Fifteen years after its November 11, 2011 release in the United States, Tarsem Singh’s Immortals remains a fan favourite for its bold design and mythic action. It is a 2011 American epic fantasy action adventure film loosely based on the Greek myths of Theseus and the Minotaur, and the Titanomachy. These are the details you probably missed.
1. The pitch was “Caravaggio meets Fight Club”
Director Tarsem Singh described the film as an action film using Renaissance painting styles during development. He summed it up as “Basically, Caravaggio meets Fight Club. It’s a really hardcore action film done in Renaissance painting style.” He also said he was going for “Renaissance time with electricity.”
2. It carried two earlier titles
Before it became Immortals, the film was previously named Dawn of War and War of the Gods. The eventual title fronts an epic starring Henry Cavill, Stephen Dorff, Luke Evans, Isabel Lucas, John Hurt, Kellan Lutz, Freida Pinto, and Mickey Rourke.
3. It was shot in 2D and converted later
The film was initially intended to be filmed using 3D technology. Cost considerations during filming resulted in a pivot to a strategy of filming in 2D and converting after the fact. It was filmed using the Panavision Genesis digital camera.
4. Principal photography began in Montreal
Principal photography began in Montreal on April 5. The production incorporated some elements from classical Greek myths, true to its source material.
5. It ruled the North American box office
Immortals had a $1.4 million midnight showings and then grossed a total of $14.8 million on its opening day, topping the daily box office. It then finished the weekend of November 11–13, 2011 at #1 with $32.2 million, ranking as Relativity Media’s biggest opening weekend to date, against newcomers J. Edgar and Jack and Jill. 3D showings accounted for a substantial 66% of the weekend gross. The film’s audience was 60 percent male, 75 percent under the age of 35.
6. It found its crowd overseas
Outside North America, it earned $38 million overseas from 35 countries on its opening weekend. Its highest-grossing territories were Russia ($8.2 million), China ($5.7 million) and South Korea ($4.5 million). The film has earned $83,504,017 in the United States and Canada and $143,400,000 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $226,904,017.
7. It was a home-video #1
Immortals was released on DVD, Blu-ray Disc, and Blu-ray 3D on March 5, 2012 in the United Kingdom and on March 6, 2012 in the United States and Canada. In its first week of release, Universal Studios Home Entertainment sold more than 1.2 million units, making it the week’s #1 film in Home Entertainment. It sold 648,947 DVD units for a total of $11,116,462 and 926,964 Blu-ray Disc units for a total of $21,310,902 for the week ending March 11, 2012. An additional 100,000 3D units sold, totaling almost $40,000,000 in home entertainment sales in its first week of release in the United States.
8. Critics split, but fans still list it
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 50% based on 139 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10. Metacritic has a score of 46 out of 100 based on 23 critics, indicating “mixed or average” reviews. Roger Ebert gave it two stars out of four, writing that “Immortals is without doubt the best-looking awful movie you will ever see.” The Guardian, however, awarded it three stars out of five, describing it as a mythological story distinguished by Tarsem Singh’s visual style. The film also received several Saturn Award nominations, including Best Fantasy Film.
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Facts from Wikipedia: Immortals (2011 film), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Film images from TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.
