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.

---

Plot Keywords:

treasure | pirate | treasure map | pirate ship | sword fight | 

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy

---

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

Geena Davis' "impossible stunt" (jumping out of a window, rolling onto the roof of a building, and landing on a moving carriage) was a digital composite of two shots; one shot of her falling, and a second shot of her already in the carriage, pretending she just landed there.

---

Goofs

When Morgan is fleeing on the coach, the British ship opens fire on her with cannon which have absolutely no recoil and fire exploding shot.

---

Quotes

Dawg: [watching Morgan and Shaw falling into the ocean] Love. Who can explain it?

---

Alternate Versions

To receive a PG certificate the UK cinema version was cut by 72 seconds, with a further 4 seconds of cuts for home video. These changes included numerous edits to fight scenes, Morgan's breast being caressed during a body search, neck and arm breaks, a head butt and kicks to bodies. Almost all the impact sounds in the major fight scenes were also reduced or removed from the soundtrack. A similarly-edited pre-cut version was submitted to the BBFC in 2003 for DVD release by Momentum Pictures, which restored some of the original edits and sound effects but was still cut by an additional one second to obtain a PG rating under then-BBFC policy.

---

Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Dead Man Walking/Cutthroat Island/Sudden Death/Grumpier Old Men/Restoration/Waiting to Exhale (1995)

User Reviews

Just a good movie to relax to.

Cutthroat Island is a movie that you can just sit back, relax and watch it with a big goofy grin on your face. Sure it tanked at the box office, but don't disregard it totally. It's entertaining as hell. Geena Davis is rather engaging as a female pirate and Frank Langella seemed to be enjoying himself. Most people will say that this movie can't hold a candle to the pirate films of Errol Flynn, and they're right. But for a rock em sock em pirate adventure with more explosions than the high seas ever saw, watch Cutthroat Island.