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Click above to purchase "Cast Away Special Edition" at
amazon.com
Cast Away
Special Edition
review by Zach B.
Rated PG-13
Studio: Fox
Running Time: 143 minutes
Starring Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt and Wilson The
Volleyball
Written by William Broyles Jr.
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Retail Price: $29.98
Features: Disc 1 - Audio Commentary with Director
Robert Zemeckis, Director Of Photography Don Burgess, Visual
Effects Supervisor Ken Ralston, Co-Visual Effects Supervisor
Carey Villegas and Sound Designer Randy Thom
Disc 2 - The Making Of Cast Away, S.T.O.P.: Surviving As A
Cast Away featurette, The Island featurette, Wilson: The
Life and Death of a Hollywood Extra featurette, Special
Effects Vingettes, Video and Still Galleries, Charlie Rose
Interviews Tom Hanks, Theatrical Teaser, Theatrical Trailer,
TV Spots
Specs: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English Dolby
Digital 6.1 EX, English DTS 6.1 ES, English Dolby Surround,
French Dolby Surround, English Subtitles, French Subtitles,
Chapter Search (32 Chapters), Two-Disc Set, THX
Certified
Every holiday season, there is always that one
anticipated movie. That one movie with a ton of hype, a
great trailer and some impressive talent in front and behind
the camera. The movie makes millions at the box office and
becomes an instant audience favorite. Last December, that
movie was "Cast Away" which was in development for quite a
while, starting with an idea Tom Hanks had over six years
ago.
I was really looking forward to "Cast Away", but the real
question is who wasn't? The film re-teamed Tom Hanks and
Robert Zemeckis, who struck box office gold and Oscar®
gold with "Forest Gump". The trailers really impressed me
(even the full spoiler-filled one) and really made the film
look spectacular, sort of like something exciting and new.
All those years in the making from the idea, to some
shooting to a big break so Hanks could lose weight and to
the final product was really worth it. Still, perhaps the
main draw of the film is that when "Cast Away" opened up,
America had been gripped for a few months on
Survivor
fever. Yes, everyone's favorite reality game show where
sixteen people were casted away on to an island and had to
be the last to survive in order to win a million bucks. I
think that could have been a factor, considering the show
was off the air for a few months and the second season of it
was about a month away. Still, I think the anticipation and
buzz went around more so than the TV craze, and again, the
Zemeckis and Hanks factor doesn't hurt at all. Critics loved
the film and audiences as well. The film opened big and
performed really strongly, raking in 230 million
domestically.
So what is "Survivor The Movie" err, "Cast Away" about?
Let's just say if you're expecting "Survivor" you're not
getting it. I'm sure people have and will continue to make
some sort of comparison between the movie and the popular TV
series, but they shouldn't because the only really
similairty is being trapped on an island and trying to
survive - that's it. In the film, Tom Hanks plays Chuck
Noland, a FedEx systems engineer who just works, works and
works. And while he's getting cosy for the Christmas season
with his love Kelly (Helen Hunt), duty calls and he has to
help make a quick delivery. Of course, something's bound to
go wrong. The plane ends up crashing in a fantastic action
sequence, and Chuck is the only survivor. He ends up on an
isolated island, complete with packages, his clothes and
some other items. This is where the real film begins and a
good majority of the film stays. Noland is stuck on the
island and tries to send some help signals, but that ends up
failing. (Here come some spoilers, so if you have not seen
the trailer and don't want to know what happens I suggest
skipping down to the next paragraph. If you have seen the
trailer and/or movie itself, keep reading). So, he's stuck
on the island for four years as he searches for food and
tries to survive, as well as over come some obstacles.
Noland also tries to keep his sanity, and does mostly,
thanks to his volleyball creation, the loveable Wilson.
Noland also goes through an amazing physical transformation.
But the time on the island is pretty much a character study
of sorts. Noland no longer has work to keep him occupied,
it's all about his will to survive. We slowly begin to see
what kind of person Chuck really is and not just some kind
of work-a-holic, and how this is all done and seamlessly
conveyed works really nicely. Of course, as given away in
the trailer, Noland does survive. But it has been a few
years since his ordeal, and he must come to accept the
changes in his life and a new world of sorts, because
esentially, Chuck has lost everything. Most importantly, his
world has now shifted because his love Kelly was a major
part of his life, just like his constant work. Kelly is now
married to someone else and things become intense as the
whole study of Noland comes together, as he must come to
terms with things and start once again. Thankfully, the
whole "man who has lost everything who once had everything
and now must come to grips" which has been used in films all
the time before, is still pretty effective here.
"Cast Away" really, really engrossed me. It was
definently one of the best films I saw in 2000, and the long
running time felt like a few minutes passed by and that was
it. I really did enjoy that much. However, its not without
its flaws. The film begins with Hanks working and
establishing who Noland is as well as his hectic life. It's
necessary to the plot though some may find it boring, but it
all kicks into high gear with the plane crash. And then you
have the man on the island, with all the challanges,
challanges for simple things like food and fire. I was
always curious what would happen next to Chuck, and I wanted
to know what would happen next. I really got into it. One
could argue these parts may get somewhat redudant in some
ways and may bore people (perhaps a little too much "island
action" for them), but I loved all the island scenes. It's
essentially the heart of the film, where Chuck evolves and
makes his transistion. All of the island parts entertained
me and I really, really got caught up in it. While the
ending is good and wraps it up nicely (I LOVE that final
shot), I felt the ending dragged on too much with the Chuck
and Kelly relationship and got tedious rather quickly. The
ending was necessary, but if Zemeckis could have toned it
down a little shorter or perhaps Broyles Jr. found a
different way to end it, the ending would be a lot smoother
for me.
Once again, Tom Hanks delivers a spellbinding
performance. He of course got the Golden Globe and was
nominated for an Oscar® for this role. This movie, is
pretty much "The Tom Hanks Show". He's in nearly every
single scene, and just further proves that Hanks is one of
the best actors out there working today, and one of the best
in the past two decades. Interestingly enough, this
performance is a lot more physical. Hanks doesn't say so
much when he's on the island, but by watching him, you
really get some sort of feeling that he's really stuck on
the island as Noland, he just plays it out really well.
Helen Hunt, in a smaller role, does perfectly fine as usual
and really plays the role to the bone, but I felt the real
star of "Cast Away" was everybody's favorite volleyball, the
loveable Wilson. Wilson has so much chemistry with Hanks and
charisma, he's going to be getting a lot of offers in the
near future. I was really upset that the Academy overlooked
him in the "Best Supporting Actor" catagory. Wilson really
can hold a candle to Tom Hanks.
Back to things technical, Zemeckis works his magic here
once again, and Broyles Jr.'s script is well developed.
Everything here is crucial, and while I did find the end a
bit annoying, it was necessary. It's well written and every
scene is entertaining and really worthwhile, you almost
think he was trapped on an island and he's writing from
experience. He knows how to work it out. The scenary is
fantastic, as well as the sets and special effects. The
plane crash sequence is intense, and the island events
brings everything I mentioned previously come together so
well. The way Broyles creates Noland's struggle, the way
Zemeckis captures it on screen, the performance, the
beautiful scenary and island, special effects and all the
little things. I was pretty impressed. So if you were one of
the few who missed it in theaters, I have to say that "Cast
Away" is pretty refreshing, and definently worth your time.
"Cast Away" is presented in a fabulous 1.85:1 anamorphic
widescreen (though the box says 2.35:1) transfer, that is
THX-Certified (I didn't see a THX logo on the box, but once
you pop it in you'll see the THX logo before the movie and
find THX Optimode on the first disc). Fox never fails to
amaze me, as they truly deliver a gorgeous transfer once
again. "Cast Away" is a movie filled with a lot of visuals,
and this crystal-clear presentation preserves all the marvel
of the island. The trees, the ocean, the sky and the whole
atmosphere looks really incredible. Your jaw will probably
drop at how beautiful the scenary looks. Colors are
perfectly saturated and don't smear, but the transfer has
some minor flaws such as some slight shimmering here and
there and some nitpicks such as pieces of dirt and grain
that pop up now and then. Still, there's no denying what's
here is pure near-reference material.
Fox has embraced DTS for quite awhile now, and "Cast
Away" features some incredible THX-Certified Dolby Digital
EX and DTS ES mixes, and I was incredibly happy to have them
both, it really gives a good audio deal for the package.
Thankfully, "Cast Away" is a big movie on sound, and the
tracks are pure references that will show off any home
theater nicely.
Out of both tracks, they're a bit different, but when
compared, they really rank neck and neck with me. I guess I
like them equally... but each track has some pretty
interesting arrangments. It's a little hard to compare them,
and I usually give the edge to DTS, but with this film, I
don't know. They're simply both great. I guess I'll have to
watch the movie on DVD a few more times (a few times with
the Dolby and a few times with the DTS) to come to a more
concrete desicion, since there's so much to really hear with
these tracks. During some scenes I liked the Dolby Digital
better, but with others, DTS was a little better. Every
little noise and every little sound effect counts. Again,
there's just so much to behold in these tracks due to the
film's amazing sound style and sounds themselves. It all
adds up.
I found the Dolby Digital EX to be a little bit louder in
some areas, but during surrounds I felt it kept things a
little bit more closed. With the DTS, it seemed to have a
lot more depth and was nice around the edges, often at times
bringing you in more to the film than the Dolby Digital. I
found litttle sounds, such as the pocket watch ticking to be
more empowering in the Dolby Digital but more subtle in the
DTS. Each of the tracks boast a plentiful of surrounds and
are well balanced. The waves crashing on the shore of the
island, the beautiful Alan Silvestri score, some eventful
things that happen on the island, and of course, the plane
crash which is quite an intense sequence and brings a lot of
life to all the speakers. Make no mistake, each of the
tracks will really suck you into the movie. Also included
are Dolby Surround tracks in English and French, and English
and French subtitles.
Fox delivers another terrific two-disc set, and I
wouldn't expect less from them considering how successful
the movie was and how much there is on creating a film like
"Cast Away". On the first disc there's an Audio
Commentary with Director Robert Zemeckis, Director Of
Photography Don Burgess, Visual Effects Supervisor Ken
Ralston, Co-Visual Effects Supervisor Carey Villegas and
Sound Designer Randy Thom. This commentary is clearly
edited and doesn't always stay screen specific, but there's
a wealth of information you're going to eat up. This track
is pretty dry, but it's not boring and informative. There's
a lot of technical stuff as far as scenes go, as well as
some aspects of the story. A very good track with a variety
of information.
Now on to the second disc... The Making Of Cast
Away features interviews with Zemeckis, Hunt, Hanks,
Broyles Jr. and others, as well clips from the film. There
are also some behind the scenes clips. This is really
informative and goes through the process and the history of
the project, and even going in depth on to some island parts
with a good deal of information there. What I really liked
was the behind-the-scenes footage. Usually on these things
we see the clips over a voice over, but we get some sense of
set life and how things were established and done. Please
watch this. It goes through some major scenes and important
points about the movie.
The Featurettes section features three of them.
The first one, S.T.O.P.: Surviving As A Cast Away has
interviews with Boryles Jr. and James Simmons (an author),
among two other experts and features clips from the film.
The real focus on this one has the four going on about
surving the island, about surviving and offers a real-life
perspective to an extent and a history perspective. I found
this interesting at times but boring at other times.
The Island is the second featurette that features
location manager Mary Morgan. There's some behind the scenes
clips and basically focuses on the actual island where they
shot the movie, as well as info on the shoot and the island.
There's also a tour of the "production village" Nicely
done.
Wilson: The Life And Death Of A Hollywood Extra (my
favorite character in the movie) is the subject of the third
and final featurette. This is less serious than the other
two, and definently my favorite. It has interviews with
Hanks, Broyles and others as well as clips from the film and
behind the scenes footage. So if you love Wilson, watch
this. It's pretty fun.
The next section is called Special Effects
Vignettes has commentary from Ken Ralston and Carey
Villegas on six sequences: "The Plane Crash", "The Island
Revealed", "Climbing The Mountain Top", "The Wind Changes
Direction On The Island", "The Raft Goes Over A Big Wave"
and "The Whales" Basically each sequence shows the footage
of the film and how the special effects were formed,
complete with the commentary. Really interesting and
fascinating how it was all done, and each shows how they
were accomplished with computers and everything. It's not
confusing at all and just really interesting, though they
are kind of short.
Video And Stills Galleries is broken up into a few
sections. "Behind The Scenes Image Gallery" is a lot of
production photos and some storyboards in a montage played
against music. The "Storyboard Galleries" shows storyboards
from "Losing Wilson", "Raft Escape" and "Plane Crash" and
compares them to the final shot, and you can even watch them
in a montage of sorts. There's also a "Illustrations &
Storyboards" section with "Chuck's Raft", "Opening
Sequence", "Raft Assembly" and "Raft Launch" while
"Conceptual Artwork" has Raft Illustatiuons, Raft Sequence,
Day Rowing, Fishing, Day Whales and Night Whales.
Charlie Rose Interviews Tom Hanks is a valuable
addition to the disc. I am a big Charlie Rose fan actually,
I do watch his show quite often. I think he's a really
intelligent and bright guy, who actually goes into the
material nicely when discussing and actually sees/reads
whatever it is. There's some great exchanges between the two
here and good info from the film, so it's not to be missed.
A chapter function of sorts would have been nice here
though.
Finally, you have Ten TV Spots and each of the two
Theatrical Trailers in full frame.
On a side note, the menus are fantastic and perfectly fit
in with the film. They have great animations and wonderful
sound, and are even a little hautning. Nicely done, some of
the best menus I've seen in a long time.
"Cast Away" all around is a excellent and really
tremendous movie, featuring Tom Hanks at his best and a
really intriguing character study of sorts. Fox has not
disappointed with this release, as the transfer is top-notch
and the sound is some the best you'll ever hear on DVD.
There are also some great supplements that really go into
the film, all for a great price. Definently one of the best
releases of the summer, and it probably will rank as one of
the best DVD efforts of 2001. "Cast Away" is not to be
missed.
 (4/5 - NOT included in
final score)
 (4.5/5)
 (5/5)
(4/5)
(4/5,
NOT an average)
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