Cutthroat Island
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Renny Harlin
Produced by	Renny Harlin Laurence Mark Joel B. Michaels James Gorman
Written by	Screenplay: Robert King Marc Norman Story: Michael Frost Beckner James Gorman Bruce A. Evans Raynold Gideon
Starring	Geena Davis Matthew Modine Frank Langella Maury Chaykin Patrick Malahide Stan Shaw Rex Linn Harris Yulin Angus Wright Ken Bones
Music by	John Debney
Cinematography	Peter Levy
Editing by	Derek Brechin Florent Retz Frank J. Urioste Ralph E. Winters
Studio	Carolco Pictures
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer DVD: Lionsgate (through StudioCanal)
Release date(s)	United States: December 22, 1995
Running time	119 minutes
Country	United States France Italy Germany
Language	English
Budget	$92,000,000
Gross revenue	$10,017,322

Cutthroat Island is a 1995 pirate-themed action film starring Geena Davis and directed by her then-husband Renny Harlin. The film is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest box office flop of all time.^[1]

This was the final film to be produced by Carolco Pictures before it was closed.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Reception 2.1 Aftermath and legacy 2.2 Music 2.3 United Kingdom release 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External links

[edit] Plot

Female pirate Morgan Adams (Geena Davis) and her learned slave, William Shaw (Matthew Modine), are on a quest to recover the three portions of a treasure map. The treasure is hidden on the mysterious Cutthroat Island. Unfortunately, the final portion is held by her villainous uncle, Douglas ('Dawg') Brown (Frank Langella). Her crew is skeptical of her leadership abilities, so she must complete her quest before they mutiny against her. This is made more difficult by the efforts of the Royal Navy from Jamaica under the command of the self-serving Governor Ainslee (Patrick Malahide) to end her piratical career. On her ship, Morning Star, Morgan starts the voyage to Cutthroat Island.

[edit] Reception

[edit] Aftermath and legacy

Cutthroat Island had a total cost of $115 million and the total U.S. gross was approximately $10 million.^[2] It was a contributing factor to the demise of the film's production company, Carolco Pictures, and of Davis as a bankable star.

The abject disaster of Cutthroat Island is also credited with significantly reducing the bankability and Hollywood production of pirate-themed films, which only recovered with the production of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl in 2003.

The film mostly received negative reviews and was nominated for one Razzie Award, for Harlin as Worst Director.

[edit] Music

Ironically, the film's swashbuckling music by John Debney has been critically acclaimed, compared with the works of Erich Wolfgang Korngold.^{[3][4][5] [6]}

[edit] United Kingdom release

The British release of the film was originally rated 15 (no patron under the age of 15). Distributors decided to target a family audience and so over a minute of film was cut to get a PG certificate.^[7]

[edit] See also

• Cutthroat Island (video game)

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Parish, James Robert (2006). Fiasco - A History of Hollywood’s Iconic Flops. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN-13 978-0-471-69159-4. 

[edit] External links

• Cutthroat Island at the Internet Movie Database
• Cutthroat Island at Allmovie

v • d • e Films directed by Renny Harlin 1980s Born American (1986) · Prison (1988) · A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) 1990s Die Hard 2 (1990) · The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990)  · Cliffhanger (1993) · Cutthroat Island (1995)  · The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)  · Deep Blue Sea (1999) 2000s Driven (2001)  · Mindhunters (2004)  · Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)  · The Covenant (2006)  · Cleaner (2007)  · 12 Rounds (2009)