Crusoe: The Complete Series
by Alex Chapple, Duane Clark, Helen Shaver, Jeff Woolnough, Michael Robison
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anna Walton, Joaquim de Almeida, Philip Winchester, Sam Neill, Tongayi ChirisaDirector: Alex Chapple, Duane Clark, Helen Shaver, Jeff Woolnough, Michael Robison
Brand: Universal Studios
Writer: Andrew Rattenbury
Writer: Avrum Jacobson
Writer: Cameron McAllister
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); English (Original Language)
Format: AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 552 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-05-05
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Universal Studios
Product features:
- Condition: New
- Format: DVD
- AC-3; Box set; Color; Dolby; DVD; Subtitled; Widescreen; NTSC
Movie Reviews of Crusoe: The Complete Series
Movie Review: Crusoe
Summary: 5 Stars
Crusoe:
An action packed television series loaded with pirates, cannibals, flying musket shot, and a dog called Dundee. Crusoe: the Complete Season is a swash-buckling tale based on the famous novel of which almost everybody has heard but almost no one has read. However, if you are searching for an exact portrayal of the story, you will be disappointed. Or if you are merely wishing to be entertained, love adventure, don't mind a smattering of romance, enjoy seeing committed love between a husband and wife, and take delight in two friends who are as close as brothers, then Crusoe is definitely a movie series you will enjoy time and time again.
For the most part, Crusoe is very family-friendly. There are a few scenes with bloodshed, and once in a while a lady tries to romance Crusoe (a very forward pirate lady in the first episode and another in the later episodes), whom he gently tells that his heart is given to another and he will remain faithful to that one. I was amazed to see his steadfastness in this area; few movies/television series have this theme continuing throughout the duration. Another caution for parents is that there is a nude scene with one of the women; nothing sexual takes place, but Crusoe has fallen down a cliff side and needs to get back up, so she's trying to make a rope with everything she's got on . . . a rather awkward situation. It happens to be in my least favorite episode (in which Friday falls ill from eating poisoned honey). In fact, I personally believe it is one of the more stupid programs, but every television series out there has at least one boring installment. So those are my warning to parents. Adults, of course, view at their own discretion.
The main underlying plot of the story is for Crusoe to figure out a way to get back to his family in England, taking his friend, Friday, along with him. By the way, he is called Friday because Crusoe cannot pronounce his real name, a fact Friday seems to love resurrecting. While he is desperately searching for some means of returning home (quite a few opportunities arise, and at least once he must choose between leaving Friday behind and/or being left behind with his friend), an evil in England is trying to destroy the small family he loves so much. Of course, if I told you who the bad guy was and just why he's the bad guy, that would ruin the story completely.
My last thought on this particular television series, is that though they call it the Complete Season, it is far from finished. The last installment leaves the viewer hanging, not knowing what happens next. So, my hope is that enough people will enjoy the few episodes there are and a general outcry for one more (only one, maybe two are needed to consummate the series) will prod the producers of Crusoe into finishing and airing the last show. That way Friday will stun the modern world of that time with his Einstein-like intellect, and Crusoe can finally be with his family and the wife he loves.
Summary of Crusoe: The Complete Series
CRUSOE:COMPLETE SERIES - DVD MovieThough its network run was short-lived, the 2009 TV series Crusoe, based on the enduring and frequently adapted novel Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, provides an impressive level of derring-do over the course of its 13 episodes, all of which are included in this DVD set. Philip Winchester plays Defoe?s famous castaway, imbued here with not only the resourcefulness of the character in the novel, but also a MacGyver-like knack for building all manner of contraptions to protect his island home. He?s aided, of course, by Friday (Tongai Arnold Chirisa), who is as much the faithful companion of past adaptations as sort of Robin/Kato-esque sidekick in numerous fights against cannibals, mutineers, the Spanish Guard (led by Joaquim de Almeida), and some very Disney-esque pirates. The excitement is not limited to Crusoe?s island: back in England, wife Susannah (Anna Walton of Hellboy 2: The Golden Army) must contend with the villainous Jeremiah Blackthorn (Sam Neill), who has designs on the Crusoe family fortune. As period action goes, Crusoe delivers. The battles with various island foes aim for--and largely achieve--Indiana Jones-level thrills, albeit on a more limited scale. Where the series bogs down is with Susannah?s sudsy travails and the fleshing out of the source material, which invents an aspiring female doctor (Mia Maestro) who disguises herself as a man and winds up aiding Crusoe and Friday. Those issues, combined with the traditional difficulty faced by weekly period shows on television, most likely contributed to Crusoe?s demise (which was posthumously referred to by the network as a miniseries in order to explain its brief run), but those who don?t mind the abbreviated length may appreciate the show?s positive attributes. In an offbeat touch, the extras on the three-disc set are limited to a paperback copy of the Defoe novel. --Paul Gaita
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