| Cast Away | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Robert Zemeckis |
| Written by | William Broyles Jr. |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Don Burgess |
| Edited by | Arthur Schmidt |
| Music by | Alan Silvestri |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by |
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Release date |
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Running time | 144 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $90 million[1] |
| Box office | $429.6 million[1] |
Cast Away is a 2000 Americansurvivaldrama film directed and produced byRobert Zemeckis, written byWilliam Broyles Jr. and starringTom Hanks,Helen Hunt, andNick Searcy. Hanks plays aFedExtroubleshooter who is stranded on a deserted island after his plane crashes in theSouth Pacific, and the plot focuses on his desperate attempts to survive and return home. Filming took place from January to March 1999, and April to May 2000.
Cast Away was released on December 22, 2000, by20th Century Fox in the United States and Canada and byDreamWorks Pictures in other territories. It grossed $429.6 million worldwide, making it thethird-highest-grossing film of 2000. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the screenplay and Hanks's performance. Hanks wonBest Actor – Motion Picture Drama at the58th Golden Globe Awards and was nominated forBest Actor in a Leading Role at the73rd Academy Awards forCast Away.[2]
In December 1995, Chuck Noland is aFedExsystems analyst who travels the world resolving productivity problems. He lives with his girlfriend, Kelly Frears inMemphis, Tennessee. The two talk of getting married but keep experiencing setbacks because Chuck is constantly called away to work, which starts to put a strain on their relationship. During aChristmas dinner, Chuck experiences pain due to an infected tooth, just before he is summoned to resolve a FedEx problem inMalaysia. Before leaving, Kelly gives Chuck her grandfather'spocket watch with a photo of her in it. He gives her a small box, saying she can wait to open it on New Year's Eve when he returns, implying it is anengagement ring.
The FedEx cargo plane Chuck boards crashes into thePacific Ocean during a violent storm, leaving him as the only survivor. Washing ashore on a deserted island, Chuck explores the area, discovering several FedEx packages washing up on the coast, as well as the body of one of the pilots, Albert Miller, which he buries. In the following days, Chuck struggles to locate food and water. After seeing a ship on the horizon, he unsuccessfully tries to escape the island on a life raft, but is prevented by the tide and injures his leg. Realizing it is unlikely he will be rescued, Chuck opens most of the packages, finding items he uses to improve his living conditions. However, he does not open a package with golden angel wings painted on it, thinking the wings have symbolic meaning. While attempting tostart a fire, Chuck cuts his hand and furiously throws several objects including aWilsonvolleyball, leaving a bloodstained hand print. He draws a face into the blood, names the ball Wilson and begins talking to it. Chuck realizes the chances of his rescue are low because of the wide search area. Due to severe pain from his infected tooth, he performs his own tooth extraction using a rock and an ice skate. The extraction is successful, but he passes out from the pain.
Four years later, Chuck, now bearded and disheveled, has adapted to life alone on the island. After a section of aportable toilet enclosure washes up, he begins constructing araft, which he successfully launches past the surf with Wilson, the unopened FedEx package and his belongings in tow. Chuck survives a storm, but afterward, Wilson falls off the raft and floats away. He unsuccessfully attempts to rescue Wilson and is left to grieve his loss. Soon after, he is rescued by a passing cargo ship.
Four weeks later, Chuck returns to the mainland, where he learns he waspresumed dead by his family and friends. As he is given a hero's welcome at the FedEx headquarters in Memphis, he meets his dentist Jerry Lovett, whom he discovers has married and had a daughter with Kelly. At a homecoming party in Chuck's hotel room, Kelly is emotionally unable to greet him. Later that night, Chuck visits Kelly, where they bond for the last time; the two share a passionate kiss and confess their love for each other. Both realize she cannot leave her family and they part ways. Chuck returns the pocket watch Kelly gave him and she returns hisJeep Cherokee, which she had kept after his disappearance.
Chuck drives toTexas to return the angel-winged package to the address of the sender. Finding no one home, he leaves it at the door with a note saying the package saved his life. He departs in his vehicle and stops at acrossroads. A woman in a pickup truck, headed in the direction of the house, stops and gives information about where each road leads. As she drives away, Chuck notices the same angel wings painted on the tailgate of her truck. He looks down each road, trying to decide which way to go, and smiles when he faces the road taken by the truck.
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In a 2017 Actor Roundtable withThe Hollywood Reporter, Tom Hanks stated[3]
I madeCast Away because I wanted to examine the concept of four years of hopelessness, in which you have none of the requirements for living—food, water, shelter, fire and company. But it took us six years to put together the alliance that would actually examine that. I only had a third of it, andBill Broyles only had a third of it, untilBob Zemeckis comes along and provided that other third. I had that original idea. I was reading an article aboutFedEx, and I realized that747s filled with packages fly across the Pacific three times a day. And I just thought, "What happens if that goes down?"
— Tom Hanks in 2017[3]
The film was not shot chronologically. It began on January 18, 1999, before halting two months later. Filming resumed on April 3, 2000, and finished the following month. Hanks gained 50 pounds (23 kg) during pre-production to make his physical transformation more dramatic. After most of the film was shot, production was paused so he could lose the weight and grow his hair and beard to look like he had been living on the island for years. Another four-month production halt preceded the filming of the return scenes. During the year-long hiatus, Zemeckis used the same film crew to make another film,What Lies Beneath.[2][4] While the film was in production, Hanks nearly died when he suffered an infected cut on his leg. He was rushed to a local hospital to undergo surgery and stayed there for three days. Filming ofCast Away was suspended for three weeks to allow Hanks to recover from the injury.[5] Filming lasted for sixteen months.[6]
Cast Away was filmed onMonuriki, one of theMamanuca Islands inFiji.[7] It is in a subgroup of the Mamanucaarchipelago, which is sited off the coast ofViti Levu, Fiji's largest island. The islandbecame a tourist attraction after the film's release. After Chuck's return, it is identified by Kelly as being "about 600 miles [970 km] south of theCook Islands," but there is no land between the southernmost Cook Islands ofMangaia andAntarctica.[citation needed]
The film begins and ends in the same location, on the Arrington Ranch in theTexas Panhandle south of the city ofCanadian, Texas.[8]
The film's minimal score was composed and conducted byAlan Silvestri for which he won aGrammy Award 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.[9]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 does not appear on the film's soundtrack list. It is a traditional Russian song written byLev Knipper called "Oh, My Field"("Polyushko, Polye") and it is available on various collections of Red Army hymns.
The official soundtrack CD is ananthology of musical pieces from all the films up to that point that were directed by Zemeckis and scored by Silvestri. The only track fromCast Away itself is the theme from the end credits.[10] The album was released in 2001 by soundtrack specialty labelVarèse Sarabande, rather than byFox Music orDreamWorks Records, which were the in-house labels of 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks Pictures.[10]
The soundtrack featured inCast Away consists of 10 tracks, with performers includingElvis Presley,Chuck Berry, andCharles Brown.[11]
FedEx provided access to their facilities (Memphis, Los Angeles, and Moscow) as well as airplanes, trucks, uniforms, and logistical support. A team of FedEx marketers oversaw production through more than two years of filming.[12] FedEx CEOFred Smith made 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. The idea of a story based on a FedEx plane crashing gave the company "a heart attack at first", but the overall story was seen as positive. FedEx, which paid no money forproduct placement in the film,[13] saw an increase inbrand awareness in Asia and Europe following the film's release.[14]
In the film, Wilson thevolleyball serves as Chuck Noland'spersonifiedfriend and only companion during the four years that Noland spends alone on a desertedisland.[15][16][17] Named after the volleyball's manufacturer,Wilson Sporting Goods, the character was created by screenwriterWilliam Broyles Jr. While researching for the film, he consulted with professional survival experts, and then chose to deliberately strand himself for one week on an isolated beach in theGulf of California, to force himself to search for water and food, and obtain his own shelter. During this time, a Wilson-branded soccer ball washed up on shore, providing the inspiration for the film's inanimate companion. When the idea was presented to Tom Hanks, he happily agreed on the volleyball as a memento to his wife,Rita Wilson, knowing he would be away from home for a long period for filming.[18] From a screenwriting point of view, Wilson also serves to realistically allow dialogue to take place in a solitary scenario.[19][20]
It is rumored, but not confirmed,[21] that one of the original volleyball props was sold at auction for $18,500 to the ex-CEO ofFedEx Office,Ken May. At the time of the film's release, Wilson launched its own joint promotion centered on its products "co-starring" with Tom Hanks. Wilson manufactured a volleyball with a reproduction of the bloodied handprint face on one side. It was sold for a limited time during the film's initial release and continues to be offered on the company's website.[22] An original Wilson the volleyball prop sold viaHeritage Auctions on December 7, 2024, for $162,500.[23]
Cast Away opened in 2,774 theaters in North America and grossed $28.9 million (an average of $10,412 per theater) in its opening weekend.[24] For the four-dayChristmas long holiday weekend, it took in a total of $39.9 million.[25] At that point, it had the highest Christmas opening weekend of any film, surpassingPatch Adams.[26] Upon opening,Cast Away reached the number one spot at the box office, beating anotherHelen Hunt film,What Women Want. It would also compete againstHow the Grinch Stole Christmas, which was released the previous month.[27] With a total gross of $8.5 million,Cast Away held the record for having the biggestNew Year's Eve gross untilMeet the Fockers took it in 2004.[28] The film remained at the top of the box office for three weeks until it was overtaken bySave the Last Dance.[29]Cast Away kept performing well and ended up earning $233.6 million domestically and $196 million internationally, for a total of $429.6 million, against its production budget of $90 million. It became thethird-highest-grossing film of 2000, behindMission: Impossible 2 andGladiator.[1]
OnRotten Tomatoes,Cast Away holds an approval rating of 88% based on 156 reviews, with an average rating of 7.40/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Flawed but fascinating,Cast Away offers an intelligent script, some of Robert Zemeckis' most mature directing, and a showcase performance from Tom Hanks."[30] OnMetacritic, the film has aweighted average score of 73 out of 100 based on reviews from 32 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[31] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[32]
Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars out of four. In his review, he praised Hanks for doing "a superb job of carryingCast Away all by himself for about two-thirds of its running time" by "never straining for effect, always persuasive even in this unlikely situation, winning our sympathy with his eyes and his body language when there's no one else on the screen." However, he also mentioned how he felt that the film is "a strong and simple story surrounded by needless complications, and flawed by a last act that disappoints us and then ends on a note of forced whimsy."[33]
In an article on its website, Rotten Tomatoes rankedCast Away as the 23rd best film of 2000, based on its audience and critic scores.[34] In 2024,CBR ranked it fifth on a list of the "10 Best Live-Action DreamWorks Movies of All Time".[35] In 2025, it was one of the films voted for the "Readers' Choice" edition ofThe New York Times' list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century," finishing at number 291.[36]
| Organizations | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 Academy Awards[37] | Best Actor | Tom Hanks | Nominated |
| Best Sound | Randy Thom,Tom Johnson,Dennis S. Sands andWilliam B. Kaplan | Nominated | |
| 2001 BAFTA Awards[38] | Best Film Actor in a Leading Role | Tom Hanks | Nominated |
| 2001 Critics' Choice Awards[39] | Best Inanimate Object | Wilson | Won |
| 2001 Golden Globe Awards[40] | Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama | Tom Hanks | Won |
| 2001 MTV Movie Awards | Best Action Sequence in a Movie | Plane crash | Nominated |
| Best Kiss in a Movie | Tom Hanks andHelen Hunt | Nominated | |
| Best On-Screen Duo or Team in a Movie | Tom Hanks and Wilson | Nominated | |
| Best Performance in a Movie | Tom Hanks | Nominated | |
| 2001 Screen Actors Guild Awards[41] | Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture | Tom Hanks | Nominated |
| 2002 Grammy Awards | Best Instrumental Composition | Alan Silvestri (for "Cast Away End Credits") | Won |
In North America (Region 1),Cast Away was released onVHS andDVD on June 12, 2001, by20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.[42] The DVD version of the film is aTHX certified two-disc Special Edition release that features aDTS 6.1 ES audio track and several bonus features, including galleries, special effects vignettes, audio commentary, trailers, TV spots, behind-the-scenes footage, interviews, featurettes and more.[43] It became the fastest-selling DVD release in20th Century Fox history, selling 1.8 million copies and surpassingX-Men. Additionally, the film generated $5.5 million in rentals, which brokeTraffic's record for having the highest DVD rentals.[44]Cast Away went on to hold this record until 2002 when it was taken byThe Fast and the Furious.[45] In total, the film made $57 million in home video sales and $20.6 million in home video rentals during its first week of release.[44] It had the second-highest first week home video rentals of any film, behindMeet the Parents, as well as third-highest rentals overall, after the latter film andThe Sixth Sense.[44] InRegion 2 andRegion 4 areas such as Australia, the United Kingdom and Europe, the initial home video releases were handled byDreamWorks Home Entertainment rather than 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.[46][47] The international prints also featured the 1997 DreamWorks Pictures opening logo, while North American prints featured the 1994 20th Century Fox opening logo. In South Korea (Region 3), the film was released on DVD on April 20, 2002, byCJ Entertainment.[48] CJ Entertainment had also handled the South Korean theatrical distribution forCast Away and other DreamWorks films such asAmerican Beauty andGladiator.[49]
In North America, a single-disc DVD version of the film was released alongside the Fox filmIndependence Day on May 21, 2002.[50]
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released the film onBlu-ray in North America on December 4, 2007.[51]
In February 2006,Viacom (now known asParamount Skydance) acquired the international rights toCast Away, along with the rights to all other 58 live-action films DreamWorks had released since 1997, following its $1.6 billion acquisition of the company's live-action assets.[52][53] During this period, DreamWorks' live-action studio functioned as a semi-autonomous label of Viacom'sParamount Pictures, with Paramount handling distribution for the studio's new releases. In March 2006, shortly after the acquisition, Viacom sold the DreamWorks live-action film library, including the international rights ofCast Away, to Soros Strategic Partners (led by investorGeorge Soros) and Dune Capital Management. This was done to help Viacom finance the acquisition of DreamWorks' live-action studio, as the film library alone was valued at $900 million. Soros and his associates temporarily took a majority 51% ownership stake in the library, while Viacom retained a minority 49% stake, with Paramount Pictures being given exclusive distribution rights under a five-year agreement, which could renew if Soros continued to hold a majority stake in the assets.[54][55][56] In 2008, DreamWorks separated from Viacom to become independent again, partnering withReliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, but Paramount Pictures retained distribution rights to the live-action DreamWorks library, includingCast Away's international components, which was still technically controlled by Soros.[57] In February 2010, Viacom exercised its option to buy back Soros's 51% stake in the library for $400 million, regaining full control over the assets.[54][58] Paramount Pictures continues to hold the rights to the Soros/Dune-acquired films, including ongoing distribution.[58]Paramount Home Entertainment did not releaseCast Away on Blu-ray internationally until 2012, possibly due to complications with Soros and Fox.[59][60][61] Prior to regaining full control of the DreamWorks library in 2010, Paramount had already released other live-action DreamWorks films on home video.[62][63]
In March 2019, the film's domestic rights transferred toThe Walt Disney Company, afterRupert Murdoch sold most of21st Century Fox's film and television assets to Disney.[64][65] The film has since been made available to stream onParamount+ in international markets such as Scandinavia and the British Isles,[66][67] and was also on the streaming service for the Paramount-owned Australian broadcasterNetwork 10.[68] In North America, the film has not been made available onDisney+, instead streaming onHulu (one of the additional assets Disney acquired from Fox in 2019).[69]
In 2024, it was reported that Disney were preventing the release of4K masters forCast Away and other Fox catalog titles likeDie Hard 2 andThe French Connection. However, an international 4K release may still possibly occur through Paramount's joint ownership of the film.[64]
AFedEx commercial duringSuper Bowl XXXVII parodied the final scene of the film, in which Chuck Noland returns a package to its sender. In this version, the woman answers the door, and when Noland asks what was in the box, the woman replies, "Just asatellite phone,GPS locator,fishing rod,water purifier, and someseeds. Just silly stuff."[70]
Media executiveLloyd Braun ofABC first suggested the idea of aCast Away–type television series at a dinner party in 2003.[71] Thom Sherman later pitched the idea forCast Away – The Series, but never developed the idea.[71] The concept was later developed and pitched with the titleNowhere, which later turned into the ABC showLost.[71]
The second episode of the seventh season ofIt's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, "The Gang Goes to the Jersey Shore", refers to aCast Away scene. When Frank loses his "rum ham" while floating on a raft in the Atlantic Ocean, his anguish resembles that of Tom Hanks' character losing Wilson the volleyball.[72]
On December 31, 2002, atMadison Square Garden,Phish played a clip from the film on the jumbotron to introduce their song "Wilson" during their concert. They later introduced "Tom Hanks" during the song onstage, but it was later revealed to be keyboardistPage McConnell's brother Steve.[73][74]
On April 15, 2022, atProgressive Field, Tom Hanks threw theceremonial first pitch at theCleveland Guardians home opener, accompanied by a replica of Wilson from the movie.[75][76]
Dale Earnhardt Jr. raced with a Wilson replica in his car to two victories in fall 2001 at Dover and Talladega. This was due to a joke on the radio that he felt lonely in the car during a race.[77]
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