Buried (2010)
79%RT Audience Score: 65%
Awards & Nominations: 16 wins & 33 nominations
Wringing a seemingly impossible amount of gripping drama out of its claustrophobic premise, Buried is a nerve-wracking showcase for Ryan Reynolds’ talent
Buried is a movie that will leave you breathless, not just because the main character is buried alive, but because the suspense and tension are so palpable that you’ll forget to breathe. Ryan Reynolds delivers a performance that is both funny and heart-wrenching, and the direction by Rodrigo Cortés is nothing short of brilliant. It’s a movie that will make you feel claustrophobic, anxious, and ultimately satisfied. Just make sure you have a pillow to scream into.
Production Company(ies)
Castle Rock Entertainment, Detour Filmproduction Filmhaus Wien Universa Filmproduktion,s
Distributor
Lionsgate Films
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language and some violent content
Year of Release
2010
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital EX
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:1h 34m
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Language(s):English, Arabic
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 8, 2010 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 18, 2011
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Ryan Reynolds, directed by Rodrigo Cortés, written by Chris Sparling, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Candice Frederick, Laura Kern, Nick Schager, Adam Nayman, Rene Rodriguez, Mary F Pols, Stephanie Archer, Mike Massie, Ed Travis, Steve Erickson, Kaleem Aftab, producer Adrián Guerra, Peter Safran, MPAA rating R, Iraq, insurgents, coffin, lighter, cell phone, oxygen supply, rescue, Alfred Hitchcock, suspense, thriller, claustrophobia, social commentary, terrorism, government bureaucracy, sensitivity, cruelty
Worldwide gross: $19,439,764
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $26,426,153
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,598
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 2,881,805
US/Canada gross: $1,044,143
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,419,394
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,108
US/Canada opening weekend: $100,268
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $136,303
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,823
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $3,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $4,078,160
Production budget ranking: 1,945
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $2,196,089
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $20,151,905
ROI to date (est.): 321%
ROI ranking: 435
Robert Paterson – Dan Brenner (Voice)
José Luis García-Pérez – Jabir (Voice)
Stephen Tobolowsky – Alan Davenport (Voice)
Samantha Mathis – Linda Conroy (Voice)
Warner Loughlin – Donna Mitchell, Maryanne Conroy (Voice)
Director(s)
Rodrigo Cortés
Writer(s)
Chris Sparling
Producer(s)
Adrián Guerra, Peter Safran
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
16 wins & 33 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (158) | Top Critics (48) | Fresh (137) | Rotten (21)
… you will be so caught up in the movie that its surprisingly abrupt ending will leave you with your mouth agape.
September 9, 2017 | Rating: A
Candice Frederick
Reel Talk Online
TOP CRITIC
A nifty gimmick rarely translates into satisfying cinema, but Buried qualifies as an exception.
June 20, 2013
Laura Kern
Film Comment Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Conveys the intensity and introspective horror of its subject’s extreme life-or-death circumstances far more authentically and grippingly than the similar, flashier and shallower 127 Hours.
April 14, 2011 | Rating: B
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness
TOP CRITIC
Buried may well be an allegory for the fates of so many Americans waylaid in sandier climes, but it works first and foremost as an experiential horror film — the best of its kind in some time.
April 4, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
Adam Nayman
eye WEEKLY
TOP CRITIC
Buried, despite its seemingly impossible premise, is by turns funny, suspenseful, moving and — in one heart-stopping sequence worthy of Indiana Jones — incredibly exciting.
January 31, 2011 | Rating: 3/4
Rene Rodriguez
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
If the aim is to be unpredictable and to revel in cynicism, you run the risk — realized here — that the movie becomes more an authorial statement of purpose than a story the audience can believe in.
January 5, 2011
Mary F. Pols
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Buried looks at both confinement and abandonment, its successful examinations resting solely on the welding of the camera and on its leading star. Ryan Reynolds, whose ability to wield comedy and wit, delivers a deeply immersive performance.
June 5, 2022
Stephanie Archer
Film Inquiry
The premise alone might limit the appeal to general audiences, but director Rodrigo Cortes employs several clever plot twists to maximize the suspense.
November 29, 2020 | Rating: 7/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
The viewer is stuck in the coffin with Reynolds, and we feel all the clostrophobia of it. But we also feel his frustration as he talks with people who don’t seem to actually care about him and are more concerned about the “situation.”
April 9, 2020
Ed Travis
Hollywood Jesus
… it’s a brilliant gimmick – one that allows director Rodrigo Cortés to show off his entire repertoire of unusual camera angles.
November 6, 2018
Steve Erickson
Nashville Scene
Director Rodrigo Cortés does a brilliant job of making one man in a coffin look interesting for an hour and a half by the clever use of angles, cranes and dolly shots that provide a sense of motion.
November 6, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
Kaleem Aftab
The List
Buried is a one of a kind experience that goes well beyond just a movie with a neat idea. It’s a thriller that really works and is one of the best films I’ve seen all year.
November 9, 2013 | Rating: 8/10
Benjo Colautti
We Got This Covered…
Plot
Waking groggy in pitch darkness, Paul Conroy, an American truck driver working in Iraq in 2006, slowly realizes he is trapped inside a wooden coffin, buried alive. With his cigarette lighter, he can see the trap he is in, and he quickly realizes that there’s not enough air for him to live long. He finds within the coffin a working cellphone, which allows him contact with the outside world. But the outside world proves not to be very helpful at finding a man buried in a box in the middle of the Iraqi desert. Paul must rely on his best resource
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels praises Ryan Reynolds’ performance in Buried, stating that he showcases his talent in this nerve-wracking showcase.
Rodrigo-Cortés.jpg
