Cast Away is a 2000 film directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks. Hanks portrays a FedEx employee who is stranded on an uninhabited island after his plane crashes on a flight over the South Pacific. The film depicts his attempts to survive on the island using remnants of his plane's cargo, as well as his eventual escape and return to society. Hanks was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the 73rd Academy Awards for his critically acclaimed performance.
Plot
Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) is a time-obsessed FedEx systems analyst, who travels worldwide resolving productivity problems at FedEx depots. He is in a long-term relationship with Kelly Frears (Helen Hunt), with whom he lives in Memphis. Although the couple want to get married, Chuck's busy schedule causes problems. A Christmas with relatives is interrupted by Chuck being summoned to resolve a problem overseas. At the airport, the couple exchange Christmas gifts. Kelly gives Chuck her grandfather's pocket watch with her picture in it, and Chuck gives her what appears to be a ring, which he tells her to open on New Years, after he returns.
While flying through a violent thunderstorm somewhere over the southern Pacific Ocean, apparently having flown off course, an incident occurs on Chuck's MD-11 which results in it crashing into the ocean. Chuck is able to escape the sinking plane and is saved by an inflatable life-raft, which floats for some time in the storm before being washed up on an island.
It soon becomes clear that the island is uninhabited, and Chuck's early attempts to make visual signals for any searching aircraft, and to escape the island in the remnants of his life raft are fruitless.
After several FedEx packages from the crashed plane wash up on the island, Chuck begins to open them, looking for items to use for his survival. He finds a number of potentially useful items but leaves one package, painted with a pair of wings, unopened.
During a failed attempt to make fire, Chuck receives a deep wound to his hand. In anger he throws several objects, including a Wilson volleyball from one of the FedEx packages. A short time later he draws a face in the bloody hand print on the ball, naming it "Wilson" and begins talking to it as if it was a person.
The film shifts forward by four years to show Chuck now dramatically thinner and bearded with longer hair and wearing a loincloth. He has become an expert at spearing a fish and making fires. It also becomes clear that over the ensuing period of time, Chuck has developed a deep psychological connection to "Wilson", regularly having conversations & occasional arguments.
After a large sheet of plastic from a portable toilet washes up on the island, Chuck decides to use it as a sail in the construction of a raft. After spending some time building and stocking the raft (including food, fishing equipment, oars and the unopened package) and deciding when the weather conditions will be optimal, Chuck launches the raft and finally escapes the island. During the escape, he encounters a passing whale. After some time on the ocean, the raft is virtually destroyed by a storm which ultimately results in Wilson being lost. Distraught, Chuck resigns himself to his fate and abandons his attempt to find rescue. Half-dead and sunburned, he is found drifting a short time later by a passing cargo ship with the whale waking him up.
Upon returning home Chuck discovers that he has long been given up for dead by everyone he knows; his family and friends held a funeral, and Kelly has since married and had a daughter. After meeting Kelly the pair profess their love for each other but realizing a future together would be impossible; they part. Kelly gives Chuck the keys to the car that they had once shared as part of their past life together. Chuck remarks to a friend that he has now "lost her all over again," having previously resigned himself to being stranded on the island for the rest of his life.
Chuck then travels out into the country, to deliver the one unopened FedEx package that he had with him on the island. The house is empty so he leaves the package at the door, with a note telling the occupant that the package saved his life. He then departs, stopping at a remote crossroads. A woman passing by in a pickup truck stops to explain where each road leads. As she drives away, Chuck notices an illustration on the back of her pickup truck that is similar to one on the parcel. The film ends with Chuck looking down each road, trying to decide which direction to go. Then the camera comes to his face as he looks up the road of the departing truck, with a faint smile.
Cast
Production
Cast Away was filmed on Monuriki, a member of the Mamanuca Islands.[1] It is in a subgroup of the Mamanuca archipelago, which is sited off the coast of Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island. The island became a tourist attraction following the film's release. Although it is identified by Kelly after Chuck's return as being "about 600 miles south of the Cook Islands," there is actually no land between Antarctica and the southern-most Cook Islands of Mangaia.
The producers made up a list of seemingly useless items that would be in the packages that Noland recovered: party dress, ice skates, divorce papers, video tapes, and sundry others. They turned this over to a group of survival experts who decided how the protagonist might be able to use them. In a panel discussing the movie, director Robert Zemeckis joked that the unopened package contained a waterproof, solar-powered satellite phone. This led to a Super Bowl commercial that parodied the movie, which shows Chuck (though not played by Hanks) delivering the unopened package; as he does so, he asks the recipient "by the way, what's in the package?" and she replies "nothing much, just a satellite phone, GPS locator, fishing rod, water purifier, and some seeds."
Product placement
Cast Away includes prominent product placement that is worked into the story, although the brands in question did not pay for their appearances and are used solely as filmic devices. Wilson and FedEx were the two major brands featured.
At the time of the movie's release, Wilson Sporting Goods launched its own joint promotion centered around the fact that one of its products was "co-starring" with Tom Hanks. Wilson manufactured a volleyball with a parody of the hand print face on one side. It was sold for a limited time during the movie's initial release and continues to be offered on the company's website.[2]
FedEx reportedly paid nothing for product placement in the movie;[3] however FedEx CEO Fred Smith did make an appearance as himself for the scene where Chuck is welcomed back, which was filmed on location at FedEx's home facilities in Memphis, Tennessee. Although the idea of a story based on a FedEx plane crashing gave the company "a heart attack at first," the overall story was seen as positive and the company saw an increase in brand awareness in Asia and Europe following the movie's release.[4]
Wilson the volleyball
| Wilson |
 |
| First appearance |
Cast Away |
| Created by |
William Broyles Jr. |
| Information |
| Nickname(s) |
Wilson the Volleyball |
| Species |
Anthropomorphized volleyball |
| Date of death |
c. April 2000 |
| Occupation |
Sidekick |
| Fate |
Lost at sea |
In the film, Wilson the volleyball serves as Chuck Noland's anthropomorphized friend and only companion during the four years that Noland spends alone on a deserted island.[5][6][7]
Wilson has been a subject of humor in literature, film and television. The character has been parodied in Mad magazine and in such films and television shows as Scary Movie 2, Family Guy, Saturday Night Live and Madagascar.
Character development
The character was created by screenwriter William Broyles Jr. While researching for the film Cast Away, he consulted with professional survival experts, and then chose to deliberately strand himself for one week on an isolated beach in the Sea of Cortes, to force himself to search for water and food, and obtain his own shelter. During this time, a volleyball washed up on shore. This was the inspiration for the film's inanimate companion. From a theatrical view, Wilson also serves to realistically imply dialogue in a one-person-only situation.[8]
Fate of the prop
One of the original volleyball props was sold at auction after release of the film for $18,400 and now rests in a display cabinet in FedEx Kinko's CEO Ken May's office in Dallas, Texas.[9] In addition, many near identical replicas of Wilson are available for sale,[10][11][12] and the Wilson company manufactures a volleyball with the handprint face on one side.[13]
Reception
Cast Away was acclaimed by critics, with particular praise for Tom Hanks' role as Chuck Noland. The film currently holds a score of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film was a success at the box office, earning over $429,632,142 worldwide in ticket receipts.
The film received several award nominations.
Soundtrack
The film's minimal score was composed by Alan Silvestri for which he won a Grammy in 2002. The film's soundtrack is most notable for its lack of score and creature sound effects (such as bird song or insect sounds) while Chuck is on the island, which is intended to reinforce the feeling of isolation.[14] Cast Away contains no original musical score until Chuck escapes the island. However, there is a Russian choral piece heard near the start of the film that was not composed or even recorded by Silvestri, so it doesn't appear on the movie's soundtrack list. It is a traditional Russian song written by Lev Knipper called "Oh, My Field" ("Polyushko, Polye") and it is available on various collections of Red Army hymns. The tracks in Silvestri's score are as follows:
- "Cast Away" - 3.44
- "Wilson, I'm Sorry" - 1.39
- "Drive to Kelly's" - 3.54
- "Love of My Life" - 1.47
- "What the Tide Could Bring" - 3.39
- "Crossroads" - 2.08
- "End Credits" - 7.29
The official soundtrack CD contains an anthology of musical pieces from all movies directed by Zemeckis and scored by Silvestri. The only track from Cast Away itself is the theme from the end credits.[15]
Popular Culture
Lost
Media executive Lloyd Braun of ABC Studios first suggested the idea of a "Cast Away" type series at a dinner party in 2003.[16] Thom Shermann later pitched the idea for Cast Away-The Series but never developed the idea.[16] The basic concept was later developed and pitched with the title Nowhere; which later evolved into the hit ABC show Lost.[16]
References
- ^ Fiji. Korina Miller, Robyn Jones, Leonardo Pinheiro. Lonely Planet. 2003. p. 54. ISBN 1740591348.
- ^ "Wilson Volleyball". http://www.wilson.com/wilson/volleyball/all_volleyballs.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198674001899&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302759592.
- ^ "Stranded: Behind-the-Scenes of Cast Away, A comprehensive behind-the-scenes look at Cast Away". Stumped Magazine. 2004. http://stumpedmagazine.com/Articles/stranded.html. Retrieved 2009-12-27.
- ^ "A look at some of the biggest hits in film and TV product placement". The Hollywood Reporter. April 28, 2005. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/film/feature_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000901395. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
- ^ "Cast Away lets Hanks fend for himself". Detroit News. December 22, 2000. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DTNB&s_site=detnews&f_site=detnews&f_sitename=Detroit+News%2C+The+%28MI%29&p_multi=DTNB&p_theme=gannett&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F7502916F603973&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- ^ "Cast Away proves great films still exist". Daily Gazette. January 7, 2001. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SDGB&p_theme=sdgb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=1110F27098BA70F3&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- ^ "The Volleyball in the Void". Alan Vanneman. Bright Lights Film Journal. http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/62/62castaway.html. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- ^ Beverly Gray (March 7, 2001). "William Boyles, Jr.". All Business. The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.allbusiness.com/services/motion-pictures/4846110-1.html. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
- ^ "Cast Away's "Wilson" a Smash Hit on Fox Auction". Business Wire. January 3, 2001. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-68718270.html. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- ^ "Cast Away's "Wilson" Scores for Parent; Retail: Volleyball in Tom Hanks' film has bounced the spotlight onto recovering sporting goods firm". Los Angeles Times. January 8, 2001. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/66310967.html?dids=66310967:66310967&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jan+08%2C+2001&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&esc='Cast+Away's'+'Wilson'+Scores+for+Parent%3B+Retail%3A+Volleyball+in+Tom+Hanks'+film+has+bounced+the+spotlight+onto+recovering+sporting+goods+firm.&pqatl=google. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- ^ "Cast Away Wilson Volleyball". Indyprops. http://www.indyprops.com/pp-wilson.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- ^ "The Wilson Cast Away "Mr. Wilson" Outdoor Volleyball". Sports Unlimited Inc. http://www.sportsunlimitedinc.com/wilson-mr-wilson-volleyball.html. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- ^ "Wilson Castaway Volleyball". Wilson Sporting Goods Company's. Wilson Sporting Goods Company website. http://www.wilson.com/wilson/volleyball/volleyballs.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198674002269&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302759269&bmUID=1215726399732. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- ^ Cast Away DVD director's commentary
- ^ "Cast Away: The Films of Robert Zemeckis and the Music of Alan Silvestri". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:a9fexqe0ldfe. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
- ^ a b c "Cast Away". The Chicago Magazine. August 2007. http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/August-2007/Cast-Away/index.php?cp=2&si=1. Retrieved 2008-12-27.
External links
