CAST AWAY - Blu-Ray (20th Century-Fox 2000) Fox Home Video

Robert Zemeckis’ Cast Away (2000) presents its audience with an answer to a tired question; ‘what would you do if you were stranded on a desert island?’ Written by William Broyles Jr. the movie tells of a harried FedEx exec’, Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) so absorbed in his career and the micromanagement of his staff - down to the nanosecond - he has completely forgotten the true measure of life is not to be found in the deliberately counted minutes that we squander. Chuck is engaged to Kelly Frears (Helen Hunt) – presumably, the love of his life. Kelly accepts Chuck’s ‘down to the wire’ bean-counting as part and parcel (pun intended) of who he is – just a strong-willed and ‘by the book’ company whore, in for a very rude awakening. The first 10-minutes of Cast Away play like an extended commercial endorsement for FedEx, as Chuck puts new trainees with the company through some rigorous paces to ensure all deliveries are processed in record time.  After a brief Christmas interlude/family get-together, in which Chuck is about as disengaged as he could possibly be, much to Kelly’s disappointment, he is called away to accompany a high-profile ‘last minute’ special shipment. Unfortunately for Chuck and the rest of the crew, the plane carrying this precious cargo flies into rough weather somewhere in the remote tropics, losing cabin pressure and altitude before plummeting into the stormy sea, killing all on board – except Chuck.

He spends a harrowing night being tossed about this infinite abyss, only to be washed ashore at dawn on a remote island with no signs of life. At first, Chuck believes it is only a matter of time before FedEx sends out an expedition to search for him and the wreckage. However, as days roll into months – then years – Chuck slowly comes to the realization he is all alone and will have to transform himself both physically and mentally in order to survive. Recovering various packages that have washed ashore from the downed plane, Chuck creates a refuge from the elements. He learns to hunt and fish. Four-long-years pass. Finally, Chuck realizes he can no longer live on this tropical hideaway. No one is coming for him. His only salvation will be the one he makes for himself. Building a raft, Chuck manages to break the tides, is hurled and tossed about the sea in yet another storm, almost dying before being discovered by a freighter. The news of Chuck’s survival is momentous to say the least, but also semi-tragic as Chuck soon learns that during his lengthy absence Kelly moved on – marrying their dentist and mutual friend, Jerry Lovett (Chris Noth) instead.

After Jerry breaks the news to Chuck at the airport, Chuck and Kelly are reunited in the pouring rain where she confesses, he has always been her only love. Nevertheless, time has moved on. Chuck needs to as well. So, he decides to make one final delivery for FedEx – to a remote farm where a female artist specializes in iron sculptures. And therein lies the crossroads of Chuck’s destiny - to return to the life he once knew or remain on this farm with the woman who we are led to believe could be the start of his new romantic future. In our age of reality-based Survivor TV, Cast Away is not quite the exhilarating entertainment we might expect. We’ll give it to Zemeckis, who manages to make a 2-hr. movie out of nothing more than a scroungy, and bearded bumbler having extended conversations with a soccer ball. Somehow, this works. Less so for the initial scenes between Kelly and Chuck, to lack any palpable chemistry between Helen Hunt and Tom Hanks to make their characters’ sudden separation and penultimate reunion overwhelmingly tragic, bittersweet or even ‘garden variety’ meaningful. Once Hanks’ Chuck gets to the island, time literally stands still – or rather – crawls at an excruciating pace for the rest of us. Yes, there are sparks of ingenuity to be amused by – but overall, the whole ‘man vs. the elements’ scenario becomes de-emphasized, occasionally enlivened by bouts of bad weather. As such, Cast Away tosses more into the wind than is returned.

Fox Home Video’s Blu-Ray is a step up from the old DVD. But once again, Fox has chosen the quick and dirty route here: to release a bare bones disc, cribbing from digital files previously prepared for the DVD release. The DVD was a lavishly appointed 2-disc affair. This single Blu offering carries over virtually none of the aforementioned DVD’s extras – save two. More on this in a moment. Colors are rich, vibrant and beautifully rendered. Reds are red. Blacks are deep and solid. Contrast levels are subtly realized. The textures in island foliage and granular sand achieve the necessary pop. The audio is DTS 5.1 – adequate, without being exceptional. Extras have been pared down to Zemeckis’ audio commentary, and, a trivia track, along with the original theatrical trailer in HD. Bottom line: Cast Away is a story of survival – the audience’s, getting through 2-hrs. in a darkened theater with not all that much more to appreciate than a lot of pretty white sand and Hanks in his makeshift loincloth. Judge and buy accordingly.

FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best)

2.5

VIDEO/AUDIO

4.5

EXTRAS

2