Anaconda (1997)

User Rating:

4.2/10   

Director:

Luis Llosa

Writers (WGA):

Hans Bauer (written by) and
Jim Cash (written by) ...

Release Date:

11 April 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Horror | Adventure | Action

Tagline:

You can't scream if you can't breathe.

Plot:

A "National Geographic" film crew is taken hostage by an insane hunter, who takes them along on his quest to capture the world's largest - and deadliest - snake.

Plot Keywords:

Snake | Boat | Anaconda | Jungle | Film Crew

Awards:

3 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Jennifer Lopez	...	Terri Flores
Ice Cube	...	Danny Rich
Jon Voight	...	Paul Sarone
Eric Stoltz	...	Dr. Steven Cale
Jonathan Hyde	...	Warren Westridge
Owen Wilson	...	Gary Dixon
Kari Wuhrer	...	Denise Kalberg
Vincent Castellanos	...	Mateo
Danny Trejo	...	Poacher
Frank Welker	...	Voice of Anaconda (voice)

Also Known As:

Anaconda (Peru)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense adventure violence, and for brief language and sensuality.

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA | Brazil | Peru

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR | SDDS (8 channels)

Certification:

South Korea:12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-14 | Germany:16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #34328) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Amazonas, Brazil

Company:

Cinema Line Film Corporation

Trivia:

The Amazonian film shoot was occasionally disrupted by the fact that a number of the cast were incredibly afraid of snakes.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the boat backs away from the tree, a shot of the waterfall shows it flowing upwards.

Quotes:

Denise Kalberg: You know, Mateo's probably just lost.
Warren Westridge: Oh WAKE UP!
Paul Sarone: Imagine something this big captured alive. That's worth a lot of money, Gary.
Terry Flores: Jesus...
Paul Sarone: Please people, don't make me out a monster. I didn't eat the captain Mateo.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004)

Soundtrack:

Tipsy Dazy

Forces One To Root For The Snake

Except for Jon Voight's character, I didn't find any of the actors/characters in this film likable, just annoying. Voight was hardly a role model, either. I wound up rooting for the anaconda. Ice Cube, Jonathan Hyde, Jennifer Lopez...all playing people with chips on their shoulders. Sorry, but rappers with attitudes or snobby Englishmen aren't entertaining to me.

In here, too, is the all-too-familiar cheap shot against Christians in which they show the worst, most despicable person in the story and then zoom in several times to show you the cross that sleazebag is wearing. They always want to make that association and they make it obvious every time.

What makes the movie tolerable at all is the great Brazlian swamp scenery and good special effects with the giant snake. Yeah, sometimes the snake scenes look a bit computer-generated but more than not, they are just plain scary. A few of them are downright jaw-dropping as when it flies through the air, swallows human beings or swims while on fire. This is nice on DVD with rich visuals and very good surround sound.

If only the people in the movie were half as good as the scenery.