Kidnapped (1995)
When Scottish young gentleman David Balfour's father dies, he leaves school to collect his inheritance from uncle Ebenezer, who in turn sells the boy as a future slave to a pirate ship. When staunch Stuart dynasty supporter Alan Breck Stewart accidentally boards the ship, he takes David along on his escape back to Edinburgh. They part and meet again repeatedly, mutually helpful against the Redcoats and respectful, although David is loyal to the English crown, but learns about its cruel oppression. Both ultimately face their adversaries.
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Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.
It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.
The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
Most movie adaptations of novels are just that: they pick and choose scenes in the novel to present in movie form, but basically tell the same story to be found in the novel.This is not that. It does present much of what is in Stevenson's novel, yes, and rather faithfully. But it also includes a LOT that is not in the novel, scenes that Stevenson had suggested but never developed. Indeed, as others have pointed out, there are significant characters here who do not exist in the novel.I found it to be a good presentation of Stevenson's novel, and I found Assante to be a lot of fun as Alan Breck Stewart, even if he is more Erol Flynn than ABS. Viewers just have to understand that this is not solely what Stevenson wrote. For that, as others have observed, the Disney treatment from the 1960s is better.Still, this is FAR better than the BBC travesty of the novel, which is far too often unfaithful to the novel, which this really is not. It just adds a lot that is not in the original.
What a shame that the movie, while being excellent in its own right, has absolutely nothing to do with the original book by Stevenson. Aside from the names and places, only about 5% of the novel made it into the movie. As a fan of the book and some of the older versions of the movie, I was horrified by the amount of information in the film that was 'made up'. While I'm sure it was all accurate for the time period, very little of what occurred in the film ever happened or was even alluded to in the book. If you completely ignore the fact that the movie is based on a book this film is very enjoyable and exciting however I disagree with the re-writing of this classic just to make it into a more compelling tale.
Excellent family entertainment with outstanding acting performances. Plenty of action and adventure complimented with beautiful scenery. What a joy to watch a film without graphic violence, language and sex! Highly recommended for the most critical movie viewer.
Armand Assante turned in a superb performance as a Scottish loyalist in Robert Louis Stevenson's "Kidnapped." Mr. Assante was totally credible in his role as a man who would stick to the principles of truth, justice, and loyalty that the author highlighted in the novel. Any fan of Robert Louis Stevenson must definitely see this outstanding motion picture.