Once Were Warriors

1994
R
1h 42m

IMDb RATING

7.9/10

38K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer2:08

A family descended from Maori warriors is bedeviled by a violent father and the societal problems of being treated as outcasts.A family descended from Maori warriors is bedeviled by a violent father and the societal problems of being treated as outcasts.A family descended from Maori warriors is bedeviled by a violent father and the societal problems of being treated as outcasts.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.9/10

38K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

4,821

1,015

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 22 wins & 7 nominations total

Videos2

Trailer 2:08

Once Were Warriors

Clip 4:19

The Rise of Temuera Morrison

Clip 4:19

The Rise of Temuera Morrison

Photos125

+ 118

More like this

6.3

What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?

Once We Were Warriors

7.1

7.1

7.5

7.3

7.4

6.9

7.4

6.9

7.3

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
Temuera Morrison would get challenged to fight all the time by local thugs after seeing him play Jake Heke.

Goofs
When Beth is being beaten by Jake at the start of the film she is thrown into a mirror which shatters completely. Later when the children are cleaning up the mess the mirror is back on the wall with only a few cracks.

Quotes
Beth Heke: Our people once were warriors. But unlike you, Jake, they were people with mana, pride; people with spirit. If my spirit can survive living with you for eighteen years, then I can survive anything.

Crazy credits
Most of the opening credits are either split in half, scattered in different areas of the screen, abnormally shaped or used in small white print. Some are even mixed.

Connections
Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Exotica/Heavyweights/The Wild Bunch/Once Were Warriors (1995)

Soundtracks
Once Were Warriors (The Awakening)
Performed by Tama Renata

User reviews332

Review

Featured review

A True Pot of Emotions

This movie is based on a modern day New Zealand family, dealing with near poverty and violence from all sides, including the often inebriated father.

The acting in this movie was just plain amazing. I was hooked from beginning to end, entranced with the wide range of feelings and emotions the movie evoked in me.

You will cry, laugh, sing, and rage right along with the characters, and you will find it hard not to restart the movie just to watch it again.

This is just one of the few movies that stayed with me all these years, since first seeing it back in 1995. I will never forget this movie, and if you watch it, I can guarantee that neither will you.