The Island is a 1980 American action
adventure-thriller film directed by Michael Ritchie and starring Michael Caine and David Warner. The film was based on a 1979 novel of the same name by Peter Benchley who also wrote the screenplay. It is about a savage group of pirates, made up of outcasts, thieves, and murderers, who are hidden from the outside world by an uncharted Caribbean island, and who have raided boats to sustain themselves since the 17th century.
Theatrical poster
Peter Bradford Benchley was an American author, screenwriter, and environmental activist. He is known for his bestselling novel Jaws and co-wrote its movie adaptation with Carl Gottlieb. Several more of his works were also adapted for both cinema and television, including The Deep, The Island, Beast, and White Shark.
Portrait by Alex Gotfryd, 1974
Image: Signature of Peter Benchley from a typescript of chapter 1 of Jaws (1974)