12 Best Movies About Being Stranded On An Island Update 04/2024

Movies About Being Stranded On An Island

There are a plethora of films and television shows about desert islands. Which ones are the best?

The concept of a person or a group of people being trapped on a deserted island has always attracted audiences. It’s possible that moviegoers and TV viewers both are drawn to stories about people who have overcome adversity. Some tales of survival on a desert island feature groups of individuals from diverse backgrounds.

There’s also the indescribable exhilaration of witnessing seemingly unfit individuals master survival skills when their lives are on the line. It doesn’t matter what the reason, there have been a plethora of interesting deserted island TV episodes and movies.

Svetlana Sterlin updated the article on June 2nd, 2021:

An island that is completely deserted Even as other interesting tales fill the pop cultural landscape, TV shows and movies remain popular. Subgenres like as these have endured longer than others, maybe because they offer a wealth of opportunity to examine what it is that makes us human. If you’re in the mood for some light entertainment, consider these extra television shows and films.

1. Lost (2004-2010) – Available on Hulu and IMDb TV

Lost (2004-2010)

Lost, one of the most talked-about and famous shows of the early 2000s, features a large ensemble of well-known actors playing survivors of a plane crash on a barren island. Almost everyone on board is alive and well. In order to stay alive, they will have to create a new way of life and work together.

They learn that the island isn’t uninhabited after all, and isn’t even an island in the classic sense, as odd things begin to happen. To keep viewers on their toes, the plot incorporates aspects of sci-fi and the supernatural. The television series Lost, which is set on a desert island, is still one of the most gripping.

2. Cast Away (2000) – Available for purchase on Prime Video

Tom Hanks plays Wilson, a volleyball, in this lengthy film, which he carries on his own for much of the journey. When a plane crashes into the ocean, stranding an overworked man on an isolated island, the film shows what happens to him after months or perhaps years of being alone.

As his survival instincts, starvation, and profound loneliness take hold, he spirals farther and further into madness. For both the character and the spectator, the film presents many difficult concepts to unpack.

3. The Wilds (2020) – Available on Prime Video

The Wilds (2020)

Often compared to Lord of the Flies, thisAmazon Prime Original series portrays a group of female students. The Wildsisthe girls don’t crash on a barren island in real life. Their participation in the initiative is unwittingly monitored by the project’s inventor, who observes and evaluates from afar.

The arcs of each of the girls are unique. At first, the girls are able to get along, but tensions mount as they struggle to find out how to survive until they can be rescued.

4. Gilligan’s Island (1964-1967) – Available for purchase on Apple TV

A tale of a fateful ship will be told to you, “so sit back and relax.” This unforgettable statement from Gilligan’s Island evokes pictures and noises from the classic sitcom. The show centers on a group of seven stranded on a lonely island after their ship sank.

Each episode centers on the crazy ideas the crew comes up with to go back home, as well as the friction between the many personalities, including the accident-prone first mate Gilligan, the Wall Street millionaire Jim, the Hollywood movie star Ginger, and the pure farm lady Mary Ann.

5. Wrecked (2016-2018) – Available on HBO Max

Wrecked (2016-2018)

This three-season comic parody of Lost is perfect for those looking for a good chuckle. As in that show, a group of people who were stranded after a plane catastrophe follow a similar storyline in Wrekced.

Although the series received a mixed reception from reviewers, the general public seemed to have a different opinion. There’s plenty of action, horror, mystery, and adventure in the program, so there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

6. The Blue Lagoon (1980) – Available on Prime Video and Tubi

Blue Lagoon is based on the novel by Henry De Vere Stacpoole, a more romantic take on the desert island subject. On a tropical island, two young children, played by Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins, are left for dead.

They begin to fall in love as they grow up and experience the mental and physical changes that come with puberty. A lot of people didn’t like the movie because of the way it sexualized its young performers. For her performance, Shields was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award as Worst Actress. In the end, this film is essential to any list of stranded-person movies, whether you love or loathe it.

7. Swiss Family Robinson (1960) – Available on Disney+

Swiss Army Man (2016)

This is one of the earliest significant movies about people being abandoned on a deserted island in cinematic history. A shipwrecked family must improvise a new house and way of life on an isolated island if they are to survive. Johann David Wyss’ novel of the same name, published in 1812, served as the inspiration for this story.

Family members, including mother, father, and three children, join together in a new place to start a new life while battling famine, animals, and pirates. In addition, they must deal with their constant concerns about life and the future, which they cannot avoid.

8. Robinson Crusoe (1997) – Available for purchase on Prime Video

This film version of Daniel Defoe’s classic novel is an action/survival/drama adventure. To get away after mistakenly killing his friend Patrick (Damian Lewis) in a fight over a woman, the title character—a Scotsman played by James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan—becomes a member of the merchant marine.

Typhoon-wrecked off the coast of New Guinea, however, forces him to come up with new ways of surviving.

He quickly discovers that he is not alone after all. Crusoe encounters a tribe on the island that he finds frightening, but he has no choice but to deal with them if he wants to avoid becoming their next human sacrifice.

9. Swiss Army Man (2016) – Available on Showtime

Swiss Army Man (2016)

Although it’s not for everyone, this is a film that has a devoted following. It begins with a bleak scene in which Hank has decided to leave the island and return to civilization.

He gains hope, though, when he comes upon Danny, who washed ashore on the shore. Danny, it appears, has passed away. Hank and the body engage on a series of adventures, often discussing their past lives while forging a fantastic new existence of their own.. The film’s peculiar dark comedy continues to shine through.

10. Lord Of The Flies (1963) – Available on HBO Max

A group of high school students washed ashore on a remote island. What would they do? Would they be able to work together for the sake of their survival? Based on William Golding’s novel, this British drama (and its 1990 remake, which many consider to be an undervalued adaptation) asks.

More somber in mood than some of the other selections, it explores human nature and the dark impulses that might drive individuals to use violence and incitement of hostility in the face of dire circumstances.

11. The Admirable Crichton (1957)

The Admirable Crichton (1957)

Based on J.M. Barrie’s 1902 theatrical play of the same name, this British-American adventure comedy may be the oldest and least well-known title on this list.

A storm and a yacht engine explosion land an affluent family, their butler, and a junior maid on a lonely island. Once they are no longer a part of society, their social classes lose all relevance.

With no one else to turn to but the family’s butler, Crichton, for help, everyone is scrambling to figure out how to survive in the wilderness. Crichton is the only one who can keep the others alive, as they are accustomed to high-society life. Despite this, they are unable to accept him as their leader and give up the perks to which they have grown accustomed.

12. The Red Turtle (2016) – Available for purchase on Prime Video

The life of a man who is stranded on an abandoned island is chronicled in this wordless Studio Ghibli film. Despite its seeming simplicity, the plot delves into several heavy subjects, all of which are beautifully condensed into memorable images.

Every time the man succeeds in building a raft to take him back home, a big red turtle along the shore thwarts his plans. Finally, the man has to accept that his old life is no longer relevant, and that he must embrace his new one. To say that this short film packs a powerful punch would be an understatement.