Man Friday (1975)

An Englishman (Peter O'Toole) has been stranded on a desert island for years. When a group of natives arrive on the island, he kills them all except for one (Richard Roundtree), who he keeps as a slave. Based on a play by Adrian Mitchell (who also did the screenplay) which in turn was based on ROBINSON CRUSOE by Daniel Defoe and directed by Jack Gold. It's an interesting if ill conceived re-imagining of the Defoe book. The story is seen through Friday's eyes and it becomes clear as the story progresses that it is the white man, not the native who is the savage. Detail is often rushed. For example, Friday speaks no English when he arrives but before you know it, he's speaking perfect English. When Crusoe visits Friday's island, he speaks English to the natives and they understand perfectly (or are we to assume Friday has taught Crusoe his native tongue?). The film has a certain charm and O'Toole and Roundtree (who's quite good here) play off each other wonderfully. Curiously, there are several songs in the film that make it feel like a borderline musical! But they sound more "pop" than indigenous. The lush cinematography (filmed in Mexico) is by Alex Phillips Jr.