The book of eli dvd 2009 this is probably one of the most highly underrated movies of 2010 due to the overwhelming surge of 3d films brought on by avatar which was out around the same time of this film. So i compiled a few of the theories on eli and his condition. Spoilers every clue in the book of eli that explains the. If eli was actually blind then thats one of the crappiest shyamalanesque twist ive seen. He finds a small town ruled by a ruthless man, who attempts to take the book. In the bible, the high priest eli was blind, and some might say that there are several scenes which may indicate that in the. Whatever caused this apocalypse is undisclosed, but it becomes clear that religion was blamed and holy books the. Solara sees eli has a book, and he offers to share his food, saying grace before they eat. Eli has to feel the feet to see if there are boots on the skeleton. I watched the movie several times andnever realized that eli was blind. Taken inside, eli is revealed to be blind, and dictates the new king james version of the bible from memory to. Book of eli eli is not blind at least not in this scene youtube.
After carnegies blind mistress claudia brings eli food and water, carnegie orders her daughter solara to seduce eli, but he rebuffs her. Carnegie gets the book, which is the bible, and elis been blind all along. After watching the book of eli, i started to wonder if eli was actually blind the whole time. If you look at the movie, sometimes i actually bumped into stuff and they used it. The 10th day of iyar is the anniversary of the death of eli the high priest. The book of eli 2010 is both underappreciated and a.
Eli closes his eyes every time he reads the bible in order to more focus his sense of touch and cut off the visual stimuli. The book he carries with him is a brail bible which he literally guards with his life. If you know about the bible, there is an eli that was blind since the movie is semibiblical. The book of eli works, even if the preservation of christianity isnt high on your personal postapocalypse bucket list. This was particularly the case for me since i saw this movie on a plane, which had been edited the movie, not the.
Christianity and the book of eli believe it or not. Eli is staring her down for her reaction to his test. Sure he has a good sense of smell and hearing ability but at no point in the movie does it imply that he is blind. Book of eli eli is not blind at least not in this scene. He is able to find the pawn shop in the first place, even though hes never been there. But the book of elis screenwriter gary whitta attached to write an upcoming star wars entry, and a tried and true one of us type nerd builds a fairly defined world in which to tell elis story of a mission from god. The book of eli 2010 frequently asked questions imdb. He finds solace in a unique book which he carries on his person and guards closely, whilst surviving by hunting small animals and seeking goods in destroyed houses and vehicles to trade in. After looking around i saw that im not the only one who questions whether or not he is. Theres this whole issue, without giving it away, is he blind, is he not. If eli was blind through out the movie then the movie is of the same genre as godzilla just plain camp, because ive known quite a few blind people with heightened senses and washington didnt. There are many many clues as to elis character being blind throughout the entire movie.
Does this imply that he is blind and has been living completely by faith his entire life or is the punchline of the movie that he is the simply the last living man on earth who can read braille. Eli survives the gunshot and makes his way west with solaras help. Somehow eli has been walking in the right direction the whole time. The book of eli us message board political discussion. Eli, who was nearly blind, was sitting at the front gate to hear the returning soldiers return was unaware of the event until he asked about all the commotion in the city. In the movie the book of eli we discover at the end that the bible eli has been carrying the entire movie is written in braille. There is a reason why the movie is called book of eli and not book of whoever. Realizing eli is a literate man like himself, carnegie forces him to stay the night under guard. Hes just going from point a to point b, and plowing through obstacles. Somehow, he has even managed to win gun fights when his opponents were standing on top of buildings far away. He became high priest kohen godol after the death of pinehas, the son of elazar, ithamars older brother. In the movie the book of eli was eli blind the entire.
A man of few words and many brave and horrible actions is what eli is. Book of eli movie quotes meet your next favorite book. Eli has about thirty years worth of practice surviving the dangers of traveling alone in a postapocalyptic world but considering that hes blind the trope counts. If u consider, that this movie is based on the bible, yes he was blind, because eli the priest was a real person and was blind too 1. Eli bumps the car door with his bag to gauge exactly where it is. Furthermore, that book did not have nearly enough pages to be a printed bible, much less a bible printed in braille. The script was conceived by english screenwriter gary whitta and then subsequently rewritten by american screenwriter. Thank you lord for a warm bed to sleep on, thank you for the food we are about to eat, thank you for a roof over our heads on cold nights such as this, thank you for companionship in hard times like these, amen. He is able to find the pawn shop in the first place, even though he s never been there. He heard a voice in his head to carry the worlds last bible west, and. We are not told why eli succeeded to the high priesthood, instead of pinehass son. A soldier had returned through the back gate and given the news of the battle to the people.
And they find a pocket of civilization holed up in alcatrazan echo of the monasteries that outlived the dark ages. In the movie the book of eli, was the character played by. By every thing that is shown in the movie i simply cannot accept that eli was blind. The book of eli is a movie telling the story of a post apocalyptic world in which the main character morgan freeman is a blind man who has one of the last books in the world. If eli was blind, how did he know which direction was west. The event that, in the movie, caused a hole to be torn in the sky signifies an act of nature that could destroy the ozone layer exposing the earths surface to uvb and other radiation, an extinction level event. Eli tries to see if the woman is blind by testing her. The director is acutely aware that gary oldmans character is much more interesting than eli, and the focus of the film substantially shifts for the better to what he wants the. Eli has several conversations with people while looking right at them. Im not sure that would happen over the brief duration of the film, but maybe he wasnt fully blind in the film, but had learnt brail in the world before so as to better be able to read. In the movie the book of eli, was the character played by denzel. A postapocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across america in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind. Eli tells the guards that he has a copy of the bible.
Spoilers every clue in the book of eli that explains the ending. In the book of eli, when eli opens the zippo lighter, he hovers his. Establishing its storytelling rules clearly and well, the film simply is. Eli has been traveling for about thirty to thirty one years, during that time he has formed many survival skills most of which allow him to do things that would be near impossible for a man his age believed to be late forties to earlymid fifties. Unpopular opinion i know but the difference between the book. So unless the story was to imply that god was providing eli with a different book of the bible to memorize, its hard to imagine how eli was able to memorize the entire bible from that book he was carrying. You dont need to be completely blind to need to learn braille. In a violent postapocalyptic society, a drifter, eli, has been wandering westward across north america for the last thirty years. Was eli from the movie the book of eli major spoiler. Eli was a descendant of ithamar, the fourth and youngest son of aaron the high priest. Incase you havent seen it, heres the surprise ending of the book of eli. The book of eli sets itself up as an enjoyable mad max meets i am legend romp, but the disappointing nature of its central maguffin can you tell what it is yet. Son of a pastor, washington was so drawn to the spiritual aspects of the story, he also signed on as a producer.
The first time we see eli reading from the bible, the hughes brothers give us a subtle, playful hint of the characters blindness. In the postapocalyptic biblical thriller the book of eli, denzel washington plays a blind man who feels hes been called by god to carry the last remaining copy of the bible across the country. Eli, who talks at one juncture about how he walks by faith, not by sight, is blind. The book of eli starts out with 10 minutes of dialoguefree imagery depicting the type of postapocalyptic wasteland made familiar in recent months by the road and terminator salvation. He is played by actor denzel washington, who also portrayed lincoln rhyme, john creasy and robert mccall. Was eli from the book of eli fully blind or partially blind. The gospel according to the book of eli popmatters.
According to imdb faq, yes he was possibly partially blind. In the bible, eli grew gradually more blind, from partial sight up to the stage of his eyes were set so he could not see. Thirty years after a nuclear apocalypse, eli travels on foot toward the west coast of the former united states. Eli is partially blind and been memorizing a braille bible for the last 30 years, his word is safe. Book of eli is a wake up call for originality in both secular and christian movies. Eli is a wanderer, but the film does not center on his life. The book of eli, sometime in the future a lone warrior eli denzel washington is on a mission surrounding the presumed last remaining bible. With denzel washington, mila kunis, ray stevenson, gary oldman. Eli was blind before the war and after finding the bible and hearing gods voice he regained his sight until his task was completed finding a safe place for the bible this is why he did things a blind man would do and could read braille and also why is eyes were normal at the start of the film and clouded and the end. So were led to believe at the end that eli is blind. There are several examples throughout the film of him looking at things and people at the very beginning of the film he looks out and around to observe his environment, he aims with his gun, he is able to. Book of eli caps wasteland saga with a twist wired.
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