The film Cast Away, directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks, is unique in that it contains approximately 15 minutes of music and very little dialogue considering it is a 143 minute motion picture. FedEx executive Chuck Noland is marooned on a deserted island, where he transforms himself physically during his ordeal to survive. Eventually he is rescued and returns only, only to find himself a displaced person among former friends and loved ones as he reenters society.
The sound effects in this film are akin to the Simon and Garfunkel song, The Sounds of Silence. Very little music is involved in the film, which adds to the isolation and emotionally bereft nature of Noland’s time spent on the island. Alan Silvestri is the composer of the film’s score and the Avid Film Composer system played a key role in cleaning up sound and dialogue in post-production. If we look at one scene closely, we can begin to understand the nature of the sound effects for this unique motion picture. After a failed attempt at being rescued, Noland realizes he will have to open the FedEx boxes he rescued that drifted to shore after his plane crashed in the hopes of finding something practical.
The scene starts with Noland uncovering the boxes that are under his rubber raft. We hear the rustling of the rubber raft as he slides it from off the boxes. He then picks up a few coconuts and drains them of their milk. We hear the liquid gurgling out of the coconuts and into Noland’s mouth. All the time in the background we hear the sounds of crashing waves against the shore. Noland then reaches for the first box and we hear the tearing sound of the perforated opening as he rips it open. He pulls out a videotape and we hear the sounds of videotapes hitting one another as he empties the box and more tapes fall to the ground. The next box is opened and we hear the tearing again. This time
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