Life of Pi Trailer Is a Stunner
Posted 07.25.12 by Mandy
First slice of Pi is bound to leave fans of the book hungry for more.
Director Ang Lee has proven himself adept at turning written work into successful, visually appealing movies. Sense and Sensiblity, Brokeback Mountain and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon were all originally written works which were adapted to the screen and directed by Lee. All were successful at the box office, greatly admired by critics, and the recipients of prestigious awards. From the looks of this first trailer for Life of Pi, the Oscar-winning director has done it again.
Though Yann Martel’s novel was an international best seller, the fact that it has little dialogue, most of the action takes place on a tiny boat, and it is stuffed with symbolism and allegory made it an unlikely candidate to be turned into a really watchable movie. With the stunning visuals in this slice of Lee’s Pi, it makes sense that the rumor mill is already churning about the movie being a possible Oscar contender.
Yay: One of the best things about this trailer is that it doesn't contain any of the gory scenes involving the hyena. Those were bad enough to read — or quickly thumb past in some cases — and we'd rather not see all that bloody animal carnage.
Nay: Unfortunately, the movie's synopsis still mentions the hyena, the orangutan, and the zebra. Granted, it'd probably be a different kind of story without them.
Happy surprise: The phosphorescent whale jumping over the little boat seems like it should be over the top, but it totally works.
Even happier surprise: Another filmmaker might have been tempted to make the tiger named Richard Parker an adorable pet; the cat in this movie is obviously a pretty fierce creature.
Next Showing: Life of Pi is in theaters November 21.