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, Oliver Platt

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:

sodom | tribe | hunter | forbidden fruit | abraham | 

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Taglines:

Meet your ancestors

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content throughout, brief strong language and comic violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [fr] Official site [mx]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 June 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Year One

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

Harold Ramis:  as Adam.

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Goofs

When Oh is standing as a statue, his hair changes while he talks to Zed.

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Quotes

Cain: For the crimes- of blasphemy - heresy - conspiracy - treachery - leprosy - puppetry - hyperbole - animal husbandry - sodomy... Oh, it's refusal of sodomy - overt punditry - and the murder of my brother Abel - the prisoners shall be stoned - TO DEATH!

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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

"Desert Roots"
Traditional
Performed by Ali Mrateh Fadh
Courtesy of Crucial Music Corporation

User Reviews

Oh come on; this is Mel Brooks inspired.....

This is nowhere as bad as some are making out - it has touches of Python and a lot of Mel Brooks - it is pretty lazy in places with too much adlibbing - at least I hope it was adlibbing...

But this is pretty good entertainment - and it's not really about cavemen - it's about the Old Testament set mainly in Sodom - and it is kind of like Life of Brian - though clearly not in the same class.

One can understand why marketers don't want problems with an upset congregation, but at the end of the day this works pretty well as both broad comedy and a gentle satire.

Considering that I was expecting a total donkey with a side order of turkey this was pretty much a fun film - and no where near as bad as I'd heard. Can be watched without loss of brain cells...