Cutthroat Island (1995)

A female pirate and her companion race against their rivals to find a hidden island that contains a fabulous treasure.

Director:

Renny Harlin

Writers:

Michael Frost Beckner (story), James Gorman (story)

Stars:

Geena Davis, Matthew Modine, Frank Langella

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Geena Davis	...	Morgan Adams
Matthew Modine	...	William Shaw
Frank Langella	...	Dawg Brown
Maury Chaykin	...	John Reed
Patrick Malahide	...	Ainslee
Stan Shaw	...	Mr. Glasspoole
Rex Linn	...	Mr. Blair
Paul Dillon	...	Snelgrave
Christopher Masterson	...	Bowen (as Chris Masterson)
Jimmie F. Skaggs	...	Scully
Harris Yulin	...	Black Harry Adams
Carl Chase	...	Bishop
Peter Geeves	...	Fiddler Pirate
Angus Wright	...	Captain Trotter
Ken Bones	...	Toussant

Storyline

Morgan Adams and her slave, William Shaw, are on a quest to recover the three portions of a treasure map. Unfortunately, the final portion is held by her murderous uncle, Dawg. Her crew is skeptical of her leadership abilities, so she must complete her quest before they mutiny against her. This is made yet more difficult by the efforts of the British crown to end her piratical raids.

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Plot Keywords:

treasure | pirate | latin | treasure map | pirate ship | 

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Taglines:

The Course Has Been Set. There Is No Turning Back. Prepare Your Weapons. Summon Your Courage. Discover the Adventure of a Lifetime!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some strong pirate action/violence and brief sensuality

Details

Country:

USA France Italy Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 December 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

La pirata

Filming Locations:

Fort Ricasoli, Kalkara, Malta

Box Office

Budget:

$98,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,381,000, 24 December 1995, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$10,017,322

Company Credits

Production Co:

Beckner/Gorman Productions,Canal+,Carolco Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Adjusted for inflation, Cutthroat Island lost over $147 million at the box office, the largest in cinema history.

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Goofs

When Dawg holds Mordecai at knife point, it can be clearly seen that the knife is a prop with a collapsing blade.

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Quotes

[Morgan has pilfered the governor's carriage and is being chased by British Royal soldiers, and a British Naval ship that canon fires at her. William is confused, thinking that the British is chasing him, unaware that Morgan is a pirate]
William: [shrieking] A SHIP! I find *myself* being *bombarded* by an *entire ship*!

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Connections

Referenced in Entourage: I Wanna Be Sedated (2006)

User Reviews

Island of Cut-Throats

Making a valiant stab at becoming an action figure, Geena Davis plays Morgan Adams, a wily, rough & tumble pirate woman who lives for adventure and the like. When her evil Uncle Dawg (Frank Langella) turns on her and her dad, it's a race against time for Morgan as she tries to piece together a map that will lead her to Cut-Throat Island, where unimaginable wealth in stolen pirate gold resides. Along the way she is pursued by an evil British officer who goes into cahoots with treacherous crew members and Dawg, aided by a pretty boy Jack-of-all-trades thief named William Shaw (Matthew Modine), and confronted with a series of wildly over the top set pieces that no human being could possibly survive.

One of the most expensive flops ever made, this overlong but endearing and even occasionally exciting film deserved much better than what it got in the summer of the mid-90s. Not quite as funny as "Pirates of the Caribbean" but still fun.

Already a cardboard cut-out role to begin with, Geena Davis struggles to overcome her natural aura of motherly warmth to play the roughish Morgan, but she plays the part well enough (she really does come across as somebody's mother, albeit the kind of mother neighborhood boys fantasize about). It's easy to imagine her in the ring with Keira Knightley - who played Elizabeth Swann in "Pirates of the Caribbean" - and to have Geena walloping Keira's waif like frame. Matthew Modine has his moments as Shaw and Frank "Dracula/Skeletor" Langella is enjoyably hammy as Dawg.

If nothing else, rent it for the expensive sets, fancy costumes, and elaborate, over the top stunts - many of which Davis and Modine did themselves.