The Island (1980 film)
| The Island | |
|---|---|
Theatrical poster
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| Directed by | Michael Ritchie |
| Produced by | |
| Screenplay by | Peter Benchley |
| Based on | The Island by Peter Benchley |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Ennio Morricone |
| Cinematography | Henri Decaë |
| Edited by | Richard A. Harris |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date
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Running time
| 114 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $22 million[1] |
| Box office | $15.7 million (US)[1] |
The Island is a 1980 American slasher film directed by Michael Ritchie and starring Michael Caine and David Warner. The film was based on a novel of the same name by Peter Benchley who also wrote the screenplay. It is about a savage group of pirates, made up of outcasts, thieves, and murderers, who are hidden from the outside world by an uncharted Caribbean island, and who have raided boats to sustain themselves, since the 18th century.
Contents
Plot[edit]
Blair Maynard is a British-born American journalist who was once in the Navy and who decides to investigate the mystery of why so many boats disappear in the Bermuda Triangle of the Caribbean. He takes his estranged son Justin with him to the area on the "vacation" and, while fishing, both are attacked by an unkempt man and forcibly brought to an uncharted island. On the island, Blair discovers that the inhabitants of the island are a centuries-old colony of savage French pirates.
The group has been living on the island for centuries, unseen by society, and sustain themselves by raiding pleasure boats. The pirates kill whomever comes to the island; however, Blair and his son are both kept alive due to a false assumption regarding their lineage and a need to offset the negative effects of inbreeding. Blair is used to impregnate a female and act as a scribe for the largely illiterate group, while Justin is brainwashed to become a surrogate heir to Nau, the pirate leader. Blair struggles to escape from the island, but all attempts fail.
Blair begins his captivity as a very peaceable and civilized everyman, but he is helpless in the absence of law and the presence of the almost unlimited violence the pirates commit. Subjecting him to constant fear and abuse, the pirates fail to realize how desperate Blair is becoming as his repeated escape attempts continually fail. He eventually arranges for the pirates to come head to head with a US Coast Guard ship, but they manage to wipe out the crew and take over the vessel. Blair sneaks aboard and, while most of the pirates are gathered on the aft deck of the ship, he discovers a deck-mounted M2 Machine Gun hidden underneath a tarp. He opens fire on the pirates, and continues to fire even after they are all dead.
He then learns that Nau was not on the deck. The two men then stalk each other through various parts of the decimated vessel. Blair eventually gets the upper hand and kills Nau with a flare gun. Blair and his son, who no longer desires to be a pirate and seems much more respectful of his father, are reunited.
Cast[edit]
- Michael Caine - Blair Maynard
- David Warner - Nau
- Angela Punch McGregor - Beth
- Frank Middlemass - Windsor
- Don Henderson - Rollo
- Dudley Sutton - Dr. Brazil
- Colin Jeavons - Hizzoner
- Jeffrey Frank - Justin Maynard
- Zakes Mokae - Wescott
- Brad Sullivan - Stark
- Reg Evans - Jack the Bat
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