One of the most famous books in literary history is 300 years old. Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe" may no longer be required reading, but the story continues to inspire filmmakers to this very day.
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Robinson Crusoe comes to life
Brought to life by Daniel Defoe 300 years ago, "Robinson Crusoe," has inspired generations of young readers on their adventures. A look at the many ways the literary hero has been portrayed on the big screen.
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Pierce Brosnan as Robinson Crusoe
Most of the film adaptations of the famous novel have one thing in common: they are only loosely related to the original book. In the 1997 film version with James Bond played by actor Pierce Brosnan, only a few themes from the novel are used. The film features a story involving love and jealousy, although women didn't appear in Defoe's classic.
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The Silent Robinson
Even as far back as the silent film era, Hollywood directors wanted to present their own versions of the story. This still is from a 1922 film adaptation, "The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe," which was rife with drama and romance — themes that were sure to strike a cord with cinema-goers.
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A Crusoe to be laughed at
Ten years later, director Edward Sutherland used Defoe's book as the basis for a melodramatic movie packed with humor. In this picture, we see star actor Douglas Fairbanks Sr. (second from left) playing the role of a charmer who bets he can survive on a desert island just as well as Crusoe.
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A master of surrealism takes on Crusoe
Spanish-Mexican director and master of surrealism, Luis Buñuel, made an all-out adventure film from the material in 1954. Its star, Dan O'Herlihy (right), was even nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Crusoe. Only a few moments of the film are reminiscent of Buñuel's other works, although it was one of his biggest commercial successes.
A Disney version starring comedian Dick Van Dyke came out in 1966. Walt Disney himself had written the script under a pseudonym. But the attempt to make the material into a parody was a major flop. One critic went as far as writing: "This colorful film from the studio of Walt Disney is remarkably full of nonsense and can be missed in every sense."
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For a younger audience
A 1970 West German film adaptation of the book by director René Cardona Jr. called "Robinson Crusoe and the Tiger," placed emphasis on exotic island scenes and wild animals. In this film, the hero is accompanied by a tamed tiger who narrates the story to a young audience.
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A critique of colonialism
A 1975 American-British film version of the book took a more serious approach, focusing on race relations. "Man Friday" starred celebrated English actor Peter O'Toole in the role of Robinson, alongside actor Richard Roundtree as his companion Friday. The film was an attempt to denounce racist and colonialist norms.
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"Robinson Crusoe" in 3D
The French-Belgian version of Robinson Crusoe from 2016 was not the first to forgo real actors, with several cartoon adaptations having been made over the years. This 3D animated version released three years ago features Crusoe and a friendly parrot sidekick, with a story told from the perspective of the island's animals.
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Robinson on Mars
Early on, Daniel Defoe's classic inspired authors and directors to take the material in a completely different direction. Bryon Haskin's 1964 version "Robinson Crusoe on Mars," turned the story into a saga in outer space. An astronaut stranded on Mars has to do anything he can to survive. "The Martian" from 2015 took a similar tact and featured Matt Damon in the lead role.
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A hit, starring Tom Hanks
One of the most successful adaptations was the 2001 film "Cast Away," featuring Hollywood star Tom Hanks. Unlike Defoe's hero, the protagonist isn't stranded when he's shipwrecked on a desert island. Instead, he's the survivor of a plane crash. While the details change, the story's core remains the same: an individual fights for survival in solitude.
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What is the appeal of Daniel Defoe's 1719 novel with its in-depth description of survival techniques, agriculture and livestock breeding on a tropical island while the castaway protagonist seeks for 28 long years to live a life agreeable to God? Why hasn't the novel fallen into oblivion, and why do people still today recognize the title — even if they haven't read "Robinson Crusoe" — and roughly know what it is about?
Meanwhile, some writers have noted that the story, set during the time of slavery, is founded on racist stereotypes whereby cohort Friday, a man of color, subordinates himself to Crusoe and voluntarily becomes his servant. The issue of race relations in the story was partly addressed in the 1975 film "Man Friday" starring Richard Roundtree and Peter O'Toole.
The latest German translation lands on the book's tricentennial Image: mare Verlag
Societal castaway
"On his island, Robinson experiences all the conflicts every single person and every society faces again and again," says German writer and journalist Günter Wessel in the appendix to a new German translation of the classic. "He observes the relationship of nature and culture, solitude and society, doing without something, and greed, ownership and existence — there is even evidence of a longing for escapism."
Shipwreck, castaway, washed up on a faraway island — Defoe's novel inspired and fascinated filmmakers from the silent movie era to this very day. Popular films and TV series with a shipwreck motif include the 1960s US TV sitcom "Gilligan's Island", the more contemporary US series "Lost" (2004 - 2010), and the 2001 Hollywood blockbuster "Cast Away" starring Tom Hanks.
Click through the picture gallery above to discover more films inspired by the adventure novel written 300 years ago.
