Noah (2014)

Noah is chosen by God to undertake a momentous mission before an apocalyptic flood cleanses the world.

Director:

Darren Aronofsky

Writers:

Darren Aronofsky, Ari Handel

Stars:

Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Anthony Hopkins

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 18 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Russell Crowe	...	Noah
Jennifer Connelly	...	Naameh
Ray Winstone	...	Tubal-cain
Anthony Hopkins	...	Methuselah
Emma Watson	...	Ila
Logan Lerman	...	Ham
Douglas Booth	...	Shem
Nick Nolte	...	Samyaza (voice)
Mark Margolis	...	Magog (voice)
Kevin Durand	...	Rameel
Leo McHugh Carroll	...	Japheth
Marton Csokas	...	Lamech
Finn Wittrock	...	Young Tubal-cain
Madison Davenport	...	Na'el
Gavin Casalegno	...	Young Shem

Storyline

"In the beginning, there was nothing." So starts this version of the story centered on Noah (Russell Crowe), the man entrusted by God to save the innocent animals of Earth as the rising floodwaters cleansed the planet of mankind's evil. As the telling continues, we learn how Adam and Eve's sins have passed down through generations through their sons Cain and Abel, and how the descendants of their righteous sibling Seth were entrusted with defending creation. One day, while foraging in the country, a descendant of Seth, Noah, sees his father slain by a descendant of Cain. In the process, Noah's birthright is stolen from him. Decades later, as a father of three, Noah experiences a vision foretelling the great flood that will wash over the Earth, destroying every living thing that stands on the soil. That vision leads Noah to seek out his grandfather, Methuselah (Sir Anthony Hopkins), in order to understand his mission. When a second vision reveals that Noah is to construct a massive ark...

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Plot Keywords:

water | wrath of god | based on biblical story | ark | noah's ark | 

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Taglines:

Rediscover the epic story of one man and the most remarkable event in our history.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence, disturbing images and brief suggestive content

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paramount Pictures was very worried about how this movie and its religious theme would be treated properly, so they screentested three different rough cuts of this movie, all without the approval and knowledge of writer, producer, and director Darren Aronofsky, and all of the versions met with resounding criticism from Christian audiences. It has, since then, led to countless controversy and debate on its correspondence to the Biblical text found in the Book of Genesis. Aronofsky said that he was very unhappy with Paramount Pictures testing alternate versions of this movie that were not "true to his vision": "I was upset, of course. No one has ever done that to me. I imagine if I made comedies and horror films, it would be helpful. In dramas, it's very, very hard to do. I've never been open to it. I don't believe that." After much discussion and compromise, the studio announced on February 12th that Darren Aronofsky's version, not any of the studio's alternate versions, was to be the final cut of this movie. "They tried what they wanted to try, and eventually they came back. My version of the film hasn't been tested. It's what we wrote and what was green-lit", Aronofsky said. It was not test screened until post-production was finished, as per Aronofsky's wishes.

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Goofs

When the ark is under attack, before Cain (Ray Winston) manages to climb aboard the ark, the attackers use boards to barge through. The boards are corrugated iron which was invented in the 1820s in Britain by Henry Robinson Palmer, certainly not the time of Noah when this film is based.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Lamech: From Adam to Seth, Seth to Enosh, Enosh to Kenan, Kenan to Mahalalel to my father, Methuselah, then to me. Today, that birthright passes to you, Noah. My son.

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Crazy Credits

Besides the title of the movie, there are no opening credits

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Connections

Featured in Timelapse of the Future: A Journey to the End of Time (2019)

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Soundtracks

Father Song (Lullaby)
Written by Patti Smith, Lenny Kaye & Russell Crowe
Performed by Russell Crowe

User Reviews

Some Cool Visuals But Lacking in Depth

Just watched this on Pay-Per-View having missed a chance to see in theaters (dithered over whether or not to see it due to wildly mixed reviews). It was visually engaging enough to keep me watching till the end but as the credits began to roll, I found myself feeling dissatisfied.

Some of the scenery and shots featuring animals were really cool, I found myself wishing for more (that is, more time spent on animals...and a closer look at different species as imagined by the creators of this film).

Ray Winstone is a distinguished actor but I found his portrayal at times creepy, at times laughable, overall weak (how much of this was due to direction and/or other factors...not sure, when it comes to this film I didn't get a sense either way). Emma Watson and Jennifer Connelly impressed me, I got a sense of quiet strength from their characters.

Russell Crowe, also one of my favorite actors (I thought his Robin Hood was masterful, a fresh new take), disappointed. Without giving anything away, there were some parts of this film that called for a more dramatic narrative...his timing and (at times) rushed speech took away from the grandeur of what was meant to be an epic film. You find yourself wishing he would deliver certain lines a bit more theatrically, like David Wenham in 300 or one of the greats of classic film (Charlton Heston, perhaps).

I didn't realize when I started watching that Anthony Hopkins was also in the film. When he popped up on screen I laughed and thought: 'Of course...can't make an epic film without Anthony Hopkins!' Probably just me but it seemed a bit tired as far as casting goes.

I might have enjoyed it more on the big screen but don't regret watching at home on my TV. Bottom line, entertaining enough to watch...just a bit of a let-down.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Facebook [Australia]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 March 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Noah

Filming Locations:

Iceland

Box Office

Budget:

$125,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$43,720,472, 30 March 2014

Gross USA:

$101,200,044

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$359,200,044

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Regency Enterprises, Protozoa Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

138 min

Sound Mix:

Datasat Dolby Digital Dolby Atmos Dolby Surround 7.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1