#THE CAST AWAY HOW TO#

Once he washes up on a deserted and uncharted island, however, he has plenty of time, but must figure out how to survive from both a mental and physical standpoint and becomes very resourceful at doing just that.

TOM HANKS plays a Federal Express systems engineer who's so busy that he barely has time for his girlfriend.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For some intense images and action sequences.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're fans of Hanks or director Robert Zemeckis' films ('Forrest Gump,' 'Back to the Future'), they just might. As he does so, he hopes that at some point he might be rescued, not realizing what might then lie in wait for him after being gone for so long. Nevertheless, he does just that, learning how to build shelter, hunt for food, start a fire and overcome the rampant loneliness that descends over him day after day, month after month, and year after year. Washing up onto the shores of a tropical island, Chuck is happy to be alive, but soon finds that he's all alone on an uninhabited isle, with nothing but water surrounding him and only a few remnants of civilization to help him survive. Telling her he'll be right back after giving her what she assumes to be an engagement ring but is afraid to open, Chuck heads off on his flight over the South Pacific.Д®ncountering a bad storm, the small crew of the FedEx plane diverts off their course to get around it, but ends up crashing, with Chuck being the sole survivor. Jaunting around the world with fellow employee Stan (NICK SEARCY) and instructing international centers how their package delivery system works, that one lives or dies by the clock, and that it's a sin to loose track of time, Chuck barely has time for his girlfriend back in Memphis, Kelly Frears (HELEN HUNT).ДЄlthough he gets back in time to be with her on Christmas Eve, Chuck gets a page that he must leave for yet another job. PLOT: Chuck Noland (TOM HANKS) is a systems engineer for Federal Express who works and lives by the clock. The dog in the pick-up truck near the end of the film was cared for by an animal trainer, who ensured that it was safe and secure while the vehicle was in motion.QUICK TAKE: Drama: The lone survivor of a plane crash must figure out how to survive the physical and mental hardships of being stranded alone on an uncharted, tropical island. Also, the whale seen during Chuck's escape from the island was actually computer generated. Any speared fish seen out of the water were animatronic-no fish were harmed for the purpose of filming. Hanks drove his spear into empty waters, and the fish were added in later. The fish was actually computer generated-as were the other fish seen in the water. Chuck, eyeing his prey in the water, deftly drives his spear down onto an unsuspecting fish, which writhes on the end of the stick.

Later, Chuck takes up spear fishing again, this time to successful results. This was actually an animatronic crab, while the leg was a contraption made by the property master and filled with a food product consisting of egg whites and food coloring. Instead, he used a sleight of hand to trick the audience into believing that he put the fish into his mouth.ДЇor another meal, Chuck impales a live crab with his spear, tears off its leg, and watches juice drip from the severed limb. The fish out of water was fake-made of rubber-and Hanks didn't actually put anything into his mouth. Chuck, however, appears to take one of the small fish and place it into his mouth, eating it alive. Again, a local fish wrangler gathered the fish into a concentrated area, with none actually being taken from the water. When Chuck drives the spear into water, the live fish aren't really there-they are computer generated and added in post production along with a shot of the live fish.ДЇrustrated and hungry, Chuck follows spear fishing with net fishing, and he manages to gather several small guppy-like fish in his net.

For this scene, the fish were gathered alive by a local fish wrangler and the camera captured images of them swimming in their natural environment. Later, Chuck's first attempt at spear fishing is a botched one, and the fish in the shallow water near the shore swim away unharmed. They were gathered on the beach by crew members, and let go after the scene was shot. The horseshoe crabs seen on the coconuts were also island dwellers. The crab was an actual inhabitant of the island-Figi-and was untouched by Chuck's stick. On the island, Chuck holds a stick and scoots a live crab off of the pants leg of the dead pilot. This was supplied by a taxidermist and handled by the production's prop department. In the Russian saloon at the beginning of the film, there appears to be a stuffed bear poised near the entrance.

The cast away