Cast Away

Cast Away:

The first act sets up Chuck Noland’s character as a go-getter with little time for those he loves; he doesn’t connect to his girlfriend, her family, and those with whom he works closely. The next two acts set him up on a deserted island after miraculously surviving a plane crash and he spends the next four years in total isolation. During this time, his metamorphosis into a human being through loneliness, hope, despair, and physical suffering is completed: he suddenly has all the time in the world and his only friend is Wilson, the volleyball he projects a personality into so he can stay sane.

Tom Hanks is able to make this work because he’s a damn good actor; his performance is brilliantly subtle. Even more importantly, there is no musical score the entire time he is on the island; Zemeckis lets the film breathe and move through the ambient sounds. When Noland loses his ‘friend” on the raft, four years of hopelessness and despair are purged through his heartfelt apology and gut wrenching sobs. Hanks makes this convincing and powerful.

The final act is one big Hollywood emotional crapfest with all the obligatory romantic conventions that caused me to grit my teeth and groan. It was also coated with a thick mucus of sound; the score was intrusive and awful. But one scene was exceptional and I think is the signature for Noland’s character: he is able to truly feel empathy for his friend whose wife died while he was lost. Hanks looks him in the eyes and makes that human connection that he couldn’t make earlier in the film. The power of the story is here in this interaction and not with the cardboard fake melodrama “romantic interest” that he loses for a second time. It doesn’t help that Helen Hunt is out-acted by a bloody piece of leather. Final Grade: (C)

Recommendations: The Birds, Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960), Funny Games

All reviews copyright Korova, Ltd. Visit Alex at his Home Theatre Blog, http://korovatheatrepresents.blogspot.com/

Cast Away

"Cast Away" is the last movie that Robert Zemeckis directed before he went crazy and became obsessed with making motion capture movies ("The Polar Express," "Beowulf," and "A Christmas Carol"). This is really a shame because before this he made some great, normal movies such as "Back to the Future, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," and a certain Academy Award winner and one of the best movies of the 1990s...or ever: "Forrest Gump." "Cast Away" was released at the end of 2000. Earlier that year Robert Zemeckis's "What Lies Beneath" with Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford was released. The movie was actually a pretty good supernatural thriller. The beginning was a little slow but the end was pretty intense. And Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford are just great actors to begin with. Okay, back to "Cast Away," which starred Tom Hanks, and Helen Hunt showed up at the beginning and the end. I'm assuming you all know the plot but I'll give a brief synopsis anyway: Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) works for FedEx and is dating Kelly Frears (Helen Hunt). While on a plane with several other employees they fly into a storm the plane crashes into the water and Chuck ends up on an island for four years. If you are going to watch just one actor carry almost an entire movie completely on his own, it might as well be Tom Hanks. The man is just a great actor having done comedy. drama, and whatever is in between...He spends about an hour and a half of the movie on an island by himself. The result is anything but boring. Tom Hanks plays the character so well as he tries to fend for himself on the island and deals with being stranded alone for four years and "befriending" a volleyball he calls Wilson. Although he doesn't talk a whole lot, plenty happens on the island as the years pass and it is entertaining to see and it is no surprise that Tom Hanks got an Oscar nomination for his role. Helen Hunt is also great, but she is in hardly any scenes. Although the movie is pushing 2 1/2 hours, the pacing is perfect and every scene feels like there was at least a little point to it being there. Throughout the whole movie there is just a lot of great film making in general, which is what I have come to expect from Robert Zemeckis. So if you have already seen it, great - and if not then by all means rent it because it's worth the time and money...if only for a great Tom Hanks performance.

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CAST AWAY (2000)

BACK COVER SYNOPSIS: Discover the unforgettable journey of hope, courage and survival. Tom Hanks "gives one of the towering screen performances of all time" (New York Post) as Chuck Noland, a FedEx systems engineer whose ruled-by-the-clock existence abruptly ends when a harrowing plane crash leaves him isolated on a remote island. As Chuck struggles to survive, he finds that his own personal journey has only just begun..

FILM REVIEW: If there ever was a monumental task put before any actor to 'carry' the film all on his/her own, it would be "Cast Away". Tom Hanks is for the most part all on his own in a film about a man who gets stranded on a deserted island after a fateful plane crash in which he barely survives. You might wonder on the surface if seeing only one actor on screen for over ninety minutes is workable but somehow Tom Hanks and the filmmakers make it work beautifully, and at the same time, give an insight in to how someone might survive if put in that situation. The film is never dull or boring, and manages to impart a few themes as well, including the human will to survive, letting everything you know in your life go in order to survive, and how certain things in life don't really matter when compared to those things that do.
"Cast Away" can be broadly split in to three parts; Chuck (Hanks) in his normal life as FedEx employee, Chuck on the island, and Chuck returning home safe and sound. What makes this film so unique is that each of these three parts are almost three different films. The tone, style and execution of each part are very different and are symbolic of where the character is at throughout the course of the film. We are introduced to Chuck through his life as a FedEx employee and his obsession with getting the mail out on time. He is a workaholic, and although he is in a loving relationship with a woman he proposes to, Kelly (Helen Hunt), whenever his job calls, he's out the door to serve; a good sequence which shows this is when he is sitting around the table having dinner with his family when in the middle of the festivities his pager goes off and he is immediately on the phone to receive his instructions. There's a feeling that they're not in control of the situation, even Kelly who has to sort out her schedule with Chuck as well. Then after one of the most terrifying plane crash sequences you'll see, we see Chuck stranded on the island. After the fast-paced visuals of the first act, the camera stays remarkable still, as everything Chuck knows is gone and his only priority is to survive. This section, which is the selling point of the film, works so well because Hanks manages to take us on his journey of survival, giving us an almost first-person perspective of the situation. What would you do? There is a conceit; the filmmakers manage to create a talking companion for Chuck out of thin-air: a Volleyball Chuck names Wilson that gets smeared with blood from his hand but mysteriously looks like a human face. Although Wilson obviously doesn't talk, Chuck spends some time talking to it, and remarkably, it works and doesn't look goofy or silly. After Chuck manages to rescue himself from the island, a clever move by the filmmakers to make Chuck his own savior rather than the arbitrary ship passing by, we see Chuck returned to his home four years later where everything is changed, but still the same in certain respects. Kelly has moved on, marrying a dentist. In a remarkable scene where Hanks meets her new husband, a lot of drama is being played out, least of which there is no malice since the situation is so extraordinary that everyone is still coming to grips with how to handle it. It's a dramatic scene with little dialogue which focuses on Chuck coming to the realisation that he's lost Kelly for a second time. Remarkably, although the film skews in the direction of a possible reunion, Chuck makes the unconventional decision to let her go, and decides to move on with his life, although we get a possible happy ending suggested in the last shot when Chuck fatefully meets up with a woman he delivers a package to that he had with him from the island.
Robert Zemeckis is on top of his game yet again, directing with a lot of directorial confidence and style, but never letting the reality of the situation become glorified or unbelievable. A lot of this comes down to making some rather unconventional choices in the story, with the two biggest ones being having Chuck save himself and making Chuck let go of Kelly rather than have your typical sugar-coated Hollywood ending. All of this leads to a film that plays quite believably, and doesn't glamorise the idea of being stranded on a deserted island. It's not a nice place, but Chuck figures out a way to survive there any way. The camerawork is fantastic, with lots of frenetic steadicam shots in the opening act, some well constructed still shots on the island when things slow done, and some graceful and elegant work in the third act as all the characters who interacted with each other in the first act come together again to figure out how to handle Chuck's return.
Tom Hanks carries this film with aplomb; it really is a tour-de-force performance which in the hands of a lesser actor would have completely destroyed the film. He knows how to command the screen in this film, and although he is assisted greatly by the filmmakers in creating believable plot devices which carry him from one point to the next, he really has the hard job of selling it all and he does it really well. This is no more evident than in his dialogue with 'Wilson'; this could have easily looked stupid but he conveys it with the right amount of care and desperation that you could imagine yourself doing the same thing to keep you sane in order to deal with such an extraordinary situation.
"Cast Away" is an engrossing, moving film that will leave you surprised that it works as well as it does.

TECHNICAL REVIEW: The video transfer of this film is fabulous, right down to the last detail. The picture is crisp and rich in colour, without too many blemishes in sight save for some mpeg artefacts which pop up in the night sequences on the island but you'd have to be two centimetres away from the television to see it. The audio track is another job well done, particularly in the plane crash sequence which is so lively, vivid and well represented in the 5.1 surround sound environment that you'll think you're actually right in the middle of it. Great work, excellent transfer.

EXTRAS REVIEW: You want to know what an extras package should be? Go buy this DVD. This has a fabulous, comprehensive set of extras starting with a highly informative audio commentary by director Robert Zemeckis and his crew where he discusses everything from technical points, to story development, to how he'll never test a film again after the film didn't go over well with a test audience - "This isn't Forrest Gump, what is this?". But it doesn't stop there. We have five documentaries, one an HBO special which aired at the time, and four extended featurettes focusing on how one would survive on a deserted island, the creation of Wilson and his place in the story, filming on location and a focus on technical effects. All of these are excellent are give an extensive coverage of the making of the film. And then there's the interview Tom Hanks did on the Charlie Rose show; a fifty minute interview where Hanks talks about his personal involvement in getting the film going to more general topics such as his career, his turn at directing, and his thoughts on directing and acting. We also get an additional German language soundtrack, English, German and Dutch subtitles, and trailers. Exactly the way an extras package should be.

BOTTOM LINE: Worth having in the collection.

FILM RATING: 8.5/10 -- EXTRAS RATING: 9.5/10 -- OVERALL DVD RATING: 9/10 

Todd Murphy <br />
http://www.allaboutmovies.net

CAST AWAY (2000)

/</gispan style="font-family: Tahoma; color: #ffff00; font-size: 2px;"/>/gi<span style="font-family: Tahoma; color: #ffff00; font-size: 2px;">BACK COVER SYNOPSIS</span>:</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; color: #ffffff; font-size: 2px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; color: #000000; font-size: 2px;">Discover the unforgettable journey of hope, courage and survival. Tom Hanks "gives one of the towering screen performances of all time" (New York Post) as Chuck Noland, a FedEx systems engineer whose ruled-by-the-clock existence abruptly ends when a harrowing plane crash leaves him isolated on a remote island. As Chuck struggles to survive, he finds that his own personal journey has only just begun..
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; color: #ff0000; font-size: 2px;">
FILM REVIEW:</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 2px;"> If there ever was a monumental task put before any actor to 'carry' the film all on his/her own, it would be "Cast Away". Tom Hanks is for the most part all on his own in a film about a man who gets stranded on a deserted island after a fateful plane crash in which he barely survives. You might wonder on the surface if seeing only one actor on screen for over ninety minutes is workable but somehow Tom Hanks and the filmmakers make it work beautifully, and at the same time, give an insight in to how someone might survive if put in that situation. The film is never dull or boring, and manages to impart a few themes as well, including the human will to survive, letting everything you know in your life go in order to survive, and how certain things in life don't really matter when compared to those things that do.</span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Tahoma; color: #000000; font-size: 2px;">"Cast Away" can be broadly split in to three parts; Chuck (Hanks) in his normal life as FedEx employee, Chuck on the island, and Chuck returning home safe and sound. What makes this film so unique is that each of these three parts are almost three different films. The tone, style and execution of each part are very different and are symbolic of where the character is at throughout the course of the film. We are introduced to Chuck through his life as a FedEx employee and his obsession with getting the mail out on time. He is a workaholic, and although he is in a loving relationship with a woman he proposes to, Kelly (Helen Hunt), whenever his job calls, he's out the door to serve; a good sequence which shows this is when he is sitting around the table having dinner with his family when in the middle of the festivities his pager goes off and he is immediately on the phone to receive his instructions. There's a feeling that they're not in control of the situation, even Kelly who has to sort out her schedule with Chuck as well. Then after one of the most terrifying plane crash sequences you'll see, we see Chuck stranded on the island. After the fast-paced visuals of the first act, the camera stays remarkable still, as everything Chuck knows is gone and his only priority is to survive. This section, which is the selling point of the film, works so well because Hanks manages to take us on his journey of survival, giving us an almost first-person perspective of the situation. What would you do? There is a conceit; the filmmakers manage to create a talking companion for Chuck out of thin-air: a Volleyball Chuck names Wilson that gets smeared with blood from his hand but mysteriously looks like a human face. Although Wilson obviously doesn't talk, Chuck spends some time talking to it, and remarkably, it works and doesn't look goofy or silly. After Chuck manages to rescue himself from the island, a clever move by the filmmakers to make Chuck his own savior rather than the arbitrary ship passing by, we see Chuck returned to his home four years later where everything is changed, but still the same in certain respects. Kelly has moved on, marrying a dentist. In a remarkable scene where Hanks meets her new husband, a lot of drama is being played out, least of which there is no malice since the situation is so extraordinary that everyone is still coming to grips with how to handle it. It's a dramatic scene with little dialogue which focuses on Chuck coming to the realisation that he's lost Kelly for a second time. Remarkably, although the film skews in the direction of a possible reunion, Chuck makes the unconventional decision to let her go, and decides to move on with his life, although we get a possible happy ending suggested in the last shot when Chuck fatefully meets up with a woman he delivers a package to that he had with him from the island.</span>
<span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 2px;">Robert Zemeckis is on top of his game yet again, directing with a lot of directorial confidence and style, but never letting the reality of the situation become glorified or unbelievable. A lot of this comes down to making some rather unconventional choices in the story, with the two biggest ones being having Chuck save himself and making Chuck let go of Kelly rather than have your typical sugar-coated Hollywood ending. All of this leads to a film that plays quite believably, and doesn't glamorise the idea of being stranded on a deserted island. It's not a nice place, but Chuck figures out a way to survive there any way. The camerawork is fantastic, with lots of frenetic steadicam shots in the opening act, some well constructed still shots on the island when things slow done, and some graceful and elegant work in the third act as all the characters who interacted with each other in the first act come together again to figure out how to handle Chuck's return.</span>
<span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 2px;">Tom Hanks carries this film with aplomb; it really is a tour-de-force performance which in the hands of a lesser actor would have completely destroyed the film. He knows how to command the screen in this film, and although he is assisted greatly by the filmmakers in creating believable plot devices which carry him from one point to the next, he really has the hard job of selling it all and he does it really well. This is no more evident than in his dialogue with 'Wilson'; this could have easily looked stupid but he conveys it with the right amount of care and desperation that you could imagine yourself doing the same thing to keep you sane in order to deal with such an extraordinary situation.</span>
<span style="font-family: Tahoma; color: #000000; font-size: 2px;">"Cast Away" is an engrossing, moving film that will leave you surprised that it works as well as it does.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma; color: #ff0000; font-size: 2px;">TECHNICAL REVIEW: </span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; color: #000000; font-size: 2px;">The video transfer of this film is fabulous, right down to the last detail. The picture is crisp and rich in colour, without too many blemishes in sight save for some mpeg artefacts which pop up in the night sequences on the island but you'd have to be two centimetres away from the television to see it. The audio track is another job well done, particularly in the plane crash sequence which is so lively, vivid and well represented in the 5.1 surround sound environment that you'll think you're actually right in the middle of it. Great work, excellent transfer.
</span>
EXTRAS REVIEW: You want to know what an extras package should be? Go buy this DVD. This has a fabulous, comprehensive set of extras starting with a highly informative audio commentary by director Robert Zemeckis and his crew where he discusses everything from technical points, to story development, to how he'll never test a film again after the film didn't go over well with a test audience - "This isn't Forrest Gump, what is this?". But it doesn't stop there. We have five documentaries, one an HBO special which aired at the time, and four extended featurettes focusing on how one would survive on a deserted island, the creation of Wilson and his place in the story, filming on location and a focus on technical effects. All of these are excellent are give an extensive coverage of the making of the film. And then there's the interview Tom Hanks did on the Charlie Rose show; a fifty minute interview where Hanks talks about his personal involvement in getting the film going to more general topics such as his career, his turn at directing, and his thoughts on directing and acting. We also get an additional German language soundtrack, English, German and Dutch subtitles, and trailers. Exactly the way an extras package should be.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma; color: #ff0000; font-size: 2px;">BOTTOM LINE:</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; color: #000000; font-size: 2px;"> Worth having in the collection.
</span>
FILM RATING: 8.5/10 -- EXTRAS RATING: 9.5/10 -- OVERALL DVD RATING: 9/10 </span>

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Todd Murphy <br />
http://www.allaboutmovies.net