THE ISLAND (1980)—-artistic, critical and box-office debacle from 1980, directed by Michael Ritchie, hoping to use Peter Benchley’s story and script to have another Jaws-scale hit, this time about modern-day pirates in the Bermuda Triangle.

Michael Caine gets captured by depraved David Warner and his louts, descendants of buccaneers from the past, living as a throwback colony on the uncharted isle of the title.  They prey on yachts, in blood-splashing manner; it’s an ugly movie, despite the bright locations. At least Mike gets to mop the deck with the grotty swine at the end, in a suitably guys-yelling fashion with a helpful .50 caliber machine gun.  Rest of the movie sinks.

It made $15,700,000, but that was just swallowed bilge water in view of the $22,000,000 ballast they laid in to finance it.  Filmed in Antigua, it has developed somewhat of a cult following.  With Angela Punch McGregor.

You will empathize