The Book of Eli (2010)

A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind.

Directors:

Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes

Writer:

Gary Whitta

Stars:

Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis

3 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Denzel Washington	...	Eli
Gary Oldman	...	Carnegie
Mila Kunis	...	Solara
Ray Stevenson	...	Redridge
Jennifer Beals	...	Claudia
Evan Jones	...	Martz
Joe Pingue	...	Hoyt
Frances de la Tour	...	Martha (as Frances De La Tour)
Michael Gambon	...	George
Tom Waits	...	Engineer
Chris Browning	...	Hijack Leader
Richard Cetrone	...	Hijacker
Lateef Crowder	...	Hijacker / Construction Thug
Keith Davis	...	Hijacker
Don Thai Theerathada	...	Hijacker (as Don Theerathada)

Storyline

In a violent post-apocalyptic society, a drifter, Eli, has been wandering westward across North America for the last thirty years. He finds solace in a unique book which he carries on his person and guards closely, whilst surviving by hunting small animals and seeking goods in destroyed houses and vehicles to trade in villages for water and supplies. When he reaches a village ruled by the powerful mobster, Carnegie, the man views Eli's impressive fighting skills and offers Eli a place within his gang. Carnegie presses his blind lover Claudia to send her daughter, Solara, to at least convince Eli to spend the night by sleeping with him. However, Eli proves to be the better man when he gently declines her advances. The girl sees Eli's book, and when Carnegie finds out he beats her mother until she reveals what she saw. Carnegie sends his gang into the wasteland to take the book from Eli, but the man proves to be a formidable foe as he makes it more than clear that if they want the book,...

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Plot Keywords:

book | water | blind | mixed martial arts | murder | 

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Taglines:

Some will kill to have it. He will kill to protect it.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some brutal violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Metropolitan Films [fr] Official site [jp]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 January 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

El libro de los secretos

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque Studios - 5650 University Boulevard SE, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,232,001 (UK) (15 January 2010)

Gross:

$94,822,707 (USA) (7 May 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alcon Entertainment, Silver Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS (as dts)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

For the movie Denzel Washington studied martial arts under Bruce Lee's protégé Dan Inosanto.

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Goofs

When Eli makes it to the west, he says he brings with him the King James Version of the Bible. When he starts to recite the Bible, it is actually the New International Version he is reciting.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Young Woman Hijacker: Please, don't hurt me. Here, take anything you want. You want some food? Take it.
Eli: I'm not gonna hurt you.
Young Woman Hijacker: Yeah? That's what the last guy said. Could... could you help me? The wheel came off. I can't fix it. Maybe if I... if I could... but I can't.
Eli: You know the only good thing about no soap... is that you can smell hijackers a mile off!

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Crazy Credits

Aside from the title, there are no opening credits.

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Connections

Featured in The Jay Leno Show: Episode #1.75 (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Once Upon A Time In America"
Written by Ennio Morricone

User Reviews

Pretty good stuff from the Hughes Brothers...

I saw this when it came out in the cinema and quite liked it. Now it has come round on TV I thought it might be worth a second viewing. This film is about the quest of one man to get a book to the place it's supposed to be, to use his words. Now, I'm not a religious man but I can see the value this book might have in a world torn apart by war. It is a post-apocalyptic world, thirty years after it was destroyed. Those that were not killed scratch a living out of what's left, and many have turned to cannibalism. Many were blinded by the flashes in the sky but survived. As stated in the film, after the war people destroyed the bible blaming it for what happened, but Eli has the last remaining copy. Now you know the set-up, here's a brief summary before I give you my thoughts (summary haters please don't touch Eli… not if you want to keep your hands that is… and wait here while I write the next paragraph).

Always moving west, Eli is a loner on the road. Like everyone out there he knows it's a very dangerous place. He kills animals for food and gets clean water where he can. When set upon by hijackers but Eli is a ferocious fighter and thus far has come out on top. One day he wanders into a small town run by Carnegie, a determined man who has been sending out men in search of a particular book, the very one Eli has in his possession. Carnegie has a mother and daughter, Claudia and Solara in his entourage, Claudia was blind from birth, but Solara is sighted. In trying to persuade Eli to stay, as he can see the value of a man who can fight like him, he sends Solara to his room and she discovers the book. Carnegie finds out about the book and sends his henchman, Redridge to get it but Eli has already gone. Eli starts heading west again only to find Solara following him. Redridge wants Solara and makes a deal with Carnegie to get the book in exchange for her. And now the chase is on, will Eli and Solara escape or will they be caught? I think that's enough for now… This film was shot in a similar way to 300 (2006) with a kind of washed out comic book feel to it and, for me, it looked a bit too artificial in places. A lot of the landscapes were CGI which didn't come over too well on TV. Great performances from all of the leading cast, Denzel Washington as Eli, Gary Oldman as Carnegie, Mila Kunis as Solara, Ray Stevenson as Redridge and Jennifer Beals as Claudia. Honourable mentions also go to Frances de la Tour and Michael Gambon as Martha and George, a mad old couple who Eli and Solara find on their travels.

Although it's a fairly straightforward story I found it a very entertaining and compelling film to watch, the 107 minutes went by pretty quickly, which is always a good sign. It did get a bit bogged down in the middle, but redeemed itself with a totally unexpected twist at the end. Don't worry; I'm not going give that away here. Also a haunting soundtrack backs up the visuals to great effect. Over all, although it's not been well received everywhere and although not perfect, it's a good effort… Recommended.

My score: 7.3/10