Life of Pi (2012)
85%RT Audience Score: 84%
Awards & Nominations: Won 4 Oscars
81 wins & 135 nominations total
A 3D adaptation of a supposedly “unfilmable” book, Ang Lee’s Life of Pi achieves the near impossible — it’s an astonishing technical achievement that’s also emotionally rewarding
Life of Pi is a movie that will make you believe that a boy and a tiger can survive on a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean for 277 days. Ang Lee’s direction is nothing short of magical, and the special effects are mind-blowing. Sure, there are moments when you’ll be waiting for something to happen, but when it does, it’s worth the wait. And let’s not forget about Suraj Sharma’s performance as Pi, which is both charming and desperate. Overall, Life of Pi is a must-watch for anyone who loves a good survival story, or just wants to see a boy and a tiger become unlikely friends.
Production Company(ies)
Miramax, A Band Apart Jersey Films,
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Grafton, Auckland, New Zealand
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG for emotional thematic content throughout, and some scary action sequences and peril
Year of Release
2012
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:DolbyDatasat SDDS Dolby Atmos Dolby Surround 7.1 Sonics-DDP
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 5m
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Language(s):English, Hindi, Japanese, French
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Nov 21, 2012 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 12, 2013
Genre(s)
Adventure/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Rafe Spall, Gérard Depardieu, Adil Hussain, directed by Ang Lee, written by David Magee, adventure, drama, PG rating, box office gross $125.0M, reviewed by Shubhra Gupta, Deborah Ross, Nick Pinkerton, David Thomson, Marjorie Baumgarten, David Sexton, David Walsh, Mike Massie, Richard Propes, Brent McKnight, Yasser Medina, CGI, 3D, emotional, survival, shipwreck, tiger, India, Canada, family, tragedy, animals, ocean, trust, technical achievement, visually stunning, Ang Lee’s masterpiece, based on a supposedly “unfilmable” book, Gil Netter, Ang Lee, David Womark produced, English language, 20th Century Fox distributed, SDDS, Dolby, Datasat sound mix
Worldwide gross: $609,016,565
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $785,159,032
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 151
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 85,622,577
US/Canada gross: $124,987,023
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $161,136,323
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 483
US/Canada opening weekend: $22,451,514
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $28,945,040
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 480
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $120,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $154,706,931
Production budget ranking: 210
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $83,309,682
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $547,142,418
ROI to date (est.): 230%
ROI ranking: 573
Irrfan Khan – Adult Pi Patel
Tabu – Gita Patel
Rafe Spall – Writer
Gérard Depardieu – Cook
Adil Hussain – Santosh Patel
Director(s)
Ang Lee
Writer(s)
David Magee
Producer(s)
Gil Netter, Ang Lee, David Womark
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 4 Oscars
81 wins & 135 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Cinematography Winners, Oscar Best Achievement in Directing Winners, Oscar Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures Winners, Oscar Best Achievement in Visual Effects Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Original Score Winners, Oscar Winners
All Critics (253) | Top Critics (73) | Fresh (218) | Rotten (35)
A boy, and a tiger, and a vast, endless ocean. Ang Lee makes a film out of material that seems almost unfilmable, and a lot of it is quite wondrous.
March 22, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/5
Shubhra Gupta
The Indian Express
TOP CRITIC
While you are bathing in all the beauty, you are waiting and waiting and waiting for this film to say something, yet when it finally does… it all just feels empty somehow.
September 4, 2018
Deborah Ross
The Spectator
TOP CRITIC
Lee shows his hero’s imperilled position as a mixed blessing. By tottering on the ledge of his mortality, Pi gains a front-row seat on the miracles of creation… All this is, in a word, Awesome.
July 31, 2018
Nick Pinkerton
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
Veteran filmmakers will warn you, don’t film at sea and don’t work with animals. Ang Lee built a vast tank in Taiwan and he whips up awesome storms. [However,] watching the water here is more rewarding than watching the characters.
June 14, 2013
David Thomson
The New Republic
TOP CRITIC
When adrift with Pi and the tiger on the open sea, the film is at its most wondrous: a ravishing spectacle that treads judiciously on the infinite line between what’s possible and impossible.
January 8, 2013 | Rating: 3/5
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
Lee is a wizard, Life of Pi is an incredible spectacle and the technical effects are brilliant.
December 21, 2012 | Rating: 3/5
David Sexton
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
In my view, people who find no drama in everyday life and lives, and feel obliged, for example, to ski down Mount Everest to keep themselves occupied and excited, are not to be trusted about important matters.
February 12, 2021
David Walsh
World Socialist Web Site
Why must bitter reality always rear its ugly head in such parables?
December 2, 2020 | Rating: 5/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
Suraj Sharma gives a performance that exudes both boyish charm and a soulful desperation.
September 14, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
Giving Ang Lee access to 3D camera equipment and a modern-day fable like “Life of Pi” is the best idea anyone has had in a long time.
July 14, 2020 | Rating: B+
Brent McKnight
The Last Thing I See
I have certainly seen dramas about survivors; but none, absolutely none that I have seen compare to the spectacular Life of Pi. [Full review in Spanish]
June 25, 2020 | Rating: 9/10
Yasser Medina
Cinemaficionados
Among its many virtues, this beautiful fable of a teen boy holding a grown tiger at bay for 277 days at sea makes a strong case for the superiority of live-action drama over animation…
June 19, 2020
David Lamble
Bay Area Reporter…
Plot
In Canada, a writer visits the Indian storyteller Pi Patel and asks him to tell his life story. Pi tells the story of his childhood in Pondicherry, India, and the origin of his nickname. One day, his father, a zoo owner, explains that the municipality is no longer supporting the zoo and he has hence decided to move to Canada, where the animals the family owns would also be sold. They board on a Japanese cargo ship with the animals and out of the blue, there is a storm, followed by a shipwrecking. Pi survives in a lifeboat with a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena and a male Bengal tiger nicknamed Richard Parker. They are adrift in the Pacific Ocean, with aggressive hyena and Richard Parker getting hungry. Pi needs to find a way to survive.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Nothing to add here about Life of Pi.
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