The Book of Eli Movie - 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.
I am always hesitant when movies come out in January or February. The Oscar buzz is about last year's performances and the summer blockbusters are still five months away. So, when movies come out this time of the year there is a distinct possibility that the movie is going to have a weak story line and sub par acting. This is not the case with "The Book of Eli." For a January movie — it exceeded my expectations.
I have respect for both Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman and their choice of past roles. Gary's role in this film was that of the old bad guy running a small western front town 30 years after a nuclear war (I am assuming it was nuclear war, they only vaguely described what happened). He sends his traveling bandits out of town to find the last Bible on earth. He does this because with the last Bible on earth he can reestablish civilization under his reign. It does seem far-fetched but then again it is a January movie so I will cut it some slack. Gary did a great job, reminded me a little of his bad guy character in "The Professional," but he wasn't over the top with his acting, only when he needed to be.
On to Denzel, who did another great job. He reminded me of Clint Eastwood in his western movies where he didn't say much because he didn't have to. Denzel's actions spoke for him. That leads us into the action sequences. The Hughes Brothers delivered the action with a wallop and without a lot of blood and guts. The first fight scene looked like five silhouettes fighting a shadow of a man. There's also a shoot out scene where they used some pretty innovative camera shots to put the viewer into the action. The action was quick and to the point and just as important, it was memorable.
We covered the actors and the action, so what about the story? The story could have taken place in the Old West just as it could have taken place in an apocalyptic future. It was simple and didn't have many confusing elements to it. The premise was to get that Bible. Denzel's job was to head west to deliver the last copy of the Bible to someone. He does everything in his power to protect the book. Since the Bible is the main focus of the hunt there are some religious overtones but nothing too heavy. There is also a good use of humor, something totally unexpected considering the drabness of the film.
The camera helped in telling much of the story. Through much of the movie the camera and landscape was all that was needed to carry key elements in the story. In one scene Mila Kunis' character was attacked and instead of talking about it afterward, the camera took time to focus on her reaction to the situation. There are also several shots of Denzel walking in the desolation showing the audience the ruined landscape. Dialogue couldn't have added much more.
Should you see this movie? Yes. Even though it won't get Oscar nods or be the next big summer blockbuster, it will still keep most people entertained. The ending might make you want to see it a second time to see what you missed the first time. All I am saying is keep your eyes open.
Allen and Albert Hughes latest film The Book of Eli, stars Denzel Washington in a way we’ve never seen him before. The film will debut in theaters on January 15th and features several veteran actors such as Gary Oldman, Jennifer Beals, and even Malcolm McDowell. The action sequences in the film are all performed by Washington without the help of excessive special effects or tricky editing. The following featurette shows you the preparation that went into those intricate scenes…
The Book of Eli centers on a man and his journey to protect a sacred book, which he believes can redeem the post apocalyptic society he lives in. While on his mission he must protect it from the many evil forces that want to use its power for selfish reasons. His main opposition comes in the form of Oldman and his group of followers who are willing to do anything and kill anyone to get the book.
This behind the scenes video includes interviews from the film’s directors as well as Washington and the award winning stunt choreographers. You see first hand the amount of technique and training that had to go into each fight scene, and most importantly how much of it Washington did himself. Not bad for a man who’s well into his fifties!
The Book of Eli looks okay, but it’s hard to get excited for something that looks like any old post-apocalyptic film featuring batches of overly violent men in desperate need of a shower. I was hoping this new featurette from Yahoo! Movies would be the item to make me think otherwise, but all it does is enhance my original sentiment.
It focuses on the stunts in the film, particularly Denzel Washington’s superhuman ability to learn the choreography. Director Allen Hughes points out that shooting the fight scenes are far more complicated than landing a single punch. Washington had to keep swinging for a full minute. Um, is this something new? The battle scenes do look impressive, but no more spectacular than anything else we’ve seen. Hopefully Warner Bros. can cram in another featurette or a fresh trailer before the January 15th release.
Book Of Eli Soundtrack was a top story for this week. Here it is again: Reprise Records will release the original motion picture soundtrack to the Hughes Brothers-directed feature film Book Of Eli on January 12th, 2010 — three days before the film hits theaters nationwide on January 15th, 2010.
The Book of Eli Original Motion Picture Soundtrack features an original score by composer/musician/producer Atticus Ross, marking his third collaboration with the Hughes Brothers and his first feature film score. Ross' music is a unique hybrid score of electronic and organic elements; writing with his wife (Claudia Sarne) and brother (Leopold Ross), the basic tracks were recorded at his studio in Los Angeles before departing to London where it was finished in Abbey Road Studios with a full 80-piece orchestra.
The soundtrack will be released as a standard CD as well as in three digital packages: A standard version available from all digital service providers, a deluxe version featuring three bonus tracks ("The Bridge," "Carnergie's Purpose," and "Dissolve") from all DSP's excluding iTunes, and an exclusive iTunes package featuring the three bonus tracks listed above plus a remix of "Panoramic" by TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek. A vinyl version of the soundtrack will be released in February. More of this you can read here.
Finally is the first poster for The Book of Eli starring Denzel Washington as a lone hero named Eli who must fight his way across the wasteland of a near-future America to protect a sacred book that might hold the key to saving the future of humanity.
"The Book of Eli" revolves around a lone warrior (Washington) who must fight to bring society the knowledge that could be the key to its redemption. Oldman has been set to portray the despot of a small makeshift town who's determined to take possession of the book Eli's guarding.
What to Expect:Okay. Pop quiz, hotshot. You've got a story about a lone hero played by a financially and critically successful actor, struggling against enemies in a post-apocalyptic world. Do you go see it?
Well, that depends on whether your brain just went to the "Postman" place or the "I Am Legend" place.
Ironically, both of those films were adaptations of successful sci-fi novels. "The Book of Eli" is not, nor is it a remake, nor is it a comic-book or graphic novel adaptation. That alone makes it a bit of a standout these days, especially for the January post-holiday release slots. The successful actor in question is none other than Denzel Washington, with the dastardly nemesis being played by Gary Oldman, who's been doing a lot of good-guy stuff lately but come on, we love him as a baddie, don't we?
Rest of the text is here.
There has been a lot of post apocalyptic films surfacing these days. Films like 2012, The Road, Doomsday, Resident Evil: Extinction, Book Of Eli, and Zombieland have brought this subgenre back from the 1980s (when it was ever so popular). The Fallout is the next film in line depicting survivors of a cataclysmic event. The film is being directed by Xavier Gems, who directed a not too impressive live action adaptation of Hitman.
The film is being dubbed as “a thriller that combines elements of Assault on Precinct 13 with Lord of the Flies in a story of survival.” I am not sure how different this film will be from every other post apocalyptic film. They all seem to deal with similar issues like people struggling to trust each other as they try to find a way to survive. At least this time around it doesn’t sound like a zombie flick. Don’t get me wrong, I love zombie movies as much as the next guy but it seems that there are just way too many post-apocalyptic-zombie films these days. As the name suggests I imagine this film will probably deal more with nuclear war but so far little info has been released.
The film is being produced by Luc Besson’s Europacorp production company. Luc Besson is the man responsible for one of the greatest Science Fiction films ever The Fifth Element. No word yet on if Besson will have a direct producing role in the film but this is at least a sign that the film maybe good. There hasn’t been much info released on this project but it is scheduled to be released sometime in 2010. we will fill you in once casting and other information has been released.
Source - geektyrant.com
Jimmy's Trailer Park
October 03, 2009
Denzel Washington gets down and dirty in post-apocalyptic thriller “The Book of Eli,” teaming with “From Hell” directors The Hughes Brothers. Washington plays Eli, a loner who moves across America protecting a book that holds the secret to saving mankind from destruction, as bad guy Gary Oldman tries to take the book for his own gain.
With dusty, gritty images and more than a handful of big guns and bigger explosions, “The Book of Eli” looks like “Mad Max” on a bigger budget, with Washington’s charisma hopefully providing a solid anchor for the film. The film is set for a January 2010 release.
Mila Kunis said she gets her fair share of action scenes in the upcoming movie. Kunis, 26, stars in the sc-fi movie along with Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman. The teaser trailer was recently unveiled and the actress admitted she gets a fair share of action scenes.
She recently said in a group interview: "I get to flip a car. I get to throw a grenade into a convoy of cars and explode them. I get to do other fun things that I can't talk about.
"The trailers are so small in comparison to how cool the movie is. I've got to tell you, the movie is really, really cool."
Actress Mila Kunis recently opened up about her role in the upcoming sci-fi western The Book of Eli, which is directed by The Hughes Brothers, and co-stars Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman.
In Book of Eli, Kunis plays a young woman named Solara. The actress has already played a hard as nails assassin in the big screen adaptation of Max Payne, so we wanted to know if this character is cut from the same cloth.
Mila: In Book of Eli, it’s a very real character that has to fight to survive in a specific type of world. [She] learns how to survive versuses being placed in front of you just as this one person. You can get to see her grow. It’s a great, great, great part!
She also told us about some of the cool action oriented scenes she got to shoot while working on the film.
Mila: I get to flip a car. I get to throw a grenade into a convoy of cars, and I get to do other fun things that I can’t talk about. The trailers are so small in comparison to how cool the movie is. I gotta tell you, the movie is really, really cool.
Denzel Washington saves the world in the upcoming "The Book of Eli," set in an apocalyptic American and directed by identical twins Albert and Allen Hughes (of "From Hell,") with Mila Kunis co-starring and Gary Oldman playing, of course, the baddie.
The story reminded the Hughes brothers of the original "Planet of the Apes," mixing messaging with story, but what the crowd seemed more excited about was the prospect of Washington doing his own martial arts-inspired stuntwork.
Word out of Comic Con was that The Book of Eli is a post-apocalyptic western. Denzel Washington plays the title character, protecting a book across a wasteland 30 years after some disaster wiped out most of us. The Hughes Brothers, who directed the film, don’t seem too happy with that description so they set the record straight.
Crave Online: Why are they calling this a post-apocalyptic western?
Albert Hughes: I think it was almost like somebody said it once and it caught on. Studios are scared of westerns so they’re like, “Don’t say that.” But at the same times, some of the influences of the Eli character come from The Man With No Name, some of those movies stylistically as far as what we researched but I wouldn’t call it a western. It takes place in the west but this story could very easily take place in the east coast.
Crave Online: It is post-apocalyptic, right?
Albert Hughes: You know, there’s 40 million cop movies come out every year. There’s genres if you want to place genres on a movie but I think the post-apocalyptic part is a third or fourth character in the story. It’s more of a character than anything. It could very easily have been an island with just 100 people.
Crave Online: What was the inspiration then?
Albert Hughes: People are like, “Let’s talk about post-apocalyptic movies.” That last movie we did was about Jack the Ripper so we researched those movies which had come before, and try to get rid of the clichés and make new things that work. Then we go to comic book material, which is kind of ironic for this one because it wasn’t based on a comic book. We use a lot of those artists to help us with the look of the movie. Then the tip of the hat to the western, I think, we’re greatly influenced by Sergio Leone and the simplicity of his filmmaking but also the startling imagery.”
Allen Hughes: Also, I remember, Denzel was involved in this way. We had a stack of books that were from professors who studied in the ‘80s what would happen if there was a nuclear event. There’s like three definitive books on this. The environment, on humanity, on the animal kingdom and studied what the clouds, based on their research, to see what the reality was and if it wasn’t nuclear, if it was one of those 2012 things.
Albert Hughes: Biological.
Allen Hughes: If it was a super volcano. They all, basically, the same thing would happen 30 years after. The atmosphere will look a certain way. There’d be a certain color to the sky. There’d be a certain kind of decomposition of the landscape so we could put that, coupled with what Albert’s talking about.
Albert Hughes: Right now, what’s in the teaser is not [everything]. When the normal trailer comes out, you’ll see more of the world. There’s no vegetation.
Crave Online: My favorite part is always when the survivors have to find supplies. Will we see a lot of that in Book of Eli?
Interview with Denzel Washington, Gary Oldmn and Mila Kunis
August 03, 2009
One of the many press conferences we attended at Comic-Con was for the Book of Eli with Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, and Directors Albert and Allen Hughes. Sadly, it’s very hard when transcribing which brother is which. In fact, even when watching the videos it’s hard to tell which twin is which, unless I look at the signs in front of them. Can’t one of them choose a different facial hair style or something?. I did my best, but some of the below might be swapped. You can also check out videos from The Book of Eli panel or their recently released trailer.
Their last big feature was "From Hell," a gory and gothic period piece that starred a pre-"Pirates" Johnny Depp as an eccentric and slightly unbalanced investigator chasing Jack the Ripper through the rain-slick cobblestone streets of 19th century London. The 2001 film met mixed reviews and middling box office, and not long after that, Albert and Allen Hughes, once considered two of the more urgent and authentic voices in Hollywood, seemed to disappear.
What happened?
"We took a twin sabbatical," Allen Hughes says, laughing deeply. He sits in his second floor office at Albuquerque Studios. Behind him the January sun sets on low hills , casting lovely pastels. Allen's twin brother, Albert, is downstairs poring over a shot list.
Denzel Washington as Eli: he plays a lone warrior named Eli, fighting his way across a desolate wasteland. The Earth has been a hellhole for thirty years, but Eli has information which can bring back civilization and he’ll kill to protect it.
Gary Oldman as Carnegie: a ruthless yet charismatic dictator in charge of a town near Sacramento; he's an extortionist, slave driver, saloon keeper, and antiquarian. Age has hardened him. Brutal intelligence is etched on his face. His cruel, ambitious eyes show him to be a man with power, but never enough to satisfy. He built his rotten town out of poisonous rubble and rules it with an iron fist -- but he wants more. A smooth talker, decisive and ruthless, Carnegie is on a collision course with Eli.
Mila kunis as solara: she is caught in a terrible trap: local strongman Carnegie can force her to do anything he wants by threatening her mother. Ordered to seduce Eli and keep him off guard, Solara fails in her mission, and soon realizes that Eli is like no man she has ever met: he balks at being reduced to animalistic behavior, and he uses violence to serve a cause greater than his own. Moved by Eli's heart and spirit, Solara opts to follow him on his journey, and becomes his friend and pupil.
Jennifer Beals as Claudia: she is Carnegie's mistress and Solara's (MILA KUNIS) mother, a blind woman who has been sightless since birth. Captured as a prize by Carnegie long ago, she tolerates her life as his sexual plaything, knowing that to refuse him anything will only mean torment for her child. Eventually, she settles the score.
Ray Stevenson as Redrige: a thin-faced, violent man, Redridge is Carnegie's muscle, the leader of his crew of gunmen and enforcers. Redridge is extremeley loyal, but he’s always watching for an opportunity to win Solara, for whom he lusts, as a prize from his boss.
The Book of Eli is still relatively unknown to those who do not follow movies regularly. It’s a post-apocalyptic movie starring Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, and Mila Kunis. While Kunis fits the scene perfectly fine, it is a bit jarring to see people like Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman at San Diego Comic Con — like gods of cinema visiting the people.
The movie is directed by the Hughes Brothers (From Hell), who admitted that Book of Eli was actually inspired by Planet of the Apes, though not in a literal way… more of an obscure inspiration. The movie’s tone is being compared to The Road Warrior, and Washington even trained in martial arts so that he could do all of his own fights. Very cool.
We’re told that the movie is set 30 years in the future where a major war has left few people behind and a lot of environmental changes. The main character is Eli (Washington), who’s on a mission of hope and is protecting a special book that is said to offer its owner large amounts of power to guide, lead, control, and manipulate with it. As it turns out, Mr. Oldman is once again playing the villain, and he’s out to get his hands on this book.
At the panel, the first chapter of the motion-comic that ties in with the movie was debuted. This chapter deals with Oldman’s character, Billy, as a child doing bad things and getting into trouble.
Denzel Washington as Eli: he 
Gary Oldman as Carnegie: a ruthless yet charismatic dictator in charge of a town near Sacramento; he's an extortionist, slave driver, saloon keeper, and antiquarian. Age has hardened him. Brutal intelligence is etched on his face. His cruel, ambitious eyes show him to be a man with power, but never enough to satisfy. He built his rotten town out of poisonous rubble and rules it with an iron fist -- but he wants more. A smooth talker, decisive and ruthless, Carnegie is on a collision course with Eli.
Mila kunis as solara: she is caught in a terrible trap: local strongman Carnegie can force her to do anything he wants by threatening her mother. Ordered to seduce Eli and keep him off guard, Solara fails in her mission, and soon realizes that Eli is like no man she has ever met: he balks at being reduced to animalistic behavior, and he uses violence to serve a cause greater than his own. Moved by Eli's heart and spirit, Solara opts to follow him on his journey, and becomes his friend and pupil.
Jennifer Beals as Claudia: she is Carnegie's mistress and Solara's (MILA KUNIS) mother, a blind woman who has been sightless since birth. Captured as a prize by Carnegie long ago, she tolerates her life as his sexual plaything, knowing that to refuse him anything will only mean torment for her child. Eventually, she settles the score.
Ray Stevenson as Redrige: a thin-faced, violent man, Redridge is Carnegie's muscle, the leader of his crew of gunmen and enforcers. Redridge is extremeley loyal, but he’s always watching for an opportunity to win Solara, for whom he lusts, as a prize from his boss.