Cast Away
Tags: psychological, boring, dramatic, philosophical, romantic, suspenseful

Plot synopsis:
Chuck Nolan (Tom Hanks) is a systems engineer for Federal Express. He shows some Moscow (Russia) staff how FedEx does business. The most important thing he tells them about is time: that the package sorting must be completed precisely on schedule. To prove it, he opens a package he sent to himself from FedEx's headquarters and his home base in Memphis, Tennessee, that contains a small timer. Chuck stops it at 87 hours, which he says is a deplorable delivery time. Later, the package sort is threatened when one of the Moscow office's trucks is booted in Red Square. The package sorting is carried out in the street.He returns to Memphis, FedEx headquarters, and visits his girlfriend Kelly (Helen Hunt). He proposes to her on Christmas Eve and they exchange gifts. He gets a message that he needs to go to Malaysia. Dedicated to his job, he tells her "Ill be right back." He is the only passenger and rides in the jump seat of a FedEx cargo MD-11 across the Pacific Ocean.The plane encounters a fierce storm. The pilot attempts to fly around it but for unknown reasons the plane crashes. Noland is the only survivor and is washed onto the shore of a very small tropical island. Chuck explores the island and finds a number of FedEx packages from the crash that have washed ashore. He also discovers the body of one of the aircraft's pilots. Chuck buries him. At night on the beach Chuck sees the lights of a ship. Using a small flashlight he recovered from the body of the pilot, he tries to signal the ship but is unsuccessful.The next morning he attempts to leave the island in the rubber raft from the jet. The high breakers over the coral reef surrounding the island turn the raft over. He's tossed onto the reef and his thigh is badly lacerated. Recovering from the accident. he begins to build a simple camp and opens the FedEx parcels. He discovers several items that aid him in his survival including a pair of ice skates. Another parcel contains a volley ball that eventually becomes his companion. One of the parcels is decorated with a pair of wings and for unexplained reasons he doesn't open it. He tries to build a fire by rubbing a stick against a piece of wood, but cuts his hand. In a fury, he grabs the volley ball and throws it. His cut hand leaves a bloody imprint on the ball and from that he adds in a face, naming it by its brand name, "Wilson". The ball becomes his companion.Chuck figures out how to start a fire and soon teaches himself to catch crabs, open coconuts, collect drinking water and spear fish. Chuck creates a rudimentary home in a small cave. Still suffering from a tooth that was bothering him before he left Memphis, it has abscessed and is extremely painful and swollen. He finally resorts to using the toe of an ice skate blade with a rock as a hammer to extract the tooth.Sometime later he describes to Wilson the flight path of his jet compared to its last known position and calculates that the search area is over 500,000 square miles, twice the size of Texas. He realizes its doubtful that he'll ever be found.Four years pass. Chuck has lost more than 50 pounds and his hair and beard are long and unkempt. He survives day-to-day. During a storm two of the walls of a broken fiberglass portable toilet are tossed on shore. When he sees it blown by the wind, he realizes he might be able to use it as a sail. He is suddenly energized with the idea of building a raft that will use the fiberglass walls like a makeshift sail. He chops down trees and lays out his raft. To tie the poles together, he braids rope from local tree bark and from video tape he found in one of the parcels. He counts the days necessary to catch the northeast trade winds that he hopes will take him into the shipping lanes and rescue. Chuck isn't certain where he is headed but figures that he would rather die at sea that spend the rest of his life alone on the island.Chuck prepares food, water, and other necessities for his escape. He ties his 'companion' Wilson and the FedEx parcel decorated with wings to the raft. With the aid ofthe toilet stall walls as a sail and a pair of makeshift oars, he's able to sail over the reef surf and escape the island and lagoon. He sails for many days and during a storm, the ball named Wilson floats away while Chuck is asleep. Chuck is awakened by water in his face, apparently from the spout of a whale, and sees Wilson floating away. He tries to rescue Wilson, but afraid of losing the raft, he is forced to let Wilson go. He is despondent over losing Wilson. A storm wrecks Chuck's raft and it slowly begins to break apart. He has nearly given up hope of rescue when he is wakened by another whale's spout. He turns over to see a container ship passing close by. They signal that they've seen him.Chuck flies home to Memphis and is the guest of honor at a large company-organized welcome reception. He learns that Kelly has married and has a daughter. Kelly intended to meet Chuck at the celebration but she is feeling very confused. Her husband, an orthodontist that did dental work on Chuck, apologizes for her absence. He tells Chuck that Kelly is having a difficult time coping with the his sudden reappearance. He asks Chuck to give her more time. Looking out of the window he sees Kelly in tears, comforted by her husband, and watches her get in a car and leave.Later that evening, Chuck takes a taxi to Kelly's home. She seems to be expecting him and invites him inside. They talk about little things and he discovers how much her life and ambitions have changed and how she coped with his presumed death. Chuck gives Kelly back the watch she had given him telling her that it is a family heirloom and should remain in her family. She tells him that the company presumed a hazardous package caught fire and caused the crash. She shows him that his island was more than 600 miles from the Cook Islands around which the search had been conducted. He had drifted 500 miles in his raft before he was found. He decides to keep her picture. She gives him the keys to his car that she has kept. They apologize to each other for all that has happened and he drives off slowly in the pouring rain.Kelly suddenly runs after him, shouting his name. He backs up and they embrace fiercely in the pouring rain. She tells him that she always believed he was alive, but that others said she had to move on. She tells him that he's the love of her life. He says he loves her too. They talk for a few more minutes in his car but Chuck tells Kelly that she needs to go home.Chuck later describes the meeting with Kelly to a colleague and friend, and how he understands and accepts that while they will always love each other, their lives have gone in different directions and they cannot be together. He confesses to the utter despair and helplessness he felt on the island, describes his failed attempt at suicide, and how he received assurance that he was supposed to live and came to terms with his isolation. While he has just lost her again, he accepts it and understands he has to take live one day at a time because you never know what the tide will bring.He drives to Texas with the FedEx package decorated with wings in his Jeep. He attempts to deliver it but no one is there. He leaves it at the door with a note stating that the parcel saved his life. He drives south and at a four-way intersection and gets out of his car to look at a map. A friendly, pretty woman in an old pick-up truck stops and asks him if he is lost. He confesses he hasn't made up his mind where he was going. She tells him where the four roads lead, and that north, the direction Chuck had just come from, leads to a whole lot of nothingness. She drives north and as she pulls away, Chuck is surprised to see the same pair of wings that were on the package on the tail gate of her truck. Chuck walks to the center of the intersection and looks in each direction for a few seconds. He then turns north and his gaze lingers in the direction the woman drove.

Review: Sure it might be overhyped and some characters in the film aren't needed (not to mention it depends on the liking of the lead), but when you have Tom Hanks working harder than any actor in a movie this year, it is worth it.The story follows Hanks as a dedicated fed-ex deliverer who has a fiance (Helen Hunt) and has to leave her Christmas time to go to Asia, but alas, the plane he's on crashes in the water and, dare I say more (well I can because practically everyone saw the all-revealing trailers)?
Well, Hanks arrives on a deserted island and then the real fun begins as he survives in a primitive way (probably remenicent of 2001, Hanks' favorite film), and even finds a silent companion named Wilson (a volleyball).
******This may contain spoilers******It's a superb,well directed and well acted movie!Well done,Hanks!!!I'm a Hanks fan!!!I really appreciate his outstanding performance.I consider him a genius in acting.He never just acts.However,he gives life to his characters ,and makes himself exactly what they are.Forrest Gump,Saving Private Ryan,The Terminal,The Da Vinci Code,including this movie are all my favorites.I'm always deeply touched by his movies.And they often make me cry,make me think,and make me understand more about life and love.Cast Away is without exception.I was moved by Chuck's spirits.
His imagination(he names a volleyball Wilson and talks with him as a friend),his perseverance toward love,and his courage to face problems,all these enable him to survive and finally return to his homeland.When Chuck and Kelly embraced each other in the rain, I burst out crying.They are true lovers.But,fate is cruel.His beloved fiancée,his only belief during those terrible days and nights is forever gone.His hope is disillusioned.He is standing at a life crossroads,thinking and hesitating.He has to choose a way to begin his new life.I greatly recommend this movie.Don't feel boring,just be patient.I think movies are not only seen by eyes,but also by heart.Use your heart to feel what the characters feel.Then the more you see it,the more you'll be inspired and the more you'll find.Finally,hope you enjoy other Hanks movies!!!.
Also, not many actors have changed their physical appearance like Tom Hanks did for this film, I truly applaud him for his work.
A fascinating, believable, and thought-provoking portrait of a man and his fight to live, with a remarkably ideal performance from Tom Hanks, and steady, effectively leisure direction that allows viewers to accompany this resilient survivor on his emotionally wrenching journey.
After watching Robert Zemeckis' Forrest Gump 1994, I thought I had seen a true drama, but that was clearly only the beginning.Tom Hanks (Big, Forrest Gump) stars in his Oscar nominated performance as Chuck Noland, a Fed Ex executive who is stranded on an isolated island after a thunderous plane crash.When doing background research on this film, I was surprised to see that Russell Crowe had beaten Hanks to the Oscar in 2001.
The plane crash is very dramatic and beautifully directed by Zemeckis and scenes shot on the island, when Hanks is alone and wandering what to do are silent and chilling, justifying the drama genre.The beautiful island is contradicted by the drastic situation, a truly magnificent incentive.The ending too is wonderful as it paves the way for many possibilitiesa spellbinding film.
When he strands on the Island (after an amazingly shot plane crash) he all of the sudden has all the time of the world and the movie turns into a man VS.
Zemeckis directing, Burgess cinematography and some nice special effect and make up also do good to this movie.My only points of critic: The time on the Island is to short, it last only about 1/3 of the movie and I really wanted to see more of Hanks on the Island because those are definitely the best scene's.
Tom Hanks stars as time-obsessed FedEx executive Chuck Noland who literally lives by the clock, even when spending time with his girlfriend (Helen Hunt) during the holidays.
Tom Hanks, who put forward the idea for the film to Forrest Gump-pal Zemeckis, is in nearly every scene and carries so much dramatic weight, effortless leading man appeal and sympathy-laden charisma that he sucks you in entirely.
The DVD picture was outstanding: razor sharp and was much more enjoyable to view than at the theater.I remember a comment or two at church when this film came out, about how it was disappointing that God was never mentioned by Tom Hanks' character in this movie, that anyone in his predicament - stranded on a island for years by himself - would be talking (or even yelling) at God, or praying at one point.
Nonethelesss, Hanks and Hollywood are rarely shown needing or asking help from The Almighty, so they show long scenes of him in his Robinson Crusoe mode, talking to a painted volleyball "friend" instead.That story, however, of Hanks and his island adventures, is much better than the beginning and endings with Helen Hunt, who almost does the wrong thing but, thankfully, does not.
Admire both Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks, and honestly feel that 'Cast Away' is among the best work of both.
It is long and the opposite of feel good, but utterly riveting, thanks to the bold risk-taking and Hanks giving a performance for the ages.'Cast Away' has been criticised by some for having an unsatisfying ending.
Have been picky about endings recently and the inconclusive nature didn't bother me that much and actually appreciated that it was more downbeat rather than happy, who to me would have felt a little too on the pat side.There are so many great things about 'Cast Away' that help make it quite a superb film.
Possibly because of the fact that Tom Hanks' character in the film, Chuck Noland, is stuck on an island all by his lonesome and the island is very small.
Despite this, "Cast Away" was a surprise hit at the box office.Viewing it a second time, I was braced for its uniqueness and got more out of it, but there's still a lot of downtime or empty stretches as Chuck tries to survive for over four years on the island and then faces a completely new life and perspective in the closing act.
The fact that he had to face and understand the difference between life in the real world and living in an island with nobody else but a ball named Wilson, made the movie remarkable.
This movie also contained love that played a main role to Noland's survival, which makes the audience to feel not as desperate to watch Noland getting lost with the power of love that brought him hope.
I can only conclude that, sadly, it was such a poor overall year for quality films that we're all so desperate as to rate a below average movie much higher than it deserves.Aside from the fact that the story was nothing more than a dull, overlong, contrived piece that was supposed to be something about 'time', it was just bad filmmaking.
But the film is not about surviving the harsh surrounding but instead about being mentally strong , fighting self physically problems and living for hope.I can't see anyone else but Tom hanks playing Chuck.
The scenes in which he speaks to him could of came off as silly but Hanks is so brilliant that he makes us end up caring for Wilson us much as he does.Overall, I suggest everyone to watch this film.
In the film "Cast Away" (2000) director Robert Zemeckis depicts a great adventure of the hardships and tragedies that one man must face for survival.
Cast Away is a fantastic movie with an extremely well written and well developed storyline and a very talented cast (mainly just one cast member).I was very impressed with atom Hanks in this film,he proved that he can be a good actor even without have other actors around him,for the majority of this film he is the only person on screen,as we watch him stranded on an island as he loses his mind,Hanks stays dramatic and convincing all the way through.I was so impressed that the films script actually got me to feel for a football,Tom Hanks character starts communicating with a ball he calls Wilson because of it's brand,and after a while this character becomes "his friend " and it is only this man really has,and because of that I actually felt emotion for this lifeless ball,I was so impressed with the writers,Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks for managing to do this.Cast Away is an outstanding drama that I would recommend to all moviegoers.An obsessive executive for a delivery company finds himself stranded on a desert island after his flight ends in disaster..
very very amazing movie great plot great everything now chuck i feel sorry for him i mean his wife leaves him because she thinks he is missing when really he is on an island oh and for those of you who think nothing of Wilson, chuck wouldn't have survived if it wasn't for Wilson, h*ll i wish i had a friend like that who never gripes or complains or doesn't cost money...hahaha oh and he was apart of the cast one of the most important pieces a wonderful movie great script and great characters and Wilson was just the touch!!!
and i would handle it the same way as he did just make it through the hard times and yes there were times that chuck probably had fun i mean who wouldn't have fun every now and then oh and you would probably have some real life skills that could save just about anyone anytime and you could be a very self tought person this movie depicts several things wrong with technology and several good things about it....maybe we should all have a little bite of training on how to make rope that was pretty cool how he did it and it was strong to no like some of the stuff we have now days around here and stuff you could by at wal mart just doesn't campare to that.
Would they feel better about the movie if the air courier service was named `No-Name Airlines'?After the plane crashes he makes his way to the island where shortly afterwards he undertakes a symbolic burial of his old self or ego when he finds and buries the crew-member of the airplane.
i think this one is nothing more than a fedex commercial.although, the premise is good, a modern guy, stranded on a deserted island, trying to fight for his life (with A LOT of help from fedex, of course), while at home he is babling about how great his company is....i mean...
I simply love this movie because of the uncertainty as regards to what happens next during the entire movie!I find it hard to believe that Tom Hanks did not won a Oscar for his performance, since he in my opinion deserved it more than anyone else.If you have not seen Cast Away yet, I definitely recommend you to see it right away.
Fifteen years later, he came close to duplicating that extraordinary feat with Cast Away, an incredibly diverse movie in its own right.For a basic plot summary, Cast Away tells the story of Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks), a FedEx worker who goes down over the Pacific in an airplane, washes ashore a deserted island, and must fend for himself in the harsh terrain and conditions.The key to this film is its ability to combine such genres as action, adventure, disaster, comedy, and drama and, most importantly, make them all mesh together and work on the big screen.
It speaks volumes that, within 90 minutes, you may be expressing emotion towards a man's relationship with a volleyball.Overall, I wish more movies would be produced like Cast Away.
Cast Away is survivalist film starring Oscar award winner, Tom Hanks, that takes place on an island in the South Pacific after a disastrous plane crash.
The rest of the film shows how he tries to survive on the island he ends up on and him living without the love of his life, Kelly Frears (Helen Hunt).
And for everything else, you don't like Tom Hanks or the story, that's really just personal preference and I probably won't change your mind on that.Well, I think Cast Away will always be my favourite movie, and for me, It's a dream come true.
The film has a strong existential undertone and Tom Hanks as Chuck Noland, a FedEx employee marooned on an island after a plane crash, has given one of the finest performances of his career.
Stranded on an island with no help makes for a great conflict that someone can relate to as it could happen to anybody.Tom Hanks is phenomenal in this film.
I never thought that anyone could make a volleyball seem like a person but this film did that thanks to Hanks great acting.
This is certainly not an ad for Fed-Ex. What this movie is is a serious piece of art by acclaimed film maker Robert Zemeckis that stars Tom Hanks.This film is about Fed-Ex worker, Chuck who gets stranded on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean.
The scenes with the volleyball made me think, "What the heck?" The thing that gets this movie to work is the odds of surviving on a remote island no one have ever heard of.
Not too many actors could pull it off, I think.In the last scene, after the girl drives off in the pickup with the dog in the back, Tom Hanks stands in the middle of the intersection staring, then the movie cuts away.
Little does he suspect how horribly ironic these words become once his tale is over.In Robert Zemeckis' great 'Cast Away', Tom Hanks incarnates Chuck Noland, a highly-efficient FedEx executive whose life is mercilessly governed by the clock.
The story takes its time to settle comfortably into its niche, and once it does, it's truly riveting, even though all we're really looking at is one man on an island, drinking coconut juice and suffering from a toothache without a dentist.The acting is outstanding, especially for Tom Hanks as the castaway in person; he supports the entire movie, and the audience gets to feel both his triumphs and his pains.
For those who are able to take a break from their lives, which so often mirror Chuck Noland's in their pacing, this story will be a soothing and refreshing change of pace while it lasts, and will make a very good addition to any movie-lover's collection.* * * * * For giving us a story with a refreshing change of pace, a lot of sentiment and depth, and some formidable acting, I award 'Cast Away' 8.5 friendly volleyballs out of 10..
No, it's not a true story, but it's manufactured so well that if somebody was to tell you that it was based on an autobiography, you would probably believe it.Cast Away stars Tom Hanks as Chuck Noland, a busybody FedEx executive who's "all about time", who soon discovers he has all the time in the world when his plane crashes into the ocean and he, alone, finds himself on a deserted island where he ekes on the barest living possible.
Many viewers would feel that after Chuck returns from the deserted island, the movie starts getting boring; and that the director should have deleted a few scenes.
With little words and many emotions, Tom Hanks prevails in Cast Away as the sole survivor of a plane crash who is forced to learn to live alone on a deserted island, with a football he calls Wilson being his only companion.
CAST AWAY is a uniquely American film success, too long in the last act, and perfectly realized in all the island scenes by the irreplaceable Tom Hanks.
Cast Away is about a Fed Ex executive who is involved in a plane crash and has to survive on a deserted island.
Whether is it the deserted island, the romance, or the job you feel like Tom Hanks character, Chuck Noland.The one aspect of director Robert Zemeckis films that I think are perfect are how he uses metaphor to tell the story.
Hank's performance is so great that all the viewer's focus would be on him regardless.Cast Away is a movie about a man trying to live, and dealing with the loneliness of living on an island by himself.
I liked Wilson the most in the film and tom hanks treats him as friend this concept is remarkable and that is the he does not tend to forget speaking as it has been long time 4 years.
Unlike Chuck Noland, I'm sure I wouldn't need a Wilson.The main star in this movie is not Hanks, but the island of Monuriki, Fiji.
Robert Zemeckis directed this compelling drama that stars Tom Hanks as FedEx executive Chuck Noland, whose plane crashes into the ocean for an undetermined reason, and he manages to swim ashore to a deserted island, where he must learn to survive, as he will be marooned there for several years...
The plot is great, in the start of the movie depicts strong love life and profession of tom hanks as a FedEx official.
Cast Away is a 2000 film starring Tom Hanks.
A very good movie, Cast Away, brings to the screen the story of a Fed-Ex employee who is stranded on a deserted island in the Pacific Ocean following a plane crash.
Tom Hanks is superb in his role as Chuck Noland, and although the rest of the cast do not have that many lines in the movie, nevertheless, they have outdone themselves with their performances, which are outstanding to say the least.