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 | treasure map | pirate ship | sword fight | 

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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:

France Italy Germany USA

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

Dawg Brown's flag is the oldest known "Jolly Roger" flag, flown by Captain Emmanuel Wynne.

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Goofs

Through her scenes on Cutthroat Island, tan lines from sunglasses are visible on Morgan's face.

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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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Alternate Versions

The R2 DVD differs from the VHS cut in several ways with some scenes being put back in and yet some still left badly cut...

• Before leaving the room in the opening scene, Morgan tells the man she's just seduced: "I got your balls."
• Morgan pushes the eyepatched guard off a balcony saying "I promised I'd take care of you later", paying off a line earlier that never made sense without both scenes.
• When the chain wraps around Morgan's neck in the tavern she is now pulled off backwards in a bad CGI shot that shows her landing on a table below.
• More fighting scenes, more slashing of bellies.
• When Dawg shoots his own crew member ("We need less mouths") it's obvious this still remains badly cut as the gunshot cuts off abruptly and we don't see the man taking the bullet.

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Connections

Spoofed in Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko (1999)

User Reviews

Controversial, but some may like it

This is certainly a controversial film, with some who dislike it. And one also cannot ignore that the film has lost a lot of money. However, I was one that actually enjoyed the film - a lot. It was a good film for me to just simply "enjoy". And that is one great reason for watching movies in the first place.

I did like Geena Davis in the main role. In fact, the two roles that I liked her the best in were Cutthroat Island and Last Kiss Goodnight. I would have loved to see her do more of these action type roles. She is certainly good in other roles, but I prefer her in the action roles such as this one.

I was indeed surprised when visiting the Guiness Records building in Hollywood California, and learning that this movie was the largest box office loss. My feelings on learning that were "but, I liked it".