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Life of Pi

  • 2012
  • PG
  • 2h 7m
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
686K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,474
146
Suraj Sharma in Life of Pi (2012)
A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor ... a fearsome Bengal tiger.
Play trailer2:38
27 Videos
99+ Photos
Adventure EpicSea AdventureSurvivalTeen AdventureAdventureDramaFantasy

A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Be... Read allA young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger.A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger.

  • Director
    • Ang Lee
  • Writers
    • Yann Martel
    • David Magee
  • Stars
    • Suraj Sharma
    • Irrfan Khan
    • Adil Hussain
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.9/10
    686K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    1,474
    146
    • Director
      • Ang Lee
    • Writers
      • Yann Martel
      • David Magee
    • Stars
      • Suraj Sharma
      • Irrfan Khan
      • Adil Hussain
    • 1KUser reviews
    • 503Critic reviews
    • 79Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Won 4 Oscars
      • 81 wins & 134 nominations total

    Videos27

    Winner: Best Director
    Trailer 2:38
    Winner: Best Director
    International Version
    Trailer 2:30
    International Version
    International Version
    Trailer 2:30
    International Version
    No. 1
    Trailer 2:17
    No. 1
    "I Would Have Died by Now"
    Clip 0:42
    "I Would Have Died by Now"
    "The Tiger"
    Clip 0:52
    "The Tiger"
    "Flying Fish"
    Clip 1:26
    "Flying Fish"

    Photos232

    View Poster
    View Poster
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    + 228
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    Top cast43

    Edit
    Suraj Sharma
    Suraj Sharma
    • Pi Patel
    Irrfan Khan
    Irrfan Khan
    • Adult Pi Patel
    Adil Hussain
    Adil Hussain
    • Santosh Patel
    Tabu
    Tabu
    • Gita Patel
    Ayush Tandon
    • Pi Patel (11-12 Years)
    Gautam Belur
    • Pi Patel (5 Years)
    Ayaan Khan
    • Ravi Patel (7 Years)
    Mohd. Abbas Khaleeli
    • Ravi Patel (13-14 Years)
    Vibish Sivakumar
    • Ravi Patel (18-19 Years)
    Rafe Spall
    Rafe Spall
    • Writer
    Gérard Depardieu
    Gérard Depardieu
    • Cook
    James Saito
    James Saito
    • Older Insurance Investigator
    Jun Naito
    Jun Naito
    • Younger Insurance Investigator
    Andrea Di Stefano
    Andrea Di Stefano
    • Priest
    Shravanthi Sainath
    Shravanthi Sainath
    • Anandi
    Elie Alouf
    • Mamaji
    Padmini Ramachandran
    • Dance Master
    T.M. Karthik Srinivasan
    • Science Teacher
    • (as T.M. Karthik)
    • Director
      • Ang Lee
    • Writers
      • Yann Martel
      • David Magee
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews1K

    7.9686K
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    Featured reviews

    9noah_eye

    Very impressed

    I was lucky enough to see Pi in full 3D Imax at a pre-viewing in San Diego last night, and as a huge fan of the book, I was intensely satisfied.

    Believe it or not, I was more impressed with the the casting choices and performances of the players than by the effects. Granted, the movie was very beautiful, but in the end, Life Of Pi was more character driven than anything. Suraj Sharma as the young Pi was charming, funny, and incredibly engaging, while Irrfan Khan as the older Pi was fantastically genuine and warm. Adil Hussain as Pi's father was also a joy to watch. The characters are so rich and full of life that you really can't help but fall in love with them. I would also like to add, as someone who spends time with tigers on a daily basis, the animators did a wonderful and accurate job of bringing Richard Parker to life and making him the active and vital character that is so incredibly essential to the success of this story.

    I would recommend seeing Pi in 3D, but I don't think that's it's essential to your viewing enjoyment. The 3D just takes a beautiful film and makes it a little bit nicer. Also, if you've read the book and are concerned that the story you loved may have been compromised in anyway, worry no longer. This is easily, one of the best book to film adaptations I have ever seen.

    Happy viewing folks. I hope you enjoy this film as much as I did. I'll be seeing it again in theaters very soon.
    10damh_frikinlater

    Probably the Most Complete Film of the Year

    The movie narrates an incredible story using the most beautiful special effects and great actors.

    It is more that a survival story and it is not about friendship. This story is about faith. Director Ang Lee use all the tools he have to make this movie about a solitary young man not a boring one. It is narrated by both, young Pi and the Adult Pi, it uses music all the time so there is not space for uncomfortable silents and the rhythm of the scenes is fast. The result a very entertained film.

    The most important thing of this film is it character. It is obvious because we are seeing for almost 2 hours just one character. So it is not only important to have a great character that appeals to the audience feelings, but to have an actor that portray this person the right way. Suraj Sharma was brilliant as Pi. He can make happy scenes as equal as sad, desperate, hopelessness, exhaustion and anger ones. Very few movies allow an actor represent so many emotions.

    But if Pi is a good character, Richard Parker can only be describe as unique. The tiger as personality of it's own. Not many films can make an animal with so many human features and yet never stop being a wild animal. This tiger is computed animated but the audience will barely notice, because the way it walks, eats, its factions, the eyes. It doesn't matter if it is computer animation, Richard Parker is alive and is his own character just as important as Pi is.

    If you think that "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" have good animal effects, you have to see how this people make a zebra, a hyena and a orangutan. All this, combine with a photography created by the same guy that make "Tron: Legacy" looks so cool and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" so beautiful, Claudio Miranda, makes it an incredible experience to see.

    This movie is definitely an Oscar runner for Special Effects, Cinematography, Director and Movie of the year.
    9mithil293

    Life Of Pi = Best (Art + Story Telling + VFX)

    According to mythology the journey of life is splayed with different forms of hurdles, the path to salvation lies in standing tall against such hurdles even if the Gods are callous to your understanding. By maintaining hope we try to live up to their expectation, knowing that God will guide us if we keep fighting on our endeavor for greater good. That's pretty much the whole and soul of the movie. Opened first time in India at IFFI 2012 Goa, I was in the mix of lucky few who got to watch the repeat show of this 3D movie adapted from Yann Martel's book of same title.

    Piscine Molitor(Pi) Patel as he was named after a swimming pool by his dear uncle apparent by his ardent love for the same. Piscine is born Hindu in Pondicherry India, but as he levels a understanding he begins to peek into other religion and sooner he starts endorsing Christianity and Islam also. His father, a zoo owner pounces upon a chance of relocating the zoo to Canada. On their way to far west with animals on a Japanese ship, tragedy struck on a murderous stormy night capsizing the ship with Pi and a Royal Bengal Tiger left to see the remains. And so the adventures journey of innocent young boy with life threatening feline animal begins.

    There was the thunderous applause from the audiences when the tiger gives his first appearance in the safety boat. Spending months to produce the Tiger didn't go waste too, he looked inch perfect and the way he has been handled in the movie is exquisite. The first few scenes are reminiscent of old India with bullock carts, later the landscape changes and so do the people. The characters of hot blooded modern day father, the supporting mother and the story involving the tender love between the protagonist and the girl are delightful however short they may be. The innocence of young Pi through his school years and his introduction to motley of faiths sets up the foundation to his uncanny characterization. But the real fun starts when they are both lost at sea and Pi tries assortment of ideas to keep him as well as the Tiger alive. The movie is never complete without the mention of adequately yet delicately used VFX. It would really be a shame to put into words those magnificently shot sequences and the scale on which the art work is done. This movie epitomizes the correct com-mixture of story with special effects. I could gather so many 'wows' while I was myself devouring on the same scenes. The humor is well prevalent and does lighten up the few still scenes between the two.

    Suraj Sharma plays the most significant role in the movie with all his efforts and he wins it in the end. The guy is awesome handling some tough intense scenes in the movie. Irfan Khan playing the narrator as well as the older Pi shows his maturity in the business, patient with the small parts he never misses his character and his narration and dialog's delivery is to die for. Adil Hussain as Pi's father is superb with his character and does contribute a hell lot. Other actors contribute evenly including the computer generated zoo animals. Real salute to the art directors of the movie for putting up such beautiful pictures on screen. Ang Lee is as always incomparable with his cinema, he has definitely reached shore with this movie and a more versatile director in my book.

    The older promises the character he is narrating that he will prove him that God exists, well did he or not? For that you have to wait for that amazing climax scene. This is art, storytelling and VFX at his best in a single movie. Who would want to miss that??
    9Sleepin_Dragon

    A glorious film.

    It's a shame that I didn't see this at the cinema, I can only imagine what a treat for the senses this was on the big screen. A visual masterpiece, and an intoxicating story of belief and friendship.

    You must give so much credit to the team that produced this, not a book I would have thought easy to adapt, as it is so vague, the realisation is of course breathtaking, I absolutely loved it.

    I've read comments about those that wanted action and dramatic scenes, this film isn't about the destination, it's about the journey.

    Breathtaking, 9/10.
    JohnDeSando

    The most imaginative film this year

    ''I had to tame him,'' (Pi) realizes. ''It was not a question of him or me, but of him and me. We were, literally and figuratively, in the same boat." From Life of Pi by Yann Martel.

    You will see no more imaginative film this year than Life of Pi, whose conceit of a young Indian boy stranded with a Bengal Tiger in a lifeboat amid the Pacific Ocean is fantastical yet real in its metaphoric implications. While the framing device of a story told to a stranger uses the old flashback, the lonely lifeboat is as new as any story told in the last century.

    The film begs interpretation from the multiplicity of religions to the place of mankind in a hostile, Darwinian world. Ultimately the benign brotherhood of beasts and humans is affirmed not so much by lofty philosophy but by the necessity of man and beast working together to survive.

    The digital rendering of animals, especially the Bengal Tiger, is beautiful to behold. The opening scene in Pi's family zoo could be right out of Terence Malick's visionary camera, a montage of nature gorgeous in its simplicity. The several formalistic shots of the boat at night are worthy of the best lighting in the best aquariums in the world. Together with the impressive use of 3D, director Ang Lee has visually taken us from the opulence of Crouching Tiger and the minimalism of Brokeback Mountain into a fusion world of fancy and reality. The images are stunning.

    In the end, Lee is interested in the individual's place in the universe as he struggles to harness nature and yet live in harmony with these elements. The conflict with the gross cook aboard the Japanese cargo ship taking Pi's family and animals to Canada is emblematic of the challenges facing the gifted with the groundlings. Pi's relationship with tiger "Richard Parker" represents all mankind's struggle to live in harmony with the forces it cannot control.

    "Believing in everything is the same as believing in nothing," says Pi's father because Pi samples religions from Hinduism and Buddhism to Catholicism and Judaism and wants them all. Although it is not given to us to have them all, Pi's piety practically makes us believers in the universal brotherhood.

    The Life of Pi is everyone's life; the film is one of the best of the year and, even remembering the greatness of The Old Man and the Sea, Moby Dick, and Billy Budd, the best you will ever see about a boy, a tiger, and a boat.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Ang Lee hired Steven Callahan as a "nautical consultant." In 1982, Callahan survived 76 days adrift on a rubber lifeboat in the Atlantic after his sailboat sank.
    • Goofs
      One of the Japanese investigators claims that bananas do not float. This can be easily proven wrong with a simple experiment, fresh bananas do indeed float.
    • Quotes

      Adult Pi Patel: I suppose in the end, the whole of life becomes an act of letting go, but what always hurts the most is not taking a moment to say goodbye.

    • Crazy credits
      The making and legal distribution of this film supported over 14,000 jobs and involved over 600,000 work hours.
    • Connections
      Featured in Maltin on Movies: Life of Pi (2012)
    • Soundtracks
      Pi's Lullaby
      Music by Mychael Danna

      Lyrics by Bombay Jayashri

      Performed by Bombay Jayashri

      Produced by Mychael Danna

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    FAQ28

    • How long is Life of Pi?Powered by Alexa
    • Is this a "preachy" movie?
    • What is the true meaning of Richard Parker?
    • Did "God" sank the boat because Pi was tempting him?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 21, 2012 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Taiwan
      • United Kingdom
      • Canada
      • India
      • France
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official site
    • Languages
      • English
      • Hindi
      • Japanese
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Una aventura extraordinaria
    • Filming locations
      • Grafton, Auckland, New Zealand(Train Station)
    • Production companies
      • Fox 2000 Pictures
      • Dune Entertainment
      • Ingenious Media
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $120,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $124,987,023
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $22,451,514
      • Nov 25, 2012
    • Gross worldwide
      • $609,016,565
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 7 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby
      • Datasat
      • SDDS
      • Dolby Atmos
      • Dolby Surround 7.1
      • Sonics-DDP
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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