-8 | Sweden:Btl | UK:U (cut)

Filming Locations:

Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico

Company:

Oscar Dancigers Production

Trivia:

Luis Buñuel's first all-English film; the script was also written in English.

Movie Connections:

Version of Crusoe (1988)

God helps those.......

Robinson honoring the day of the Lord?When you know Bunuel's huge body of work,you do know that scene can only be ironical.If there's a moral to draw from his "Robinson" it's probably "God helps those who help themselves".That's what he says to his prisoner .In "La Mort en Ce Jardin" (1957) Bunuel would go further:his characters ,lost in the jungle ,light a fire with the pages of the Bible.

My favorite scene is Robinson screaming in front of the vast ocean :God is nothing but the echo of Man's voice.

Bunuel's Robinson is rather unpleasant.He is at first an idle lazy young bourgeois who has to work for the first time in his life.As always in Bunuel's canon,the nightmare scene where a mocking father appears is impressive;ditto for the voices of Robinson's old companions singing about good old time.

Robinson's relationship with Friday is very well depicted; the hero confesses he was a potential slave trader :the goal of his voyage?The dialog Robinson/Friday includes these immortal lines:

-If God's stronger than the Devil,why doesn't He kill him?

-God wants to put Man to the test.Man has choice between good and bad.

A writer,Michel Tournier ,was probably influenced by Bunuel for his book "Vendredi ou les Limbes du Pacifique" :he made Friday Robinson's equal.

An essential Bunuel? probably not.But even a minor film by this extraordinary director deserves your undivided attention.