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Cast Away (2000)
Hanks' sojourn on the island is the centrepiece, but this is no tropical island idyll: following a terrifying plane crash (the one sequence in the film where Zemeckis shows off his uncanny ability to choreograph action), life on the island is seen to be a depressing and bitter experience filled with disappointment, danger and suicidal despair. Having lost all hope of rescue, ultimately Noland's greatest test is not to survive, but to find a reason to survive. He has no Man Friday for company, just a volleyball named "Wilson" that is both a narrative device allowing Hanks to deliver dialogue and an intriguingly pagan personification of the island's spirit under whose protection Noland is finally able to summon fire (significantly, and heartbreakingly, Wilson leaves him as he regains contact with the world). In an era of MTV-style film editing, Zemeckis and Hanks fearlessly take their time establishing with total conviction the grim realities of Noland's situation, his devastating loss of hope and the means by which he achieves his escape. Like Contact before it, Cast Away is a refreshingly thoughtful piece of mainstream cinema that explores weighty existential issues but retains a warm human intimacy. On the DVD: The luminous anamorphic print with vivid Dolby 5.1 soundtrack is accompanied on the first disc by a technical commentary from Zemeckis and key crew personnel. It's plenty insightful for budding filmmakers, although for pure listening pleasure one might have preferred a more relaxed piece with just the director and Tom Hanks. The second disc includes a 30-minute making-of documentary in which the director sums up the moral of the movie--"Surviving is easy but living is difficult". This draws on material from the three other mini-documentaries about survival skills, Wilson the volleyball and the Fijian island location of Monu Riki respectively. There's also a section on the sometimes surprising use of CGI effects and a storyboard-to-film comparison sequence. Tom Hanks chats with American TV host Charlie Rose about this movie and his career in the extensive 50-minute interview. Trailers, artwork and stills round out a valuable two-disc set. --Mark Walker
RRP: £15.99
Our Price: £1.91 (subject to change)
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
Cast Away reunites star Tom Hanks and director Robert Zemeckis in their first collaboration since the heavy-handed sentimentality of Forrest Gump. Thankfully, this time their film's life-affirming message is delivered with more subtlety, attributable both to an extraordinarily committed, physically demanding central performance from Hanks and to Zemeckis' technically masterful but carefully understated direction. It's also a film with three distinct "acts" or, to be old-fashioned about it, a proper beginning, middle and end. The story follows schedule-obsessed but fulfilled FedEx supervisor Chuck Noland (Act 1) on a personal journey into the bleakest, most solitary despair (Act 2), before Helen Hunt, in the thankless role of ex-girlfriend, unwittingly allows him to glimpse an optimistic future full of untapped possibilities (Act 3).
Good until a weak ending...
Review date: 2008-11-07 Rating: 6 out of 10
The majority of this film is a good one- Hanks can usually be relied upon to turn in a good performance and here he turns in a compelling one, managing to convey palpable emotion with very few words. Towards the latter end of the film the sense of suspense and heartbreak leaves you on the edge of your seat, but all expectations are let down by the ending. The fact that it wasn't the ending most would have been hoping for isn't really what bothered me; it was the way in which what had been a very touching and genuine film suddenly became incredibly sickly-sweet in one scene which seemed to badly paraphrase a Hank's speech in 'Sleepless in Seattle'. The moment was utterly ruined for me.
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Reviews
Brilliant
Review date: 2008-06-18 Rating: 10 out of 10
I normally get bored with a film where a scene consists mainly of one actor.
But Tom Hanks truly delivers it. Top quality acting. Amazing story line. Beautiful camera shots. In my top 5 favorite films ever. You won't regret buying it.
A Lesson In Directing
Review date: 2008-04-19 Rating: 8 out of 10
This film could have been dire... the acting could have been lousy; the sets could have been unrealistic; the score could have been overly-sentimental but - worst of all - the direction could have been 'Hollywood'. No... Tom Hanks pulls off a masterful performance, the sets were uncomfortably real; the score was understated and the direction... the direction was a treat. A thought-provoking film that takes the viewer on a journey of 'what if's. An almost biblical atmosphere unfolds as Hanks realises he's completely alone, and the director handles the psychological effects of the ordeal with particular skill and sensitivity. It's not easy carrying the majority of a film single handedly but Hanks is, as always, engaging to the end.
Don't expect an epic but don't expect dross either
Review date: 2007-09-12 Rating: 8 out of 10
Without doubt Castaway is a good film. It doesnt have to have a point. No film does. Its a story. Plain and simple. A man becomes marooned on a desert island and eventually is rescued. Despite everyone believing he to be dead he returns to find life has moved on. His wife to be has married another man. Friends have passed away.... Its not always the story but the way the story is told and this told in an enjoyable manner. I liked it and I'm sure more people will than won't.
Moving...
Review date: 2007-08-02 Rating: 10 out of 10
This film obviously seems to cause controversy in viewers. Some love it for it's sentimentality, some hate it for it's so-called tedium. Although both sides put forward some very good points... i have to say that i side with the lovers.
People who disagree with me fail to remember that Tom Hanks, a stunningly good actor, is basically acting towards a football for three-quarters of the film. I think you also forget how hard it is to have no other actors to bounce dialogue off. Tom Hanks' ability to keep the audience completely encapsulated still astounds me. Although there are long expanses of time in which there is no dialogue, I found myself watching the character's every move with increased enthusiasm as he battled, physically and mentally, with nature. The long silences, with only the rushing waves as a sound barrier, seem to accentuate his loneliness... and truly made me empathise with the character that you grow to love as the film progresses.
The film follows a man marooned on a desert island alone, having survived a plane crash that killed the pilots. He must slowly learn to survive and stay sane in conditions that are alien to him. This film truly makes you think about how you would cope in his situation, and provides a reallistic outlook on the effect of solitude on a man. The ending is bitter-sweet, reallistic... yet it left me with a feeling of satisfaction that no other film can induce...
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Michael Forest
Helen Hunt
Nick Searcy
Chris Noth
Tom Hanks
Creators:
Tom Hanks (Primary Contributor)
Helen Hunt (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: Dreamworks
Manufacturer: Dreamworks
EAN: 0678149031133
Binding: VHS Tape
Number of items: 1
Format: Dolby, PAL, Surround Sound,
Release date: 2001-10-29
Universal product code (UPC): 678149031133
Audience rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Running time: 138 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2001
Language: English (Original Language)