Geena Davis, a pirate captain? Ex-hubbie Renny Harlin must have been high (on love?) when he directed CutThroat Island. Derided and critically stamped upon, this big budget swashbuckling movie sank the indie film company Carolco, famous for T2, Cliffhanger and the Rambo movies.

Such was the venom directed towards this film that people have often come away surprised that it's not as bad as they might have expected. The plot is all over the shop, and the characters don't work, but the action set-pieces are good. Renny Harlin tells us his side of the story on the new DVD release.

How Does She Sail?

Made back in '95 this is hardly an old movie but nevertheless it looks brand new on DVD, and with a vigorous 5.1 sound mix to back up the cannon fire, CutThroat Island still has an impact on the senses.

A Very Very Hard Production

If there is one striking thing about Renny Harlin's audio commentary it is that he does not come across as bitter in any way, despite the savaging he got for the box office failure of the movie. He kicks off by admitting the film was a flop, then highlighting some of the problems with the shoot that threw everything into disarray.

Renny doesn't hold back from criticising the script, but is quick to add that it had been written during the chaos of filming. Awful weather, last-minute casting, replacing an entire camera crew, and many other happenings doomed Renny's film. Perhaps he should also have talked about the absence of solid direction, but then plenty has already been said by others on that matter.

Whatever your opinion of Renny, it's rare that any director is willing to talk about their career mishaps. As for the rest of the extra material on the disc, it's made up of typical cheesy promotional fluff interviews - with footage repeated in the interviews section - and the 'making of' featurette. The movie gets sensational presentation however, and Renny's commentary provides an interesting perspective.

EXTRA FEATURES

This DVD was reviewed on a JVC XV-N5 DVD player.