10,000 BC (film)

All you want to know about 10,000 BC (film)

10,000 BC

Promotional poster
Directed by Roland Emmerich
Produced by Roland Emmerich
Mark Gordon
Michael Wimer
Written by Roland Emmerich
Harald Kloser
Narrated by Omar Sharif
Starring Steven Strait
Camilla Belle
Cliff Curtis
Music by Harald Kloser
Thomas Wander
Cinematography Ueli Steiger
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) March 6, 2008 (AUS)
March 7, 2008 (USA)
March 14, 2008 (UK)
Running time 109 min.
Country United States
Language English
Budget $105 million
Gross revenue Domestic:
$94,784,201
Worldwide:
$269,072,770
Rental
Official website • IMDb • Allmovie

10,000 BC is a 2008 epic American film from Warner Bros. Pictures set in the prehistoric era, directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Steven Strait and Camilla Belle. The world premiere of the movie was held on February 10, 2008 at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin.[1][2] General release was on March 7, 2008.[3] The film grossed $31,341,721 in DVD sales, bringing its total film gross to $300,414,491.[4]

Contents

Plot

 The plot summary in this article is too long or detailed compared to the rest of the content. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot. (November 2008)

A remote mountain range provides a home for a tribe of hunter-gatherers called the Yagahl, who survive by trapping and killing mammoths, which they call the "Mannak". Here, the young hunter D'Leh has found his heart's desire — the beautiful companion named Evolet, known for her unique blue eyes, whom the Yagahl had found as an orphaned girl, a wise woman of the tribe informs of a future prophecy the girl will bring to the tribe. When the mannak come, D'Leh accidentally wins the "White Spear" which is given to the killer of the mammoth. He also wins Evolet in marriage, but feels he deserves neither, because he won by accident.

When another band of mysterious horse-riding raiders called the "Four Legged Demons" attack the Yaghal camp, they enslave Evolet (along with many others), D'Leh leads a small group of hunters south to pursue the raiders to the end of their known world to save her. The band of rescuing warriors come in contact with terror birds in the jungle. In this encounter, Tic'Tic gets wounded and later recovers, but some of the rescuing hunters composed of Baku, his friend, are stolen by the raiders. Then, in the desert, they encounter gazelles, Lappet-faced Vultures, and a larger saber toothed cat, similar in appearance to a Smilodon but larger and more tiger-like in appearance. Along their journey they meet tribes of warriors, who have also had loved ones enslaved by the raiders.

D'Leh and his mentor Tic'Tic befriend Nakudu, leader of the Naku tribe, whose son was taken and wife murdered. Then Nakudu tells D'Leh of their prophecy: that whoever talks to the "Spear-Tooth" (saber-tooth) will help free their people. D'Leh (while hunting for food), had earlier saved a saber-tooth from drowning in a trap which also resulted in D'Leh freeing himself. The saber-tooth then spared his life, and he realizes the prophecy was about him. Nakudu explains that his loved ones were taken in the "Great Red Birds," or ships with large red sails, to the "Mountains of the Gods," from which no one has ever returned. Tic'Tic also takes into account that maybe D'Leh like his father, has a greater destiny than most men. Then they come together with other tribes, who agree to form a coalition and march in pursuit of the captors.

Through the desert tract, they find the ships with red sails holding Evolet and Baku, plus others. They can't follow the ships, so they talk to a desert tribe that advises them to follow the "Eye of the Snake", or perish in the sea of sand. They follow, and ultimately navigate using the moon and North star. At the end of the journey through a vast desert, they discover an advanced lost civilization ruled by an enigmatic god-like figure known as "The Almighty", who is said to be the last survivor of his kind. It is implied through dialog when the Yagahl tribesman see the harsh treatment of stolen mammoths for labor, and a map in the room of the Almighty, that he is the last of three survivors from Atlantis and possibly of extraterrestrial origin. The Almighty, who is regarded as a living god, possesses many thousands of slaves that he is using to build a huge pyramid complex in his honor and possibly for his burial.

D'Leh and his coalition sneak into the slave quarters, and ask an escaped servant of the Almighty who this Almighty is. D'Leh notices the former servant wears a bracelet that was worn by D'Leh's father. D'leh's father had left his tribe for food, and finding the Naku tribe, taught them his language, before being stolen by the raiders. D'Leh later finds that his father was not a coward, and that he was responsible for saving the servant's life. The servant informs D'Leh that his father's bones are buried in the desert. In a night attack, the guards of the slaves discover the camp of the coalition behind the middle pyramid. Tic'Tic fights three guards, and manages to kill two of them, but the last guard mortally wounds him before he dies.

Meanwhile, the Almighty's priests discover Evolet wears "Uru-Anna" or the "Mark of the Hunter", the brightest star in all heaven, which pertains to the constellation Orion's belt, and after which the pyramids are supposedly modeled. The priests, unaware that her mark was caused by the lashings of the warlord raider, mistake it for part of a prophecy which states that Evolet is somehow destined to kill the Almighty. D'Leh, taking the white spear, rouses the coalition with a great speech. With a plan mapped out, they spark a full-scale rebellion amongst the slaves.

The Almighty offers Evolet to D'Leh in exchange for him abandoning his rebellion. At last, the Almighty makes a deal with D'Leh, that if he should take his wife, the rest must be his slaves forever. D'Leh feigns the acceptance of the deal which allows him to come close enough to the Almighty to kill him. Once close enough, he throws a spear at the Almighty and kills him, proving him not to be a god. During the ensuing battle, Baku fails to strike the One-Eye man that killed his mother, but when he grabs Tudu the son of Nakudu, Nakudu successfully strikes him with a spear. The warlord raider who had kidnapped Evolet initially, steals her again on horseback. Evolet, slung behind him, reaches into the quiver of arrows that is near her and stabs the warlord in the side. Both he and Evolet fall from the horse. D'Leh rushes towards her when he sees them fall, but the warlord succeeds in shooting her in the back with an arrow. D'Leh reaches her just in time to catch her dying body. He lays her down and runs to have his revenge with the warlord, who tells D'Leh that if he cannot have her, then no one will. D'Leh then kills the warlord with the White Spear as the main temple of the Almighty burns in the background. D'Leh returns to Evolet, and she dies in his arms.

The scene shifts to Old Mother - the wise woman of the Yagahl - as she breathes in deeply and then breathes out her last breath. The scene then returns to D'Leh cradling Evolet's body when she suddenly awakens, fully restored by the wise woman's sacrifice. They depart for home and bid farewell to the other tribes. Time passes and we see that the seeds that D'leh had received during his travels have begun to grow. As he stands, he greets his wife Evolet and they passionately kiss as the screen fades in the sun.

In an alternative ending, the scene then shifts forward many years into the future, showing the old Baku's retelling of the story by the camp fire. It ends with a child asking what had happened to the "Mountains of the Gods," and Baku remarks, "they were taken back by the sands. Lost to time, lost to man."

Cast

  • Steven Strait as D'Leh (an anagram for "Held" which is the German, Dutch and Afrikaans word for "hero"), a mammoth hunter and the main protagonist.
  • Camilla Belle as Evolet, D'Leh's love and the only survivor of a different tribe; one which was killed off by the "Four Legged Demons" (fierce warriors on horseback). While kidnapped, her hands were whipped, leaving a scar in the shape of the "hunter" - a foreshadowing of the one who will defeat the Almighty. She is unique in that she has blue eyes.
  • Cliff Curtis as Tic'Tic, D'Leh's mentor.[5]
  • Joel Virgel as Nakudu, leader of the Naku tribe.
  • Afif Ben Badra as Warlord, leader of the "Four Legged Demons"
  • Mo Zinal as Ka'Ren
  • Nathanael Baring as Baku
  • Mona Hammond as Old Mother, the Yagahl wise old woman.
  • Marco Khan as One-Eye, Warlord's main henchman.
  • Reece Ritchie as Moha
  • Joel Fry as Lu'Kibu
  • Kristian Beazley as D'Leh's father, who had lived with the Naku tribe and learned agriculture from them.
  • Junior Oliphant as Tudu, Nakudu's son.
  • Boubacar Badaine as Quina, leader of another tribe.
  • Tim Barlow as the Almighty. The last of the three survived and supposed Atlanteans. The Almighty is a tall, blue eyed man who dresses in long white robes and a face-concealing veil. He also fears the "Hunter", who is foretold to bring about his downfall.
  • Omar Sharif as the Narrator / elderly Baku

Casting process

Emmerich opened casting sessions in late October 2005.[6] In February 2006, Camilla Belle and Steven Strait were announced to star in the film, with Strait as the mammoth hunter and Belle as his love.[7] Emmerich felt that casting well known actors would distract from the realistic feel of the prehistoric setting. "If like, Jake Gyllenhaal turned up in a movie like this, everybody would be, 'What's that?'", he explained. Unknown casting also helped keep the film's budget down.[8]

Production

Director Roland Emmerich and composer Harald Kloser originally penned a script for 10,000 BC. When the project received the greenlight from Columbia Pictures, screenwriter John Orloff began work on a new draft of the original script. Columbia Pictures, under Sony Pictures Entertainment, dropped the project due to a busy release calendar, and Warner Bros. picked up the project in Sony's vacancy.[9] The script went through a second revision with Matthew Sand and a final revision with Robert Rodat.[7] Emmerich rejected making the film in an ancient language (similar to The Passion of the Christ or Apocalypto), feeling it would not be as emotionally engaging.[10]

Production began in spring 2006 in South Africa and Namibia.[7] Location filming also took place in southern New Zealand[11] and Thailand. Before shooting began, the production had spent eighteen months on research and development for the computer generated imagery. Two companies recreated prehistoric animals. To cut time (it was taking sixteen hours to render a single frame) 50% of the CGI models' fur was removed, as "it turned out half the fur looked the same" to the director.[8]

Critical reception

The film received largely negative reviews from critics, stating that the movie is mainly visual and lacks a firm screenplay. Critics went on to say that the film is extremely inaccurate archaeologically. As of December 29, 2008, the review aggregator at Rotten Tomatoes has reported that 9% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 135 reviews.[12] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 34 out of 100, based on 29 reviews.[13]

Influences of other works

Glenn Whipp of the Los Angeles Daily News draws numerous comparisons between 10,000 BC and other films in the prehistoric and historic film genre, especially One Million Years B.C.[14] and Apocalypto[15][16] A. O. Scott of The New York Times compared it to John Ford's film The Searchers and also the animated film Ice Age.[17]

At the 2008 Wondercon, Emmerich mentioned the fiction of Robert E. Howard as a primary influence for the film's setting, as well as his love for Quest for Fire and the book Fingerprints of the Gods.[18]

DVD release

The DVD of the film was released on June 24, 2008 in single disc editions of DVD and Blu-ray Disc in the United States. Best Buy will release a 2-disc limited edition along with the DVD and Blu-ray Disc releases. It was released on 21 July, 2008 in the United Kingdom.[19] The film grossed $31,341,721 in DVD sales, bringing its total film gross to $300,414,491.[20]

Box office performance

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $35.8 million in 3,410 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking #1 at the box office, and grossing over $22 million more than the film in second place, College Road Trip.[21][22] As of April 29, 2008, it has grossed approximately $268.6 million worldwide — $94.6 million in the United States and Canada and $174 million in other territories[23] — including $17.2 million in Mexico, $12.9 million in Spain, $11.4 million in the United Kingdom, and $10.8 million in China. This also makes it the first film of 2008 to surpass the $200 million mark.[24]

References

  1. ^ Welt Online (2008-02-26), "Emmerich feiert Start seines Steinzeit-Films (German)", Die Welt, http://www.welt.de/berlin/article1725206/Emmerich_feiert_Start_seines_Steinzeit-Films.html, retrieved on 11 March 2008 
  2. ^ Hilary Whiteman (2008-03-03), "10,000 BC: The premiere (English)", CNN, http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/03/03/emmerich.premiere/index.html, retrieved on 11 March 2008 
  3. ^ imdb.com (2008-03-06), "10,000 BC (2008) IMDb", IMDb, http://imdb.com/title/tt0443649/, retrieved on 11 March 2008 
  4. ^ http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2008/10KBC.php
  5. ^ Shawn Adler (2007-06-29), "Emmerich Heads Back In Time For ‘10000 B.C.’", MTV, http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2007/06/29/emmerich-heads-back-in-time-for-10000-bc/, retrieved on 11 July 2007 
  6. ^ Michael Fleming (2005-10-05), "Sci-fi guy follows primal instinct", Variety, http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117930197?categoryid=13&cs=1, retrieved on 20 August 2006 
  7. ^ a b c Borys Kit (2006-02-27), "Strait, Belle fight for mankind", The Hollywood Reporter, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/film/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002075091, retrieved on 20 August 2006 
  8. ^ a b Adam Smith (January 2008), "News Etc.", Empire, pp. 16 
  9. ^ Pamela McClintock (2006-01-30), "Warners goes on time trek", Variety, http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117937113?categoryid=1236&cs=1&s=h&p=0, retrieved on 20 August 2006 
  10. ^ "Exclusive CS Featurette: 10,000 BC", ComingSoon.net, 2008-03-05, http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=42418, retrieved on 5 March 2008 
  11. ^ "Principal Photography Commences on the Epic Adventure 10,000 B.C, Directed by Roland Emmerich for Warner Bros. Pictures", Forbes, 2006-05-09, http://www.forbes.com/businesswire/feeds/businesswire/2006/05/09/businesswire20060509006136r1.html, retrieved on 20 August 2006 
  12. ^ "10,000 B.C. - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
  13. ^ "10,000 B.C. (2008): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
  14. ^ Glenn Whipp (2008-03-07), "Cheesy ‘10,000 B.C.’ adheres closely to Ten Commandments of prehistoric movies", Los Angeles Daily News, http://www.centredaily.com/entertainment/movies/story/451933.html, retrieved on 7 March 2008 
  15. ^ Alex Markerson (2008-03-08), "10,000 B.C. E! Reviews", E! Reviews, http://www.eonline.com/movies/e_reviews/index.jsp?uuid=6dbe5878-9de7-4595-bed4-32a42adabea2, retrieved on 8 March 2008 
  16. ^ Ty Burr, Globe Staff (2008-03-08), "Yabba-dabba-don't", boston.com, http://www.boston.com/movies/display?display=movie&id=8996, retrieved on 8 March 2008 
  17. ^ A. O. Scott (2008-03-07). "Human Civilization: The Prequel". The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-06.
  18. ^ WonderCon 2008: Day 2 - Part 1! - ComingSoon.net
  19. ^ Play.com http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/5305386/10-000-BC/Product.html
  20. ^ http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2008/10KBC.php
  21. ^ "10,000 B.C. (2008) - Weekend Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-03-16.
  22. ^ "'10,000 B.C.' roars to top of box office". CNN. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
  23. ^ "10,000 B.C. (2008)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-04-06.
  24. ^ "10,000 B.C. (2008) - International Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-03-30.

External links


Preceded by
Semi-Pro		 Box office number-one films of 2008 (USA)
March 9, 2008		 Succeeded by
Horton Hears a Who!
v • d • e
Films directed by Roland Emmerich
1980s
Das Arche Noah Prinzip (1984) · Joey (1985) · Hollywood-Monster (1987)
1990s
Moon 44 (1990) · Universal Soldier (1992) · Stargate (1994) · Independence Day (1996) · Godzilla (1998)
2000s
The Patriot (2000) · The Day After Tomorrow (2004) · 10,000 BC (2008) · 2012 (2009)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10,000_BC_(film)"

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