» Shutter Island

» Synopsis

Two U.S. marshals, Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule, are summoned to a remote and barren island off the coast of Massachusetts to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a murderess from the island's fortress-like hospital for the criminally insane.

» Information

Director: Martin Scorsese Writers: Laeta Kalogridis (screenplay), Dennis Lehane (novel) Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio ... Teddy Daniels Mark Ruffalo ... Chuck Aule Patricia Clarkson ... Rachel 2 Elias Koteas ... Laeddis Ben Kingsley ... Dr. Cawley Michelle Williams ... Dolores Max von Sydow ... Dr. Jeremiah Naehring Emily Mortimer ... Rachel 1 Jackie Earle Haley ... George Noyce Patricia Clarkson ... Ethel Barton Christopher Denham ... Peter Breene Curtiss Cook ... Trey Washington Ted Levine ... Warden John Carroll Lynch ... Deputy Warden McPherson Robin Bartlett ... Bridget Kearns Nellie Sciutto ... Nurse Marino Joe Sikora ... Glen Miga Ray Anthony Thomas ... Orderly Ganton Joseph McKenna ... Inmate Billings Tom Kemp (II) ... Ward C Guard Bates Wilder ... Ward C Gaurd Lars Gerhar ... Dying Commandant Matthew Cowles ... Ferry Captain Jill Larson ... Manacled Woman Released on: 13 February 2010 (Berlin International Film Festival)

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Before settling on Mark Ruffalo for the role of Chuck Aule, Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese also considered Robert Downey Jr. and Josh Brolin.

This was originally commissioned as a directing vehicle for Wolfgang Petersen. However, there were considerable modifications made to Dennis Lehane's novel in order to create a more action-driven blockbuster.

Shortly (August 2009) before its original release in October 2009, the movie was pushed back to February 2010. It did, however, have a special "secret" screening at Austin's "Butt-Numbathon" film festival in December of 2009. Critics attended the screening but were asked not to release their reviews until the official release date.

Co-stars Ted Levine and Patricia Clarkson both starred on the short-lived series Wonderland (2000), produced by Peter Berg, which was set at a mental institution in New York City.

The whispered line in Complex C ("Stop me before I kill more") is likely a reference to William Heirens, a suspected serial killer in Chicago in the 1940's.

The movie's US$40.2 million opening weekend take in the United States marked a career best for director Martin Scorsese. It went on to gross over $293 million worldwide, making it the highest grossing film of his career.

Scenery from Peddocks Island (initial island approach), Acadia National Park in Maine, Medfield State Hospital in Medfield, MA, and the Rice Estate at Turner Hill Country Club in Ipswich, MA were combined via CGI to create the imagery of Shutter Island as a whole. The large mountainous area of the island seen during the ferry approach was added in post-production and does not exist, but the decaying brick buildings on the lowlands are real ruins from Peddocks Island.

This is the fourth time that director Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio have worked on a film together. They previously collaborated in Gangs of New York (2002), The Aviator (2004), and The Departed (2006).

The ball-point pen Teddy uses in the film is a Parker Jotter, it was released in 1954 (the year the film takes place) and was the first successful and reliable ball-point pen to hit the market, which quickly drove fountain pens into obsolescence. Over 3.5 million pens were sold that year and the Parker Jotter dominated the ball-point pen market during that decade.

The traumatic killing of the guards of Dachau concentration camp is not a fictional event. It really took place on April 29, 1945 when the concentration camp was liberated by the American army.

The film was intended to be released in October 2009 but it was postponed because Paramount's remaining yearly marketing and Oscars campaigning budget could only afford for its two other movies, Up in the Air (2009) and The Lovely Bones (2009).

The Dachau dream sequences was originally intended to be shot entirely in 65mm but on the second night of using the 65mm cameras, they broke down entirely. However, a few shots survived in the movie when Teddy was going through the camp in civilian clothes.