Anaconda (film)

Anaconda
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Luis Llosa
Produced by	Verna Harrah Carole Little Leonard Rabinowitz
Written by	Hans Bauer Jim Cash Jack Epps Jr.
Starring	Jennifer Lopez Ice Cube Jon Voight Eric Stoltz Owen Wilson Kari Wuhrer Jonathan Hyde
Music by	Randy Edelman
Cinematography	Bill Butler
Editing by	Michael R. Miller
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	April 11, 1997 (1997-04-11)
Running time	89 minutes
Country	United States Brazil
Language	English
Budget	$45 million
Box office	$136,885,767

Anaconda is a 1997 adventure-horror film, directed by Luis Llosa, starring Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Jon Voight, Eric Stoltz, Owen Wilson, Kari Wuhrer and Jonathan Hyde. It centers around a film crew for National Geographic who are kidnapped by a hunter who is going after the world's largest giant anaconda, which is discovered in the Amazon Rainforest. Though the film received mostly negative reviews from critics, it was a box office hit. It was then followed by three sequels.

Plot

Shooting a documentary about a long-lost Indian tribe on the Amazon River known as the Shirishama tribe, director Terri Flores (Jennifer Lopez) and members of her crew--including cameraman Danny Rich (Ice Cube), production manager Denise Kalberg (Kari Wuhrer), sound engineer Gary Dixon (Owen Wilson), visionary Warren Westridge (Jonathan Hyde), anthropologist Professor Steven Cale (Eric Stoltz) and captain of the boat Mateo (Vincent Castellanos)--come across stranded Paraguayan snake hunter Paul Serone (Jon Voight) and help him, believing he knows how to find the tribe they are searching for. But Serone acts strangely and the crew suspects something.

While trying to free the boat's propeller from a rope, Cale is stung in the throat by a wasp inside his scuba gear, leaving him unconscious. With that, Serone takes command of the boat and the crew. They are then forced to help him achieve his true objective — hunting down and capturing a record-breaking Green Anaconda he had been tracking.

Mateo is the first of the crew to be killed by the anaconda, which wraps around him and then breaks his neck near a boat where a poacher (Danny Trejo) had been killed at the beginning of the film. The others try to find him while Gary sides with Serone, who promises if they help him find the anaconda, he will help them get out alive. Ironically, Gary is killed next when they attempt to capture the anaconda. The survivors overcome Serone and tie him up. When Denise attempts to kill Serone, he gets the edge and strangles her to death with his legs before dumping her body in the river. The anaconda returns and kills Westridge, only to be shot dead and Serone incapacitated by the newly awakened Cale (who later loses consciousness again). Danny punches Serone, knocking him into the river.

Later on, Terri and Danny, two of the surviving members of the crew, are captured when Serone catches up to them. He dumps a bucket of monkey blood on them and then uses them as bait in an attempt to capture a second, larger anaconda. The anaconda wraps around Terri and Danny and begins to suffocate them. They are caught in a net by Serone, but the snake breaks free. Terri and Danny cut their bonds and slip away as Serone is eaten by the snake. Terri finds a nest of baby anacondas in a building, but the snake arrives, and after regurgitating the still twitching Serone, chases her up a smoke stack. The snake becomes trapped in the smoke stack, whereupon Danny ignites a fire below and burns the snake alive. As Terri and Danny recuperate on a nearby dock, the snake appears one final time. Danny beats the anaconda with an axe until it is finally dead.

Afterwards, Terri and Danny reunite with Cale, who begins to revive on the boat. As they float down the river, they accidentally locate the natives for whom they were originally searching. They realize Serone was right and begin filming their documentary as the movie ends.

Cast

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

Reception

Anaconda received some negative reviews when it was released. Some praised the film's effects, scenery, and tongue-in-cheek humor, while others criticized the acting, "forgettable" or "cardboard" characters, inaccuracies, and "boring" start. The film maintains a 39% "rotten" rating according to Rotten Tomatoes.

The film was nominated for six Razzie Awards in 1998 including Worst Picture, Worst Actor (Jon Voight), Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, Worst New Star ("the animatronic anaconda") and Worst Screen Couple (Voight and "the animatronic anaconda"). However, Roger Ebert awarded the film 3 1/2 out of 4 stars calling it a "...slick, scary, funny Creature Feature, beautifully photographed and splendidly acted in high adventure style." Despite the initial negative reception, Anaconda has since become a cult classic, often viewed as so-bad-it's-good.

Box office

The film opened at #1 with $16.6 million in its first weekend and remained at the top spot in its following week. In total, Anaconda went on to gross $136.8 million worldwide, making it a sizable box office success by beating out its $45 million budget.

MPAA rating

The film was given a PG-13 rating by the MPAA. Despite this, the film was referenced in the film Zombieland when a character says it was the first R-Rated movie she saw.

Sequels

Main articles: Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, Anaconda 3: Offspring, and Anacondas: Trail of Blood

The film was followed by three sequels, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid in 2004, which was released to theaters, and two made-for-television movies, Anaconda 3: Offspring and Anacondas: Trail of Blood, both produced in 2008. Even though no characters from the first film appear in the sequels, they are referenced by the character, Cole, in Hunt for the Blood Orchid when he says he knows a friend who knows a friend that took a crew down to the Amazon and they were all eaten by snakes.

See also

• List of killer snake films

External links

• Anaconda at the Internet Movie Database
• Anaconda at AllRovi
• Anaconda at Rotten Tomatoes
• Anaconda at Metacritic
• Anaconda at Box Office Mojo