The Hunger Games (2012)

Katniss Everdeen voluntarily takes her younger sister's place in the Hunger Games, a televised fight to the death in which two teenagers from each of the twelve Districts of Panem are chosen at random to compete.

Director:

Gary Ross

Writers:

Gary Ross (screenplay), Suzanne Collins (screenplay),

Stars:

Stanley Tucci, Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 27 wins & 30 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stanley Tucci	...	Caesar Flickerman
Wes Bentley	...	Seneca Crane
Jennifer Lawrence	...	Katniss Everdeen
Willow Shields	...	Primrose Everdeen
Liam Hemsworth	...	Gale Hawthorne
Elizabeth Banks	...	Effie Trinket
Sandra Ellis Lafferty	...	Hob Vendor (as Sandra Lafferty)
Paula Malcomson	...	Katniss' Mother
Rhoda Griffis	...	Registration Woman
Sandino Moya	...	Propaganda Film Tribute (as Sandino Moya-Smith)
Josh Hutcherson	...	Peeta Mellark
Raiko Bowman	...	Peeta's Mother
Dwayne Boyd	...	Peacekeeper #1
Anthony Reynolds	...	Peacekeeper #2
Judd Lormand	...	Peacekeeper #3

Storyline

In a dystopian future, the totalitarian nation of Panem is divided between 12 districts and the Capitol. Each year two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal retribution for a past rebellion, the televised games are broadcast throughout Panem. The 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors while the citizens of Panem are required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss's young sister, Prim, is selected as District 12's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart Peeta, are pitted against bigger, stronger representatives, some of whom have trained for this their whole lives.

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Plot Keywords:

game | volunteer | future | dystopian | teenager | 

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Taglines:

May the Odds be Ever in your Favor

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense violent thematic material and disturbing images - all involving teens

Details

Official Sites:

Lionsgate [us] Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 March 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Los juegos del hambre

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Budget:

$78,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$152,535,747 (USA) (23 March 2012)

Gross:

$407,999,255 (USA) (31 August 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lionsgate, Color Force

Technical Specs

Runtime:

142 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Liam Hemsworth and Jennifer Lawrence, both natural blondes, dyed their hair brown for their roles in the film while Josh Hutcherson, naturally dark-haired, dyed his hair blond for his part.

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Goofs

When Effie Trinket is shown from behind walking to the bowl to draw the girl tribute, she has a lot of hair on her neck. Then, when she is shown from behind going to meet Katniss, she has just a few strands of hair there.

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Quotes

Effie Trinket: You are in for a treat!

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Connections

Referenced in Dave's Old Porn: Joe Rogan/Ginger Lynn (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Three Movements for Orhestra Mvt. 1"
Written by Steve Reich
Performed by Lower Austrian Tonkünstler Orchestra and Chorus Sine Nomine
Conducted by Kristjan Järvi
Courtesy of Chandos
By Arrangement with Source/Q

User Reviews

Paper thin and watered down

The trouble with this movie is that I'm old enough to have seen many of its antecedents. So before The Truman Show, which is essentially the same idea as The Hunger Games, we have Battle Royale, The Running Man and of course, Rollerball. They all deal with mass entertainment in a dystopian future society and they all have their flaws. What's really disappointing about The Hunger Games is that unless you've read the book, the film will give you only a fleeting glimpse into why the games are called that. There's nothing else to help the naive reader make sense of the plot and because of this, the involvement of children will seem a bit odd to anyone who hasn't read the book. In fact, that's something you should take into account when reading many of the reviews of the film as they're written by people who have read the books and can fill in the wide gaps in the film without even thinking about it. Some have said its plot line is mildy satirical, but in my view that's just an excuse for a poorly filleted and disappointing adaptation of a marvellous book.