The film is laced with references to old swashbuckling films like Captains Courageous, Jason and the Argonauts, or anything from the old Sinbad series. Nearly the entire movie was filmed on a soundstage, and it was shot in high energy Technicolor; both techniques an homage of sorts to the look and feel of Hollywood’s studio pictures from the forties and fifties.

Adam Resnick's, a former “Late Night with David Letterman” writer, makes his directorial debut with this film. He has gone on to write such black comedies as Death to Smoochy and Lucky Numbers. His buddy, co-screenwriter, and star of the project, Chris Elliott, might be better known for his variety of odd characters he played on Letterman’s show.

Tim Burton acts as producer for this film. The extent of Burton’s involvement in the film is difficult to determine, but it features a lot of the quirky eccentricities and visual treats that we are used to from his projects.

The film is certainly not for everyone. The comedy is almost an acquired taste. One might even deduce that there were some nervous producers in that Touchstone never even screened the film for critics. But if you’ve been a fan of Elliott’s work in the past or present, you may want to give this one a rental sometime.



Scott and Matt from the Gods of Filmmaking
http://www.godsoffilmmaking.com/html/cabin_boy.html