Shutter Island - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of Shutter Island or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to Shutter Island

[lynn]

The traumatic killing of Nazi guards of Dachau concentration camp is a historical event, taking place on April 29, 1945, when the camp was liberated by the U.S. Army.

[steve]

The actual island is linked to Batman in which Gotham has an island called Arkham Asylum which is for mentally unstable patients, dangerous prisoners and the criminally insane. In the movie, a corrections officer mentions that the island is covered in "poison ivy," which also could be linked to the Batman villain who of the same name. Poison Ivy also appears as one of the primary villains in the Batman: Arkham Asylum video game which is inspired by an island-bound asylum.

[ethel]

Before settling on Mark Ruffalo for the role of Chuck Aule, Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese also considered Robert Downey, Jr. and Josh Brolin. All three are part of Marvel's Cinematic Universe, as Bruce Banner, a.k.a. The Incredible Hulk, Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man, and Thanos respectively. Sir Ben Kingsley also appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the Mandarin in Iron Man 3 (2013).

[morris]

This movie takes place in 1954.

[ava]

Scenery from Peddocks Island (initial island approach), Peddocks Island in the Boston Harbor, Massachusetts, Acadia National Park in Maine, Medfield State Hospital in Medfield, Massachusetts, and the Rice Estate at Turner Hill Country Club in Ipswich, Massachusetts, 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.

[amber]

David Fincher was considered as a director.

[marc]

The ballpoint pen Teddy (Leonardo DiCaprio) used in the movie is a Parker Jotter, it was released in 1954 (the year this movie takes place), and was the first successful and reliable ballpoint pen to hit the market, which quickly drove fountain pens into obsolescence. Over three and a half million pens were sold that year, and the Parker Jotter dominated the ballpoint pen market during that decade.

[addison]

The working title for this movie was "Ashecliff", the name of the insane asylum.

[brent]

Mark Ruffalo won the role of Chuck Aule after sending Martin Scorsese a fan letter saying how much he wanted to work with him.

[kenneth]

This movie opened with a forty-one million dollar weekend, Martin Scorsese's best figures, and (up until the release of Inception (2010) later that same year) Leonardo DiCaprio's.

[kristina]

Sir Ben Kingsley also starred as a doctor of an insane asylum in Stonehearst Asylum (2014).

[ronnie]

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

[kim]

Dolores, in the dream sequence, is depicted as having her back hollowed out and ashen. In this aspect, she bears a strange resemblance to the Skogsrå, or Huldra, of Scandinavian folklore: beautiful forest trolls whose backs resembled hollowed-out trunks that seduced men into marrying them. If their men abused them, they would wreak vengeance on the men, or revert to an ugly form. This may connect Dolores' mental breakdown to Teddy's, a.k.a. Andrew's, alcoholism and the implied mental and verbal abuse that she suffered at his hands as a result.

[nina]

To give his cast members an idea of how this movie would be stylistically, Martin Scorsese screened Out of the Past (1947) and Vertigo (1958) for his cast and crew.

[manuel]

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

[bessie]

Shortly 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.

[liam]

This is one of the rare genre of movies that plays out as a completely different story after the initial viewing reveals a radical plot twist.

[cassandra]

The only movie of the partnership between Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio that failed to receive any Oscar nominations. Gangs of New York (2002), The Aviator (2004), The Departed (2006), and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) all received Oscar nominations, including for Best Picture.

[caroline]

Before Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio decided to make this movie, they were originally going to make The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). However, financing did not work out for The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) at that time.