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 (as The Hughes Brothers), Allen Hughes (as The Hughes Brothers)

Writer:

Gary Whitta

Stars:

Denzel Washington, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson

3 wins & 16 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 Splinter Davis	...	Hijacker (as Keith Davis)
Don Thai Theerathada	...	Hijacker (as Don Theerathada)

Storyline

In a violent post-apocalyptic society, a drifter, Eli (Denzel Washington), 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, while 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 (Gary Oldman), the man views Eli's impressive fighting skills and offers Eli a place within his gang. Carnegie presses his blind lover Claudia (Jennifer Beals) to send her daughter, Solara (Mila Kunis), 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...

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Plot Keywords:

blind | blindness | post apocalypse | book | cannibal | 

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Taglines:

We walk by faith not by sight

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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 [France] Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 January 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Book of Eli

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$32,789,494, 17 January 2010

Gross USA:

$94,835,059

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$157,107,755

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alcon Entertainment, Silver Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS (as dts)

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A critic described this movie as "Mad Max for the twenty-first century". Ironically, five years later, there was a twenty-first century "Mad Max" movie, starring Tom Hardy.

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Goofs

When Eli is rowing to Alcatraz, there is a half-sunken ship grounded under the Golden Gate Bridge. That would be impossible since the water is 300 feet deep under the bridge.

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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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Alternate Versions

A montage of deleted scenes on the DVD include a scene where Claudia reads the Braille bible to Carnegie as he lies on his deathbed.

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Connections

Featured in Late Show with David Letterman: Episode #17.74 (2010)

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Soundtracks

Once Upon A Time In America
Written by Ennio Morricone

User Reviews

A great example of post-apocalyptic film making.

With the recent revival of the post-apocalyptic genre in Hollywood, it would be easy to overlook this film, and that would be a mistake. Thirty years from now the world is a barren, desolate wasteland filled with the charred remains of a civilization that destroyed itself through war. In this bleak future a lone man wanders west (Denzel Washington), guided by nothing more than faith, to deliver the last remaining copy of a book that changed the world, and will do so again. While Washington seeks to deliver the book to those who would do good with it, a local warlord (Gary Oldman), an erudite student of Mussolini, wants to possess the book so he can use the words to sway the masses and become a powerful dictator. The characters are very well acted, the action is fluid and well choreographed, and the setting seeps into your skin, immersing the viewer in a world devoid of faith but in desperate need of salvation. The final plot twist is creative, unexpected, and poetically just. The Book of Eli should shoot to the top of your Netflix queue.