PG-13, - Action | Adventure | Drama - 28 March 2014 (USA)
Noah is a 2014 American epic biblically-inspired fantasy film directed by Darren Aronofsky, written by Aronofsky and Ari Handel, and loosely based on the story of Noah's Ark. The film stars Russell Crowe as Noah along with Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, Anthony Hopkins, and Douglas Booth. It was released in North American theaters on March 28, 2014 in 2-D and IMAX while several countries will also release a version of the film converted to 3-D and IMAX 3D.Plot
As a young boy, Noah's father, Lamech, is killed by a young king named Tubal-Cain who wanted to seize their land.
Many years later, Noah is living with his wife Naameh and his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. After seeing a flower grow instantly from the ground, Noah decides to travel with his family to visit his grandfather, Methuselah.
On the way, they come upon a group of people recently killed. They
adopt the lone survivor, a girl named Ila, who was wounded in the attack
and has become barren. Noah and his family are chased by Tubal-Cain's
men, but are able to seek refuge with fallen angels known as the Watchers. The Watchers had been forced by the Creator to remain on earth as stone golems for disobeying the Creator and helping humans after they had been banished from Garden of Eden. Humans had attempted to enslave and kill the Watchers, but Methuselah helped them escape and was befriended by them.
Noah receives a seed passed down from Eden from Methuselah. He plants
the seed and an entire forest grows from it within seconds. Noah
announces that all the wood will be used to build an ark, and Noah's
family and the Watchers begin construction.
Eight years later, as the Ark nears completion, animals start to walk
into the ark where they are put to sleep by incense that Noah prepares.
Noah disguises himself and goes into the human camp to find wives for
his three sons, but finds that the surrounding lands have been running
short on food, and the humans, led by Tubal-Cain, have become savage and
cannibalistic.
He becomes convinced that the Creator wishes for the human race to end
and abandons his effort. Back at the camp, Methuselah blesses Ila, and
her barrenness is cured.
Ham decides to go to the camp himself and find a wife, where he
encounters a frightened young girl named Na'el. She is willing to go
with him, but they are chased by a large horde led by Tubal-Cain back to
the Ark. Na'el's foot gets caught in an animal trap, and Noah forces
Ham to save himself and leave Na'el behind to be trampled to death.
All of Noah's family gets in the Ark except for Methuselah, who
chooses to die in the flood. As the Ark is launched, the Watchers
sacrifice themselves to protect it from the oncoming horde. As the flood
drowns the remaining soldiers, Tubal-Cain manages to stow away on the
Ark. The king is found by Ham and befriends him, playing on anger toward
Noah for allowing Na'el to die.
Ila discovers that she is pregnant, and soon after the rains stop
completely. Naameh, Shem, and Ila inform Noah of this, but the patriarch
says that if the child is a girl he will kill her to satisfy the
Creator's wish to destroy humanity. Noah asks for the Creator's counsel
but finds no answer. He resolves to stick to his plan, despite Naameh's
unsuccessful attempts to dissuade him.
Months pass, and Ila and Shem build a small raft to escape Noah, but
Noah discovers the raft and burns it. Ila goes into labor and gives
birth to twin girls. Noah pursues Ila and the babies to the top of the
vessel, but when Noah looks upon the girls he decides to let them live.
Meanwhile, Tubal-Cain convinces Ham to help him kill Noah. Ham lures
Noah to the aft of the ark on false pretenses, where Noah is attacked by
Tubal-Cain. As the two fight, the Ark hits a mountain, injuring both
men. The king attempts to kill Noah, but a repentant Ham stabs
Tubal-Cain first, killing him.
As the family departs the Ark, Ham decides to leave them, still angry
at Noah. Ila asks Noah why he didn't kill his grandchildren, and Noah
says that he saw the goodness of mankind in them. Later, the family
stands atop a cliff face, and Noah blesses them all as the beginning of a
new human race. They watch as the Creator sends a rainbow from the sky,
covering all of the Earth, signaling his promise to never destroy
mankind with a flood again.
Cast
Russell Crowe (Noah) 
Jennifer Connelly
(Naameh)
Ray Winstone (Tubal Cain) 
Emma Watson (Il-la, Ila)
Anthony Hopkins (Methuselah) 
Logan Lerman (Ham)
Douglas Booth (Shem) 
Nick Nolte
(Samyaza)
Kevin Durand (Rameel) 
Dakota Goyo (Noah young)Development
Aronofsky first discussed Noah with The Guardian
in April 2007, telling the paper that the figure of Noah had fascinated
him since he was thirteen years old. Aronofsky explained that he saw
Noah as "a dark, complicated character" who experiences "real survivor's guilt" after the flood. Aronofsky was working on early drafts of the script for Noah around the time his first attempt to make The Fountain fell through when actor Brad Pitt left the project.
Ari Handel – Aronofsky's collaborator on The Fountain, The Wrestler and Black Swan – helped Aronofsky develop the script. Before they found financial backing for Noah, they collaborated with Canadian artist Niko Henrichon
to adapt the script into a graphic novel. The first volume of the
graphic novel was released in the French language by Belgian publisher Le Lombard in October 2011 under the title Noé: Pour la cruauté des hommes (Noah: For the Cruelty of Men). After the creation of the graphic novel, Aronofsky struck a deal with Paramount and New Regency to produce a feature film of Noah with a budget of $130 million. Screenwriter John Logan was called in to re-draft the script alongside Aronofsky, but is not credited for his contributions.
In October 2012, Emma Watson
commented on the setting of the film: "I think what Darren's going for
is a sense that it could be set in any time. It could be set sort of
like a thousand years in the future or a thousand years in the past. ...
You shouldn't be able to place it too much."
Casting
Aronofsky had previously offered the role of Noah to Christian Bale and Michael Fassbender, both of whom declined. Bale went on to star as Moses in Ridley Scott's upcoming religious epic film Exodus: Gods and Kings. Dakota Fanning was originally cast in the role of Ila, but departed due to a scheduling conflict. Julianne Moore was also considered for the role of Naameh. Liam Neeson, Liev Schreiber and Val Kilmer
were also considered for the part of Tubal-cain. Aronofsky reportedly
wanted an actor "with the grit and size to be convincing as he goes
head-to-head against Crowe's Noah character".Filming
Principal photography began in July 2012, in Dyrhólaey, Fossvogur, Reynisfjara and other locations in Southern Iceland. Filming also took place in New York state. A set representing Noah's Ark was built at the Planting Fields Arboretum in Upper Brookville, New York. In September 2012, while on break from a location on Long Island, Russell Crowe and a friend, both of whom had been kayaking for several hours, were rescued by the Coast Guard near Cold Spring Harbor.Production was put on hold while Hurricane Sandy subjected New York to heavy rain and flooding during late October 2012.
Regarding the film's extensive use of visual effects, Aronofsky said he and his crew "had to create an entire animal kingdom", using no real animals in the production but instead "slightly tweaked" versions of real creatures. Industrial Light and Magic said their work on the film represented "the most complicated rendering in the company's history".
"The film is inspired by the story of Noah. While artistic license
has been taken, we believe that this film is true to the essence, values
and integrity of a story that is a cornerstone of faith for millions of
people worldwide. The biblical story of Noah can be found in the book
of Genesis."
Noah (International Trailer 1)Noah (International Trailer 2)
Noah (International Trailer 3)
Noah (International Trailer 6)
Noah (International Trailer 7)
