''Castaway'' is a 1986 British

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

starring

Amanda Donohoe Amanda Donohoe (born 29 June 1962) is an English actress. She first came to attention as a 16-year-old living with pop singer Adam Ant, appearing in the music videos for the Adam and the Ants singles "Antmusic" (1980) and "Stand and Deliver" ( ...

and

Oliver Reed Robert Oliver Reed (13 February 1938 – 2 May 1999) was an English actor known for his well-to-do, macho image and "hellraiser" lifestyle. After making his first significant screen appearances in Hammer Horror films in the early 1960s, his ...

, and directed by

Nicolas Roeg Nicolas Jack Roeg (; 15 August 1928 – 23 November 2018) was an English film director and cinematographer, best known for directing '' Performance'' (1970), ''Walkabout'' (1971), ''Don't Look Now'' (1973), ''The Man Who Fell to Earth'' (1976 ...

. It was

adapted In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...

from the eponymous

1984 book ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final ...

by Lucy Irvine, telling of her experiences of staying for a year with writer Gerald Kingsland on the isolated island of Tuin, between

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

and Australia.

Real life inspiration

In 1981, Lucy Irvine responded to an advertisement placed by writer Gerald Kingsland, and they became self-imposed

castaway A castaway is a person who is cast adrift or ashore. While the situation usually happens after a shipwreck, some people voluntarily stay behind on a deserted island, either to evade captors or the world in general. A person may also be left a ...

s for a year on the isolated and uninhabited island of Tuin, in the

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the Australian mai ...

between

and Australia. Chosen by Kingsland from over 50 applicants, Irvine agreed to marry him to satisfy

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

restrictions before they travelled to Tuin. She was 25 years old, and he was 49. After a year, they returned home, and in 1983, she published her account of the experience in ''

Castaway A castaway is a person who is cast adrift or ashore. While the situation usually happens after a shipwreck, some people voluntarily stay behind on a deserted island, either to evade captors or the world in general. A person may also be left a ...

'', which was later used as the basis for the 1986 film. In 2011, Donohoe recalled her experience working with Reed, stating: 'Well, naked on a desert island with Oliver Reed – it was a tabloid fantasy, wasn't it? He was an alcoholic and his behaviour was erratic, but he was always a courteous and good actor. His personal life wasn't working but he never crossed any lines professionally.'

Soundtrack

The film opens with a song by English artist

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights (song), Wuthering Heights", ...

, "Be Kind to My Mistakes". A slightly edited version later appeared on the 1997 re-release of her album ''

Hounds of Love ''Hounds of Love'' is the fifth studio album by English musician Kate Bush, released on 16 September 1985 by EMI Records. It was a commercial success and marked a return to the public eye for Bush after the relatively low sales of her previous ...

''. The soundtrack begins with a different version of the same song, which was also released as a 7-inch single. The rest of the soundtrack album is instrumental and composed by Stanley Myers. The soundtrack received a limited CD release in 2013.

Cast

Reception

Box office

The film grossed £440,281 in the United Kingdom. Including its gross from the United States, the film grossed over $1 million.

Critical response

The movie received a mixed reception from critics. When Irvine met director

, he felt her story was perfect material for telling a relationship between an older man and a younger woman. It never was intended to be exactly like her experience, as Roeg felt Irvine would be too personally involved then. Irvine was positive about the film, stating she was pleased with Donohoe, Reed and Roeg.

References

External links

* * * 1986 films 1980s biographical drama films 1980s erotic drama films British biographical drama films British erotic drama films Drama films based on actual events 1980s English-language films Films based on biographies Films directed by Nicolas Roeg Films produced by Rick McCallum Films scored by Stanley Myers Films set in Australia Films set on uninhabited islands Golan-Globus films 1986 drama films 1980s British films {{erotic-film-stub