Shutter Island
Short description
Shutter Island is set in 1954, when two U.S. marshals, Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule, are sent to a facility for the criminally insane on an island in Boston Harbor. A patient has vanished from a locked room, leaving behind only a cryptic note, and the pair must work out how she could have disappeared. The hospital's staff, led by the controlling Dr. Cawley, prove uncooperative, and a hurricane cuts the island off from the mainland. As Teddy digs further, his own memories of the war and of his late wife intrude on the case, and the clues around him grow harder to trust.
Martin Scorsese directed the film, the twenty-fifth of thirty-eight features listed in chronological order, arriving between The Departed and Hugo, from a screenplay by Laeta Kalogridis. Leonardo DiCaprio leads as Teddy, with Mark Ruffalo as Chuck Aule, Ben Kingsley as Dr. Cawley, Max von Sydow as Dr. Naehring, Michelle Williams as Dolores and Emily Mortimer as Rachel. The production involved 47 credited cast members and 131 credited crew.
Made for 80 million dollars, it took 295 million worldwide, a strong return. On IMDb it holds 8.2 from over 1.4 million votes, and on TMDB 8.2 from more than 26,000, while the critics' rating stands at 6.7 from 266 reviews, so audiences have rated it noticeably higher than critics.
What's left behind the scenes
- The idea behind both the book and the film is based on a real place in Italy – Poveglia.
- Originally, it was planned that Teddy's dream sequences would be filmed using a 65mm camera.
- This is the fourth joint project of Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio. Previous films include "Gangs of New York" (2002), "The Aviator" (2004), and "The Departed" (2006).
- Shutter Island is an anagram of “Truths and Lies” and “Truths / Denials”.
- In the film, Teddy uses a Parker Jotter ballpoint pen, which was released in 1954 (the same year the film is set). This pen was a huge success on the market (over 3.5 million units were sold in the first year of sales) and significantly challenged ink pens. After a successful start in the second half of the fifties, Parker Jotter pens dominated the market.
- To create the atmosphere of the film, Martin Scorsese sought inspiration from the zombie films of Val Lewton.
- Peddocks Island, Acadia National Park in Maine, Medfield State Hospital in Medfield, Massachusetts, and the Rice Estate nursing home located near Turner Hill Country Club in Ipswich, Massachusetts, served as the basis. All of these locations were combined using computer graphics to create "Shutter Island." Large mountains were added during post-production.
- David Fincher was considered for the director's position.
- Initially, Columbia Pictures acquired the rights from Dennis Lehane to adapt the book in 2003, but after numerous postponements of the project's start date, the adaptation rights reverted to the author.
- To give the actors an idea of the film's stylistic look, Martin Scorsese showed them "Out of the Past" (1947) and "Vertigo" (1958).
- The film earned $41 million in its opening weekend, which is the best result for films directed by Martin Scorsese.
- The execution of German prisoners by American soldiers did indeed take place in Dachau on April 29, 1945.
- Initially, producers wanted Wolfgang Petersen to direct the film, but later preferred Martin Scorsese.
- When Ted and Chuck went to Building C, the lights in the building flickered, even though all the generators were burned out.
- In complex 'C', one can hear a patient whispering: “Stop me before I kill more people,” which is likely a reference to serial killer William Heirens.
- The film's release was moved from October 2009 to February 2010. Initially, Paramount Pictures considered the film a possible contender for the "Oscar." However, towards the end of the year, it became clear that the studio would promote "Up in the Air" (2009) and "The Lovely Bones" (2009) for the "Oscar." The studio could not find the $50-60 million needed for an Oscar-focused advertising campaign. In addition, Leonardo DiCaprio was unable to promote the film at the end of 2009 due to commitments to other projects. As a result, the studio moved the premiere to February.
- The pistol used by the Dachau commandant to shoot himself is a nickel-plated Walther PP. The filmmakers specifically chose the nickel-plated version to create a sharp contrast with the dark floor. However, the nickel-plated version of the Walther did not exist during World War II.
- Robert Downey Jr. and Josh Brolin were considered for the role of Chuck.
- The film is based on Dennis Lehane's novel "Shutter Island" (2003).
- The original title can also be translated as “Trap Island”.
- One of the paintings that Dr. Cawley shows as examples of mistreatment of the insane is "Nebuchadnezzar," an illustration to the Bible by the poet William Blake.
- When American soldiers enter the gates of Dachau, an archway from Auschwitz is shown. This is an error, as the gate at Dachau had the same inscription, but it looked different.
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