Some people want nothing more than to live and work in the wild, while others have the great outdoors thrust upon them. That's exactly what happens to Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks), an efficiency expert who suddenly has all the time in the world in Castaway.

As an analyst for Federal Express, Chuck constantly looks for new ways to make deliveries more efficient and timely. His devotion to both the company and the clock make him such an asset to the company that they send him to overseas locations such as Russia. The clock runs his life so much that Chuck even has to book time with his girlfriend Kelly (Helen Hunt). The clock finally stops, however, after a FedEx plane crashes into the ocean, killing the crew and stranding Chuck on the shores of an island, thousands of miles from home.

Not the greatest outdoorsman, Chuck is forced to bring himself up to speed on the basics of hunting and fishing. He even spends several painful hours learning how to make fire the old fashioned way, wishing the entire time that he had a lighter. With no working cell phone and unforgiving ocean currents surrounding the island, Chuck's stay on his tropical paradise stretches from days to weeks to years. His only companion there is Wilson, a volleyball that Chuck personalizes with a face and hair. Throughout his ordeal, Chuck keeps up a constant conversation with Wilson, but the audience never hears exactly what the volleyball is saying.

Enhanced by an intriguing performance from Tom Hanks, Castaway shows what happens when an executive who is used to the suburbs has to fend for himself, without benefit of clocks or cars. Hunger is a great motivator, and Chuck's situation forces him to hunt for food and water on the island. He crafts crude tools out of stones and wood and, eventually, he becomes pretty good at spear fishing. Despite getting back to nature, though, Chuck wants nothing more than to return to civilization and his beloved Kelly.

Castaway, rated PG-13 for intense action sequences and some disturbing images, is available on DVD.