# The desert island problem **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [September 25, 2025, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-desert-island-problem/1023370 "2025-09-25T02:41:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-desert-island-problem/1023370/41 "2025-09-25T17:00:11Z")
Admiral Spooner, Air Vice Marshal Pulford and forty others were cast away on a desert island while fleeing from Singapore in 1942, and far from relaxing with the Bible, most of them starved to death, with a side order of malaria . ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-desert-island-problem/1023370/42 "2025-09-25T17:12:34Z")
Well, the OP specifies that ample food and water is available. I assume this extends to shelter and medical care otherwise everyone should answer with survival guides and there isn’t any question. I suppose maybe it’s better thought of as a curated island rather than a desert island ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-desert-island-problem/1023370/43 "2025-09-25T17:32:45Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > Album: **Beethoven: Symphony No. 9** — Herbert von Karajan / Berlin Philharmonic (1962). > Stranded on an island, I’d be in need of frequent full-spectrum emotional fixes. From the stormy opening to the spine-tingling _“Ode to Joy”_, the 9th delivers on all cylinders. And Karajan’s 1962 take is as good as it gets. Agree! I had this in an LP boxed set decades ago. The best. But, I pick Stan Rogers’s _Between the Breaks._ I can sing along. (ETA: I was tempted to pick the original Broadway cast album of _Candide_). Movie I’d go with _Gosford Park._ It’s so detailed, I can always find something new. It’s funny, sad, tragic, and very satisfying. The book is the one I’m finding the hardest to pin down. Maybe _The Bone Clocks_ or _The Joy Luck Club._ ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-desert-island-problem/1023370/44 "2025-09-25T17:35:14Z")
Book: as many times I have read it, without being very convinced, I will go with the bible, King James version. It is complicated, disconnected, has a faulty plot line, but it is quite long. It has given me enormous pleasure in a way it was not intended. Movie: this is harder, “Amelie” (starring Audrey Tatou, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet) could be my favourite, but “Sweetie” (directed by Jane Campion) is probably winning. (This is quite a tough movie to enjoy!) Music: I’ll go with a lifetime favourite, U2’s “Where the streets have no name” ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-desert-island-problem/1023370/45 "2025-09-25T17:40:41Z")
Yeah, _Sweetie_ is one that annoys a lot, but I still liked it … for certain meanings of the word “liked.” ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-desert-island-problem/1023370/46 "2025-09-25T17:41:44Z")
Wow, this is hard. I suppose that was the intent. 🙂 **Movie:** _Jurassic Park_. **CD:** If it has to be a commercial CD, then Alice Cooper’s “Brutal Planet.” If it can be a compilation I make myself, I’d put my favorite Rush, Alan Parsons Project, Alice Cooper, Assemblage 23, and VNV Nation songs, up to the limit of what the CD could hold. (If you ask me which commercial CD I’m taking again tomorrow, I’ll probably give a different answer. 🙂 ) **Book:** Do I have access to a pen? If so, then the thickest blank book I’d be allowed, so I could write my own books (I already do this, so it would keep me more entertained than bringing a regular book, and I could always go back and re-read what I wrote later). If not and it has to be a commercial book, then Stephen King’s _It._ l love the book and it’s nice and long. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-desert-island-problem/1023370/47 "2025-09-25T17:48:16Z")
It is bring a book, not write a book. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-desert-island-problem/1023370/48 "2025-09-25T17:55:05Z")
A notebook is a book. It’s right there in the name. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-desert-island-problem/1023370/49 "2025-09-25T17:55:35Z")
As mentioned by **PatrickLondon** above, this is almost exactly the premise of a long-running (1942-present) British radio show, [Desert Island Discs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_Island_Discs). celebrity guests are allowed to choose 8 records (single tunes, not albums) 1 book and a luxury. The Island is already equipped with food and tools for basic survival, and already has the complete works of Shakespeare and The Bible, or other religious text of your choice. The point of the show is to hear what records, book, and what single luxury have personal significance to the guest, and why. It isn’t supposed to be an exercise in ingenuity. Guests can’t ask for their book to be a survival guide, nor their luxury to be a radio to summon rescue. I think people in this thread should follow the same rules. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-desert-island-problem/1023370/50 "2025-09-25T17:58:06Z")
There is a reason I didn’t put this in the “Thread Games” forum. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-desert-island-problem/1023370/51 "2025-09-25T17:59:22Z")
What’s the food situation? Basically is having a cookbook worthwhile? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-desert-island-problem/1023370/52 "2025-09-25T18:00:28Z")
Once again, you will be fed. This isn’t a “survivalist” thread. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-desert-island-problem/1023370/53 "2025-09-25T18:02:09Z")
I’m not asking if food is available, I’m asking what type of food? Do I get a choice? Do I have cookware? ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-desert-island-problem/1023370/54 "2025-09-25T18:02:15Z")
You could title it “Autobiography of an amnesiac”. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-desert-island-problem/1023370/55 "2025-09-25T18:04:28Z")
This is not that thread. This thread is to pick a book to read, a CD to listen to, and a movie to watch. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-desert-island-problem/1023370/56 "2025-09-25T18:06:27Z")
> [@robby](#): > > My votes: > > **Book:** either _The Source_ by James Michener or _The Ancestor’s Tale_ by > Richard Dawkins, depending on whether I felt like fiction or non-fiction. > > **Album** : _The Cars Greatest Hits_. > > **Movie** : _Apollo 13_. > [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Book - Lord of the Rings I had considered this, but eliminated it because I thought it would considered three books—and I couldn’t decide which volume to pick. But if the whole trilogy is allowed, I would definitely change my choice to this. And I suppose it’s not cheating, since there are versions that print the whole trilogy in a single volume. > [@ParallelLines](#): > > Movie - I have to pick something that ALSO has great music that works when I want to listen to something, and maximum entertainment and consolation value. I pick “Lord of the Rings” DVD. 2H58 minutes, just clears. I assume you mean the theatrical version of _ **The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring** _, which clocks in at 2:58 minutes. Again, if I could bring all three movies that make up the trilogy, I would definitely bring this. But even if I’m limited to the first movie—upon further thought—I’d probably still go ahead and switch my original choice to this. As for album, I think I would switch to the [Beatles _1_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1_(Beatles_album)) (or _1+_ with Blu-ray if allowed). ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-desert-island-problem/1023370/57 "2025-09-25T18:07:24Z")
…My choice of book depends on that answer. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-desert-island-problem/1023370/58 "2025-09-25T18:09:26Z")
> [@robby](#): > > I thought it would considered three books Supposedly, Tolkien considered it a single book that was carved up for publishing purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-desert-island-problem/1023370/59 "2025-09-25T18:09:47Z")
> [@robby](#): > > And I suppose it’s not cheating, since there are versions that print the whole trilogy in a single volume. discarded ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-desert-island-problem/1023370/60 "2025-09-25T18:11:49Z")
The movie is indeed limited to 3 hours, but I have seen the trilogy in a single bound book so it is definitely allowed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-desert-island-problem/1023370.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-desert-island-problem/1023370.md?page=4)