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 | latin | treasure map | pirate ship | 

---

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:

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

Matthew Modine described Oliver Reed - "I'd heard these stories about Oliver Reed I think it is all bunk. Oliver was a gentleman. Sure, he had a reputation as a man who enjoyed a drink. But only off set. His reputation as an actor is stellar. Professional. I stand by that. God rest his soul."

---

Goofs

In Port Royal there are several scenes with the Union Jack flying, which was not adopted until over 110 years later than the setting of the film.

---

Quotes

[repeated line]
William: MORGAN!

---

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

Referenced in Bee Movie (2007)

User Reviews

Bad Marketing for a Good Pirate Film

"Cutthroat Island" is a 1995 film with chaotic production and distribution and with unfair reviews of the professional critics. Renny Harlin and Geena Davis were married at that time and he convinced the producers to cast his wife in an action film in a complete misevaluation of her talent. Geena Davis was a great actress in comedy and drama genres in the 80´s and 90´s but was only reasonable in the role of the female pirate Morgan Adams. Another problem was to find an actor for Morgan´s slave William Shaw since Matthew Modine was the last choice in a long list of actors that refused the role. It seems that this notorious film was also the responsible for the bankruptcy of Carolco Pictures since the box office was frustrating.

Said that, "Cutthroat Island" is indeed an entertaining modern (in 1995) pirate movie, with a good story. The successful franchize "Pirates of the Caribbean" is an improvement of "Cutthroat Island" with better technology, budget and cast. But the stories are equaly entertaining and funny. In the end, forget the bad ratings of professional critics and have a goodtime watching this film. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Ilha da Garganta Cortada" ("The Cutthroat Island")