Cutthroat Island **** (1995, Geena Davis, Matthew Modine, Frank Langella) – Classic Movie Review 912

The $100 million pirate movie box-office flop 1995 film Cutthroat Island that sank the Carolco studio is not remotely anything like as bad as its infamy suggests. Geena Davis is extremely sprightly and appealing as the lady pirate Morgan Adams, captain of her late father’s pirate ship, and Matthew Modine is entirely fair enough as William Shaw, her newly acquired slave. Together they embark on a quest to find the remaining two parts of a treasure map showing the location of the buried riches.

The first part was tattooed on her dead dad’s scalp! Finding the second part proves easy, but the final part is held by her murderous uncle Dawg (Frank Langella) who, of course, plans to keep the treasure for himself.

There is plenty of epic swashbuckling action, with great stunts and special effects, the production is marvellously ingenious and sumptuous, and there is a genuine joie de vivre as well as infectious gusto about Renny Harlin’s direction. Davis makes an excellent female pirate, tough, feisty, exuberant and exciting, and a convincing action heroine, but still sexy and attractive.

And if handsome, likeable hero Modine slightly lacks fire (in a part Michael Douglas turned down as too supporting and insubstantial), that is really to do with the role. It is the subservient slippery slave part that has to play second fiddle to the female star. They do make sweet movie couple, though, and share some good, convincing screen chemistry.

The movie’s box-office failure is more to do with the public’s rejection of a female action hero here than the lack of quality in the film itself. Unfairly, it badly damaged the careers of all involved.

Harlin does not believe in holding back, so there is some tough and robust action, and Cutthroat Island is not for small kids. It may be cut for TV for family viewing.

Though advertised as ‘from the director of Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger‘, the film was massively rejected by the public and still has a weak reputation. It cost $100 million and grossed only $10 million in North America. Undeterred, the then married couple Davis and Harlin tried again with The Long Kiss Goodnight.

Davis and Harlin were married on 18 September 1993 and divorced on 21 June 1998.

Also in the cast are Maury Chaykin, Patrick Malahide, Stan Shaw, Harris Yulin, Rex Linn, Paul Dillon, Christopher Masterson, Jimmie F Skaggs, Carl Chase, Peter Geeves, Angus Wright, Ken Bones, Mary Pegler, Mary Peach, Lucinda Faraldo, Thomas Lockyer, Roger Booth, George Murcell, Simon Atherton, Christopher Halliday, Tam White, Richard Leaf and Rupert Vansittart.

Cutthroat Island is directed by Renny Harlin, runs 124 minutes, is made by Beckner/Gorman Productions, Canal+, Carolco Pictures, Cutthroat Productions, Forge, Guild, MGM, Laurence Mark Productions, RCS Video and Tele-Communications Inc, is released by MGM (1995) (US) and Guild Film Distribution (1996) (UK), is written by Robert King and Marc Norman, from a story by Michael Frost Beckner, James Gorman, Bruce A Evans, Raynold Gideon, is shot by Peter Levy, is produced by Mario Kassar, Renny Harlin, James Gorman, Laurence Mark and Joel B Michaels, is scored by John Debney and designed by Norman Garwood.

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