Rapa Nui (1994)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Kevin Reynolds

Writers (WGA):

Kevin Reynolds (story)
Tim Rose Price (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

9 September 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | Romance

Plot:

Tenuously based on the legends of Easter Island, Chile, this story details a civil war between the two...

Plot Keywords:

Statue | Easter Island | Revolution | Deforestation | Slavery

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Jason Scott Lee	...	Noro
Esai Morales	...	Make
Sandrine Holt	...	Ramana
Eru Potaka-Dewes	...	Ariki-mau
Emilio Tuki Hito	...	Messenger
Gordon Hatfield	...	Riro
Frenxa Reuben	...	Heke
Hori Ahipene	...	Overseer
Chiefy Elkington	...	Fisherman
Ruihana Rewa	...	Old Woman
George Henare	...	Tupa
Rawiri Paratene	...	Priest
Pete Smith	...	Priest
Mario Gaia	...	Short Ears
Cliff Curtis	...	Short Ears
Willie Davis	...	Short Ears
Lawrence Makoare	...	Atta
Te Whatanui Skipwith	...	Old Short Ears
Nathaniel Lees	...	Long Ear Chief
Grant McFarland	...	Long Ear Chief
Wassie Shortland	...	Long Ear Chief
Tania Simon	...	Koreto
Rena Owen	...	Hitirenga
Anzac Wallace	...	Haoa (as Zac Wallace)
Rakai Karaitiana	...	Pure White
Shane Dawson	...	Mud Colour
Henry Vaeoso	...	Half & Half
Angela Gribben	...	Long Ear Girl
Karaitiana Beazley	...	Makita
Jade Clayton	...	Ngaara
Jenni Heka	...	Long Ear Girl
Pitake Tuki	...	Timid Short Ear
Liseli Mutti	...	Pua
Michael Yost	...	Young Long Ear Boy

Directed by
Kevin Reynolds

Writing credits (WGA)
Kevin Reynolds		(story)
Tim Rose Price		(screenplay) and
Kevin Reynolds		(screenplay)

Produced by
Kevin Costner	....	producer
Guy East	....	executive producer
Barrie M. Osborne	....	executive producer
Jim Wilson	....	producer

Original Music by
Stewart Copeland

Cinematography by
Stephen F. Windon

Film Editing by
Peter Boyle

Production Design by
George Liddle

Set Decoration by
Brian Edmonds

Costume Design by
John Bloomfield

Makeup Department
Peter Frampton	....	makeup artist
Nikki Gooley	....	assistant makeup artist
Paul Pattison	....	key hair stylist

Production Management
Rosemary Dority	....	post-production supervisor
Zane Weiner	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Fernando Castroman	....	second assistant director
Keith Heygate	....	first assistant director
K.C. Hodenfield	....	assistant director
Mark Illsley	....	second unit director
L. David Silva	....	second assistant director

Art Department
John Rann	....	construction manager

Sound Department
Julius Chan	....	sound effects editor
Gethin Creagh	....	foley pre-mixer
Greg Fitzgerald	....	sound pre mix assistant
Gregg Landaker	....	sound re-recording mixer
Steve Maslow	....	sound re-recording mixer
Libby Villa	....	dialogue editor
Karin Whittington	....	dialogue editor
Jay Wilkinson	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Michael Clifford	....	special effects technician
Steven Richard Courtley	....	special effects
John Eggett	....	special effects
Ken Gorrell	....	special effects technician
Bruce E. Merlin	....	special effects foreman
Dan Oliver	....	special effects technician
Peter 'Babylon' Owens	....	special effects technician
David Pride	....	special effects technician
Arthur Spink Jr.	....	special effects technician

Stunts
Lou Horvath	....	second unit safety rigger
Lou Horvath	....	stunts
Bernadette Van Gyen	....	stunts
Rikki Van Gyen	....	stunt performer

Camera and Electrical Department
Ray Brown	....	key grip
Reg Garside	....	gaffer
Barry Idoine	....	first assistant camera: second unit
Calum McFarlane	....	assistant camera
Marc Spicer	....	camera operator
Michael Vivian	....	key grip: second unit
Ben Glass	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
John Lee	....	assistant editor
Jonathan Lucas	....	first assistant editor

Music Department
Michael Dittrick	....	music editor
Blake Martin Moulin	....	assistant music editor

Other crew
Kevin Richard Buxbaum	....	production accountant
Phil M. Castaneda	....	assistant accountant
Edward Gorsuch	....	unit publicist
Carol Kim	....	production coordinator
Samantha C. Kirkeby	....	script supervisor
Neil Ravan	....	location manager
Kathleen Switzer	....	assistant: Kevin Reynolds (as Kathleen A. Switzer)
Tristan Whalley	....	marketing/publicity
James M. Robinson	....	projectionist: sound post-production (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Majestic Films International
• Newcomm
• RCS
• Tig Productions

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1994) (USA) (theatrical)
• Egmont Film (1995) (Sweden) (VHS)
• Escarlata Films S.A. (Spain)

Other Companies

• Spectrum Films International  post-production facilities

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Germany:12 | Spain:13 | UK:12 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Easter Island, Chile

Company:

Majestic Films International

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The Rapa Nui had long abandoned carving moai by the time of the Cult of the Birdman.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Mars Attacks! (1996)

Rapa nui - Easter Island explained

To understand this movie needs a bit of homework. Thor Heyerdahl worked on Easter Island for a year, discovering the secrets of the people who live there. His book "Aku-aku" is a good read any day, as is the better-known "Kon Tiki".

There were two tribes, the Long ears who were the ruling tribe and the Short ears, who carved the statues. The carving kept the Short ears busy, but transporting the statues from the quarry to the erection site used more wood than the small island could sustainably supply. One day, all the trees were gone, and there was not enough food. The Short ears rebelled, killing all the Long ears, save one.

The movie tells the story of the rebellion and the custom of the annual "Bird Man" races to "elect" a new leader. It leaves no doubt that cannibalism became a way of life for the survivors. It does not explain the development of the cave refuge system and how that has forged the secretive society that exists on the island to this day.

The movie is almost a documentary in the details of life on Easter Island, given that it is a movie and has to be "dumbed down" a little for dramatic purposes.

One complaint seems to be that there were a lot of white faces in the cast, but this is not accurate. Thor Heyerdahl mentions in his book that there has always been a mixture of ethnic origins on the island. some people have white skins, blonde hair and blue eyes, while some are definitely dark-skinned and some have bright red hair unlike any other local ethnic group. He suggests that there could be a mixture of Nordic, Egyptian and Polynesian/Micronesian blood on the Easter Island, as a result of a series of at least three waves of immigration.

The movie is an engaging love story, based on a relationship between a Long-ear man and a Short-ear woman. There was in fact one last Long-ear (Ororoina) whose descendants live on Easter island to this day, still believing themselves to be a cut above the ordinary.

I would love to write more, but my Aku-aku says its time for bed and if there's one thing I learned from reading Thor Heyerdahl, it is that you don't screw around with your Aku-aku.

Rent the VHS tape and enjoy the movie. Just don't eat underdone pork roast for supper beforehand.