Buried (2010)

Paul is a U.S. truck driver working in Iraq. After an attack by a group of Iraqis he wakes to find he is buried alive inside a coffin. With only a lighter and a cell phone it's a race against time to escape this claustrophobic death trap.

Director:

Rodrigo Cortés

Writer:

Chris Sparling

Stars:

Ryan Reynolds, José Luis García Pérez, Robert Paterson

10 wins & 24 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ryan Reynolds	...	Paul Conroy
José Luis García Pérez	...	Jabir (voice) (as José Luis García-Pérez)
Robert Paterson	...	Dan Brenner (voice)
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Alan Davenport (voice)
Samantha Mathis	...	Linda Conroy (voice)
Ivana Miño	...	Pamela Lutti
Warner Loughlin	...	Maryanne Conroy / Donna Mitchell / Rebecca Browning (voice)
Erik Palladino	...	Special Agent Harris (voice)
Kali Rocha	...	911 Operator (voice)
Chris William Martin	...	State Department Rep. (voice)
Cade Dundish	...	Shane Conroy (voice)
Mary Birdsong	...	411 Female Operator (voice) (as Mary Songbird)
Kirk Baily	...	411 Male Operator (voice)
Anne Lockhart	...	CRT Operator (voice)
Robert Clotworthy	...	CRT Spokesman (voice)

Storyline

Waking groggy in pitch darkness, Paul Conroy, an American truck driver working in Iraq in 2006, slowly realizes he is trapped inside a wooden coffin, buried alive. With his cigarette lighter, he can see the trap he is in, and he quickly realizes that there's not enough air for him to live long. He finds within the coffin a working cellphone, which allows him contact with the outside world. But the outside world proves not to be very helpful at finding a man buried in a box in the middle of the Iraqi desert. Paul must rely on his best resource--himself.

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Plot Keywords:

coffin | buried alive | iraq | desert | darkness | 

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Taglines:

Paul Conroy Isn't Ready To Die.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some violent content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Spain]

Country:

Spain USA France

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 October 2010 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Enterrado

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£820,631 (UK) (1 October 2010)

Gross:

$1,028,658 (USA) (5 November 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Versus Entertainment, Safran Company, The, Dark Trick Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alfred Hitchcock films Rope and Lifeboat were an inspiration on Rodrigo Cortés when making Buried.

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Goofs

At the end of the movie where Paul is trying to call several times without any answer, the camera is zooming in on the phone's display to focus on the battery life. However, during this zoom you can see that it says "No service" on the display. Despite this, Paul can dial/call without any problems right after.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Paul Conroy: [screaming] Hey!

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Connections

Spoofed in 2011: ¡¿Estamos contentos?! (2010)

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Soundtracks

"In the Lap of the Mountain"
Written by Rodrigo Cortés and Víctor Reyes
Performed by Garrett Wall & The Breath-No-Breathers
Guitars and Banjo: Diego García
Drums: David Hyman
Bass: Francisco López

User Reviews

claustrophobic and thought provoking

I wasn't expecting this film to be set entirely within a coffin and nor was I expecting Ryan Reynolds to be much good. As it turned out I was wrong on both counts! Brief summary:Ryan is a contract driver in Iraq whose vehicle is attacked by Iraqis. He wakes up in a coffin buried underground with a few "helpful" tools...and so ensues a claustrophobic, frustrating and scary journey for both the character and the audience! I found Ryan's performance quite compelling and was almost living the experience with him, I even found myself holding my breath at times and feeling quite panicky! The fact that you can't see what is going on above ground adds to the tension and you are never quite sure what to believe.

I also found this a thought provoking film on another level. It's very easy to immediately dismiss the hostage takers as "the baddies" but I think this is a very shallow and naive view of human nature. It made me think, that transcending race, religion and nationality, what would any human be capable of doing in the their situation. These are sometimes hard working law abiding people who have seen their country torn apart by war, who have seen their children dying and who no longer have any other way of making money, and who see the Americans as to blame for this....not that I want to sound like I was on their side at all or that I condone it in any way, which I don't, but I found this film a very interesting study into human survival instinct and desperation.

A very good film, probably the best thing out at the moment, along with The Town, and definitely worth the ticket price.

And to the reviewer that felt this was a 95 minute terrorist propaganda movie, shame on you! You clearly misunderstood the entire film!