If you were expecting another Robinson Crusoe then this movie is not for you. This movie deals with the human aspect of being removed from everything you know and having to deal with not having the familiar around to keep you comfortable. If you are looking for exciting fights with the natives and constructing amazing devices from coconut shells and bamboo then you may want to go watch Robinson Crusoe or Gilligans Island. This was, I believe, probably a very difficult movie to make and probably even harder to sell the idea to a studio. Like I said earlier this is not Robinson Crusoe and you aren't given a lot of action to watch but what you are given is a look at just how man deals with what he's dealt. How many times have you found yourself having a conversation with ,well yourself, when no one else is around? Now take away all that you have and all your family and friends and, for that matter everything you have, how would you deal with it? A volleyball might just become a good friend. I don't think this movie would ever have seen the light of day if it hadn't been brought forward by such box office powerhouses as Hanks and Zemeckis and I don't know anyone else who could have pulled it off better than Hanks. So I recommend that you watch this movie but don't watch it for a survivalist action adventure flick watch it for what it is, a statement on the human condition and just how one man copes with what life throws his way.
Letterboxed Anamorphic 1.85:1
Audio:
DTS 6.1 ES English
Dolby Digital 6.1 EX English
Dolby Surround English
Dolby Surround French
Additional Release Material:
Audio Commentary 1. Robert Zemeckis Director, Don Burgess Director of Photography, Ken Ralston Visual Effects Supervisor, Carey Villegas Co-Visual Effects Supervisor, Randy Thom Sound Designer
Interactive Features:
Scene Access
Interactive Menus
Disc Two: Bonus Features
Featurettes 1. "The Making of CAST AWAY"
2. "S.T.O.P.: Surviving as a Castaway"
3. "The Island"
4. "Wilson: The Life & Death of a Hollywood Extra"
Special Effects Vignettes with Audio Commentary
Charlie Rose Interview with Tom Hanks
Trailers 1. 2 Original Theatrical Trailers
2. 10 TV Spots
Interactive Features:
Scene Access
Interactive Menus
Text/ Photo Galleries:
Stills Gallery
Storyboard Galleries
Concepual Art
IllustrationsI own movies in both HD DVD and Blu-Ray formats so I've seen very many HD movies and am well familiar with the formats capabilities.
Being one of my favorite movies, Cast Away's release in Hi-Def got me very excited. I'm a big fan of the movie and give the movie itself 5 stars but am only reviewing the quality of this release here. The opening sequence where the FedEx truck drives up and picks up the package for delivery to Russia looks only slightly better than the standard DVD. When the truck opens up and the Russia scene starts it looks a lot better, but still more like 720p quality. Through the rest of the movie the HD quality stays about the same, decent but not great. It's certainly a step up from DVD but there are a few scenes that seem to be no better than my 2 disc DVD edition. The best looking scenes are the closeup scenes where the HD quality becomes more apparent but it still doesn't look anywhere near as good as other HD titles I own. Some of the best looking HD titles I own are: The Matrix collection, 2001, The Fifth Element, Apollo 13, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Pirates of the Caribbean, and number of others.
While watching the movie and examining the quality I came to the thought that it might not be the transfer that's the issue but possibly it was the director of photography's filming. It looks like the DP tried hard to keep a balance of focus between the actor and the background thereby not getting a truly sharp focus. I could be wrong but this is what it looked like. The 5.1 surround sound was fantastic. I didn't notice any difference between my DVD and Blu-ray versions, though I do admit I really didn't examine the audio.
Overall the movie was nice but I was let down as I was expecting better, especially from a movie with such a great environment. If you own the 2 disc DVD keep in mind the 2 disc set has all those extras and this hi-def release does not. So you may want to hold onto your set. Don't go getting Cast Away expecting the same HD quality you see in all those top notch movies that people use to showcase the format. It still looks great and certainly better than DVD just not leaps and bounds better for most of the scenes. Again, I can't say for sure but it may simply have been the way it was filmed.
Viewed on:
Sony PS3 (latest update)
Samsung LN-T5265F 52" LCD 1080P (calibrated)
Toshiba 5.1 surround sound system
Read Best Reviews of Cast Away (2000) Here
What other actor could we spend nearly 3hrs with and never once feel the need to glance at our watch or worry that we're getting to the end of our popcorn? This is not a movie that tricks us into thinking we got our money's worth. No musclebound hero wages a one man war against injustice. Music will not swell at opportune moments coaxing our tear ducts into over-drive. We don't have to take sides and nobody gets naked. Sounds dull, huh? Well, if your interests tend toward pretty/handsome, fast, loud, manipulative and titillating, don't bother seeing this movie. On the other hand, if you prefer substance over flash then this is the movie you'll want to see. In my opinion, Tom Hanks gives a performance that, over time, will come to be known as one of the single most magnificent acting accomplishments ever. It's hard to explain, but somehow Hanks allows us to re-visit and vicariously share the feeling of the first time. His physical and emotional transformation is nothing short of miraculous. You'll want to pay particular attention to his initial reactions to sounds the island makes. I laughed and cried at how he is repeatedly tricked into thinking he is getting the hang of his predicament. Also of interest is his characters' realization that he really doesn't know what he knows. But it's a good thing because it leaves him open to possibilities and ultimate triumph.The rest of the movie and the other performances are incidental. There is just enough of it to make us understand why his not being in that world matters.Don't watch this movie with any expectaions. Erase the blackboard; let Tom Hanks fill it in!Want Cast Away (2000) Discount?
Many have written great reviews of this awesome movie. I just watched it twice again the last couple of days and have found things I missed in earlier viewings. This film definitely makes my list of films that I can watch again and again.Its fairly easy to perfunctorily view this film as a simple plot line: that is, man crashes in airplane, survives on island, loses lots of weight, grows beard, builds raft, gets back home, but, alas, not the ending he thought it could be. To view and absorb this movie on this superficial level is a waste of the art and symbolism that it contains.
That's where the spiritual aspect of this film comes in that so many viewers have missed. There is a great deal of spiritual symbolism on a deeper level.
One reviewer thought it was weird that Tom Hanks made an imaginary friend in a Wilson Volleyball. This is not strange at all. I surmise that viewers that think along these lines have never spent great stretches of time alone without human contact. To them I say, go camping alone for a month somewhere where you will not see people and you might begin to understand how "Wilson" helped keep Hanks alive.
SYMBOLISM
OK OK what is this symbolism I am speaking of??? The very last scene of the movie breaks us over the head with symbolism. Hanks is standing in the flattest of the flat parts of Texas at a crossroads. Literally, he does not know what road to take. Figuratively, metaphorically, his entire life is at a crossroads. Chuck Logan has learned something new though. He has been transformed by his experience and has learned how to listen to some voice deep inside instead of rushing around like a Fed Ex mad man. He waits, contemplates until he feels his guide, the inner man, help him on his way. This IN ESSENCE, is what this film is all about.
THE WHALE:
Whats with the whale and the spraying of the water. Some people have missed that the spraying of the water is actually THE WHALE that has followed along with Hanks on the raft and has sprayed him, that is, woken him up out of his coma, at very key moments. Some may think: WOW, that is really far fetched. Well then, I challenge you to go on a whale watch yourself if you have never done so. When a whale comes as close to you as was accurately portrayed in this movie, raises its head out of the water, and its eye looks in yours and your eyes look into its eye, you can only come to one conclusion: you are looking into the eye of an intelligent and sentient being that is quite capable of staying with Hanks. Sailors have reported these experiences with whales time and again.
No one has written about the GOLD WINGS symbol that Chuck Logan says saved his life. Yes, that symbol saved his life but also Wilson saved his life, Kelly saved his life, the watch saved his life, and Chuck Logan saved his life by recognizing his powerlessness and transforming his life.
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