Year One (2009)

After being banished from their tribe, two hunter-gatherers encounter Biblical characters and eventually wind up in the city of Sodom.

Director:

Harold Ramis

Writers:

Harold Ramis (screenplay), Gene Stupnitsky (screenplay),

Stars:

Jack Black, Michael Cera, Olivia Wilde

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Black	...	Zed
Michael Cera	...	Oh
Oliver Platt	...	High Priest
David Cross	...	Cain
Christopher Mintz-Plasse	...	Isaac
Vinnie Jones	...	Sargon
Hank Azaria	...	Abraham
Juno Temple	...	Eema
Olivia Wilde	...	Princess Inanna
June Diane Raphael	...	Maya
Xander Berkeley	...	King
Gia Carides	...	Queen
Horatio Sanz	...	Enmebaragesi
David Pasquesi	...	Prime Minister
Matthew Willig	...	Marlak (as Matthew J. Willig)

Storyline

Zed, a prehistoric would-be hunter, eats from a tree of forbidden fruit and is banished from his tribe, accompanied by Oh, a shy gatherer. On their travels, they meet Cain and Abel on a fateful day, stop Abraham from killing Isaac, become slaves, and reach the city of Sodom where their tribe is now enslaved. Zed and Oh are determined to rescue the women they love, Maya and Eema. Standing in their way is Sodom's high priest and the omnipresent Cain. Zed tries to form an alliance with Princess Innana, which may backfire. Can an inept hunter and a smart but slender and diffident gatherer become heroes and make a difference?

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Plot Keywords:

tribe | sodom | hunter | princess | abraham | 

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Taglines:

This June Evolution Begins

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [France] Official site [Mexico]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 June 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

L'an un

Filming Locations:

New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£978,008 (UK) (26 June 2009)

Gross:

$43,337,279 (USA) (14 August 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Ocean Pictures, Apatow Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min 100 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stanley Tucci was cast to play the Biblical character Noah. After Evan Almighty (2007) failed at the box-office, Noah was cut from the film.

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Goofs

When Cain and Abel are "wrestling" on the ground, Cain is wearing rubber rain boots or galoshes instead of sandals.

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Quotes

Marlak: Stay away from my woman.
Zed: Not gonna be possible, Marlak. She's not your woman. You can't own people. Except for the guy who bought all of us. Apparently, he can.

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Crazy Credits

Several bloopers are shown during the first half of the end credits.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien: Episode #1.14 (2009)

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Soundtracks

Put the Message in the Box
Written by Karl Wallinger
Performed by World Party
Courtesy of Seaview Records Ltd.

User Reviews

Smart hilarious comedy

I found this movie on the bottom rack of the corner shelf at blockbuster, which didn't bode well, but I'm glad I took a chance. If you like Arrested Development or Mr Show, you'll like this movie.

The movie is a satire of the old testament. It presents the biblical creation story in the context of a tribe of stone age humans with contemporary mindsets. The results are hilarious, it's not as good as Monty Python's Life of Brian, but it's in the same ballpark.

The only area where the movie suffers is in what seems like an attempt to cater to a younger audience with toilet humor. However, as you cringe watching the toilet humor scenes, you get sideswiped by a few clever jokes that are timed just right.

There are a few jokes in the movie that are delivered so perfectly, with such great nuance and skill, that just thinking about them still makes me laugh. My favorite is the scene where the priest is reading the omens from the sheep entrails he's just poured onto the table, "to me, I see a smiley face, and that makes me happy". ;) This movie is one of the few that I'm willing to buy.