Robinson Crusoe(1954)

　

Robinson Crusoe (1954)

I. About the Film

Robinson Crusoe (Spanish: Aventuras de Robinson Crusoe; also known as Adventures of Robinson Crusoe) is a 1954 Mexican film by director Luis Buñuel, based on the novel Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. Both English and Spanish versions were produced.
On 30 September 1659, the aristocratic British Robinson Crusoe's ship sinks and he miraculously survives on a deserted island somewhere in South America. He retrieves a dog, Rex, and cat, Sam, from the shipwreck together with some supplies, weapons, clothes and tools and builds a shelter. He soon learns how to survive by cooking, farming, harvesting the crops. Then the loneliness begins to haunt 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 and they become friends. When Robinson Crusoe sees Caucasians on the island, he finds that Captain Oberzo was the victim of a mutiny and he helps him to retrieve his ship.


Works Cited （参考文献）

"Robinson Crusoe (1954 Film)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 21 June 2016.〈https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinson_Crusoe_(1954_film)〉
"Robinson Crusoe (1954 Film)." IMDb.com, n.d. Web.  21 June 2016.〈http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044386/〉

II. Versions of the Film

According to the International Movie Database (IMDb), there are ten film and TV series versions of the story. One of them, "Kasei chakuriku dai 1-gô" is set its setting in Mars. These are listed below.

Robinson Crusoe (2016)
Robinson Crusoe (1997)
Crusoe (2008) (TV Series) 
Robinson Crusoe (1954)
Kasei chakuriku dai 1-gô (1964)aka "Robinson Crusoe sur Mars"

Robinson Crusoe (2013)
Mr. Robinson Crusoe (1932)
Zhizn i udivitelnye priklyucheniya Robinzona Kruzo (1973) 
Robinson Kurûsô (1970)
Robinson Crusoe (1927)


Works Cited （参考文献）

"Robinson Crusoe" IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 22 June 2016. 〈http://www.imdb.com/find?ref_=nv_sr_fn&q=Robinson+Crusoe+&s=all〉

III. About the Lead Actor-Dan O'Herlihy

Irish-born Dan O'Herlihy decided not to follow in his father's footsteps, forsaking the life of an architect in favour of the acting profession. The tall, distinguished-looking university graduate boasted a rich, resonant voice, which enabled him to easily find work in radio plays, as well on the stage. He first came to note as a small part actor with the Gate and Abbey Theatre Players, on occasion putting his architectural qualifications to use as a set designer. His first leading role was in Sean O'Casey's play 'Red Roses for Me' in 1944. During one of his performances in Dublin, he was spotted by the director Carol Reed and cast as an IRA terrorist in Odd Man Out (1947). This, and another London-produced film, Hungry Hill (1947), resulted in good critical notices , prompting another genial filmmaker, Orson Welles, to cast O'Herlihy in the role of Macduff for his Mercury/Republic production of Macbeth (1948). While this enterprise was far from successful, O'Herlihy's rugged, bearded appearance for the Scottish play sufficiently impressed Luis Buñuel to cast him in the titular role of Robinson Crusoe(1954).He died in February 2005 at the age of 85, leaving his papers to the care of the University College Dublin, from where he had obtained his degree in architecture way back in 1945.

Works Cited （参考文献）

　　"Dan O'Herlihy Biography"IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 22 June 2016.〈http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0641397/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm〉

IV. My Reaction

A. Reaction Point - Characters

• 定義 - Characters are persons, or animals or natural forces represented as persons, in a work of film or literature.
• 例 -The protagonist is Robinson Crusoe who washed ashore a desert island and lived on it.
• 略 -He was a believer in colonialism and before washed ashore the desert island, he went to Africa to get slaves who let them work for his farm in  Brazil. Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish castaway who lived for four years on the Pacific island called "Más a Tierra" has been said to be the model.

B. Reaction Point - Setting

• 定義-The context in time and place in which the action of a story occurs.
• 例-There are lots of scenes of sands and forests.
• 略- The desert island Robinson lived is somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean on September 30, 1659. The filming location was mainly the west coast of Mexico. Exterior shots were filmed near the city of Manzanillo in the Mexican state of Colima.

C. Reaction Point - Mood

• 定義-A story's atmosphere or the feeling it evokes
• 例-This story has an idyllic mood. Robinson Crusoe didn't show any strong emotion.
• 略-Robinson Crusoe took a matter‐of‐fact attitude to living on a desert island. He looked enjoy his life instead.

D. My General Opinion
I first felt Robinson Crusoe Dan O'Herlihy played was sexy but in the latter half, I could not think so. English in this film was a little easy for listening. Sometimes I lost the story, then I checked wikipedia or other web pages for help.