The Book of Eli
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Comments
It's a great film to rewatch. If you watch again after you know this, you'll realize he never reacts to any visual stimuli in the entire film. Everything makes a noise a or a smell right before he reacts to it. In the house he goes through at the beginning, they show him feeling the things on the shelves with his hands. In the shootout on the town's main street, there is always the sound of a gunshot or a gun cocking before he shoots in a direction. And my favorite moment is when he and Ray Stevenson's character are the last two left and they're both just standing there. Redridge thinks Eli is staring him down because Eli's just standing there. But Eli's actually just listening and doesn't know Redridge is there because he's not making any noise. That's why he turns and walks away after a couple moments.
Steve Boshear
2025-09-18 15:52:21 +0000 UTCAnother one of my favorites - Thanks.
Peter Dillard
2025-09-10 04:32:15 +0000 UTCI read 80-100 books a year.. while The Da Vinci Code is certainly no masterpiece..I enjoyed it when I read it many years ago... I would call it a popcorn novel kind of like a fun nonsense film...not gonna win any oscars but can still be fun...George acting like it is the worst thing ever written is a bit nuts... I certainly respect all opinions but to make such a definitive statement about a novel seems a bit nuts... for instance it has 3.9 on Goodreads w 2.5 million ratings....so plenty of peeps seem to enjoy it
Bella Blue
2025-09-08 20:35:11 +0000 UTCDisagree. Watch closer. One of the tells for this is when he's walking up the steps to the old couples' house, he kicks the bottom step so that he will know where the steps are. He didn't see the No Trespassing sign either (and Solara couldn't read it). He never drives. He told Solara to be quiet, presumably so he could kill the dinner bird by ear. When he found the dead man hanging in the closet he didn't react at all. The sight of that would have startled anyone with vision. He's blind.
Deano 42
2025-09-08 20:30:58 +0000 UTCEli was NOT blind. Its pretty obvious he just taught himself to read Braille.
RJ MacReady
2025-09-07 21:36:53 +0000 UTCHe's a pretty good shot with the bow and gun for being blind. I can't be sure of course because there's no actual mention of him being blind as I recall.
Jethro Divine
2025-09-07 07:35:21 +0000 UTCDefinitely worth a rewatch just for the beginning. There's quite a few clues that occur early on that show you his blindness.
J Lawrence
2025-09-07 07:11:15 +0000 UTCFor future considerationโฆ Movies: - Waking Ned Devine (1998) - The Devil Wears Prada (2006) - Hook (1991) - The Birdcage (1996) - Margin Call (2011) - Legend (1985) - The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert (1994) - The King's Speech (2010) - Flash Gordon (1980) - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) - City Slickers (1991) TV: - Batman: The Animated Series - Disney's Gargoyles - Barry (Max)
Kelly Pickard
2025-09-07 06:29:24 +0000 UTCAnd thatโs walking across the country when itโs not in the state of decay like it is in the movie! A lot less safe here in the movie than in reality perhaps
REDR58
2025-09-07 00:10:42 +0000 UTCAnd Deja Vu!
Jacob Colson
2025-09-06 22:04:06 +0000 UTCCongrats George and glad to see you over here in the UK.
Dazzler & Em
2025-09-06 21:58:03 +0000 UTCHide your heart!
Happy Hanukkah
2025-09-06 20:47:13 +0000 UTCI never had really thought of it like that before, but it really is. It shares a lot of DNA with the Clint Eastwood "man with no name" films with the reluncant hero drifter who rolls into town, etc.
Jeff K
2025-09-06 19:04:22 +0000 UTCThis is one of those movies thats almost even better on a second watch, because now youre looking for the twist and you realize it was in front of your face the whole time. Every scene feels like it shouldve been obvious he was blind the whole time. He always leads with his ear, he never looks anyone in the eye- typically doesnt even look directly at anything. Even the first scene with the jump scare of the guy in the closet, you'll notice he has to feel around for the shoes. sooo good
Godrick
2025-09-06 18:50:35 +0000 UTCHe cant. Totally blind
Godrick
2025-09-06 18:48:32 +0000 UTC"Blind" dont need to be all or nothing, some can se light/dark/shadowy parts, others a verry blurry mess of light and colors. i think he can see something but verry porly.
Twoside
2025-09-06 16:39:53 +0000 UTCCongrats George! Such a fantastic film. Great pickup on that being Tom Waits Simone and YES thats the late great Sir Michael Gambon (Dumbledore)! His wife in the film (Martha) is actress Frances de la Tour, who portrayed Madame Maxime, headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire! And I will defend The DaVinci Code forever! We all have different opinions, but I will say it might not be pulitzer prize winning material, but its a great mystery thriller that keeps you engaged! It was the first book other than Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings that I read when I was younger (I think I was 13) that actually got me hooked into reading other things other than fantasy and sci-fi. I credit J. K. Rowling and J. R. R. Tolkien with getting me into reading but I also credit Dan Brown with opening a door to a whole new genre to me.
theycallmekev
2025-09-06 15:44:18 +0000 UTCIf you want more denzel Washington you should check out John Q, American Gangster and Malcom X are all great movies of his
Matt88g
2025-09-06 15:35:43 +0000 UTCA really subtle one I love is that his boot bumps the first step as he walks up to the cannibalsโ porch.
lonedesertbones
2025-09-06 15:20:12 +0000 UTCAAAAAYYYOOOO CONGRATS GEORGE
lonedesertbones
2025-09-06 15:18:53 +0000 UTCThe story in "Eli" seemed to me like a mash-up of the novel "A Canticle for Liebowitz", the novel and film of "Fahrenheit 451" and the film "Blind Fury". "The Road" from the previous year has a similar post-apocalyptic setting, yet is a better film. It features a character named "Ely".
GAB
2025-09-06 15:06:31 +0000 UTCit would have been great, but then it turned into propaganda.
Mushie Motion
2025-09-06 14:35:10 +0000 UTCAnd if Iโm not mistaken his wife in this is the woman who played the headmistress of Beauxbaton in Goblet of Fire.
Jeff K
2025-09-06 14:30:38 +0000 UTCAnd the movie is directly referenced in the Fallout TV show - at Cooper Howardโs house thereโs a poster of one of his movies called A Man and His Dog.
Jeff K
2025-09-06 13:57:15 +0000 UTCAccording to google walking across the us is over 3,000 miles and would take between 6 month and 1 year, so Eli was definitely lost
Matt88g
2025-09-06 13:52:34 +0000 UTCYes, the big reveal is that Eli himself is blind. It's one of those things you can pick up on re-watch, and there's several scenes earlier in the movie that have hints if you know what to look for. There's a lot of times where he only acknowledges a sound, as opposed to something visual. For example, in the shootout at the town, Eli only shoots back at individual henchmen after they shoot at him first so he knows where they are. Same thing for shooting the bird with the bow-and-arrow, he waits for it to make a sound. I like the precept that there is some sort of higher power at work here, because Eli definitely does seem protected in some way. But with the reveal at the end that the Alcatraz printers are trying to rescue ALL religious texts -- and more knowledge besides -- this power is not necessarily religious at all. Or if it is, it might not specifically be any association with Christianity. It could just be trying to save knowledge itself. When this movie first came out I saw a lot of arguments over whether it was possible to have a full KJV bible in braille fit into a book of this size. Some people said that braille can't be written that small and it would need to include multiple volumes. Others said that they've seen real-life braille bibles that small so it's possible. I never saw a definitive answer, the arguments just kept going round and round.
JBK405
2025-09-06 13:03:43 +0000 UTCThe implication is that heโs blind and did all of it anyway.
jmundt33a
2025-09-06 12:46:54 +0000 UTCNever watched this twice. I noticed it several times๐
ShoNuff3000
2025-09-06 12:43:06 +0000 UTCQueen of the damned (Ann Rice Vampire) Repo the Genetic Opera (Gothic Musical) God Bless America (funny thought provoking, better than falling down) Sonic ( Sonic, Obviousely) 10 Thing I hate about you (Obvious, said you guys where going to) I now pronounce you chuck and larry (death by laughter) Animatrix (Really cool animated sci-fi) A.I. Artificial Intelligence (Cool and sad Sci-fi) IQ (Awesome Romcom) Mighty Ducks (Feel good sports comedy) A score to settle (Good Nicolas Cage Action) Real Steel (Feel good family action comedy) Stewart Little (Jonathon Lipnicki, Micheal J Fox) The Little Vampire (Jonathon Lipnicki)
Morion Williams
2025-09-06 12:37:45 +0000 UTCYes that is Gambon.
jmundt33a
2025-09-06 12:36:06 +0000 UTCCongratulations George on your engagement
Nathan Burgess
2025-09-06 12:29:34 +0000 UTCCan tell theyโre unfamiliar with the KJV.
jmundt33a
2025-09-06 12:24:23 +0000 UTCA Boy and His Dog (1975) โง [Sci-fi/Comedy] - A major inspiration for Fallout's universe and an early post-apocalyptic film... totally missed the poster each time I've seen this. Very cool. lol
Dirge Girl
2025-09-06 12:20:47 +0000 UTC"It's a bit of a Western... a Post-Apocalyptic Western." - Gary Oldman
Dirge Girl
2025-09-06 12:03:58 +0000 UTC
