The Hunger Games

2012
PG-13
2h 22m

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

394

Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games (2012)

The Hunger Games is coming to Blu-ray, DVD, On Demand, and Digital Download on 8/18/12.

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Dystopian Sci-Fi Teen Adventure Action Adventure Sci-Fi Thriller

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

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

394

See production info at IMDbPro

Won 1 BAFTA Award
- 34 wins & 49 nominations total

Trivia
There was a swear jar on the set. Co-writer and director Gary Ross said half of it was contributed by Jennifer Lawrence.

Goofs
(at around 16 mins) After Katniss volunteers for Prim, it shows the crowd putting three fingers over their lips and kissing it as a sign of respect. You can clearly see a man in the crowd wearing black with a camera. This is often mistaken as a goof but remember that the 'Reaping' is being televised across Panem.

Quotes
Caesar Flickerman: So, Peeta, tell me, is there a special girl back home?
Peeta Mellark: No. No, not really.
Caesar Flickerman: No? I don't believe it for a second. Look at that face. Handsome man like you. Peeta... tell me.
Peeta Mellark: Well, there, uh... there is this one girl that I've had a crush on forever.
Caesar Flickerman: Ah.
Peeta Mellark: But I don't think she actually recognized me until the Reaping.
Caesar Flickerman: Well, I'll tell you what, Peeta. You go out there, and you win this thing, and when you get home, she'll have to go out with you. Right, folks?
Peeta Mellark: Thanks, but I, uh, I don't think winning's gonna help me at all.
Caesar Flickerman: And why not?
Peeta Mellark: Because she came here with me.

Crazy credits
The film opens with a worded passage about the history of the Hunger Games. In the last section, all of the text fades away except for the film's title.

Alternate versions
A rough cut of the film was submitted to the BBFC in the UK for an advisory screening, a process used by filmmakers to see how likely a film will obtain a certain rating. The BBFC explained a 12A rating would be likely if the violence was toned down. Four scenes were changes, removing bloody violence, threat and a scene of injury. These included the use of alternate footage and the digital removal of blood. When the finished film was submitted to the BBFC for a formal classification, the BBFC stated that more cuts would be needed in order to secure the 12A. Blood splashes were digitally removed from both impacts to bodies and blood on blades of weapons, achieved through the darkening of certain shots and by digitally erasing blood from the image. The BBFC then gave the film a 12A rating for cinema release. This pre-cut version was released on DVD in the UK with a 12 rating. However, the US PG-13 version was submitted to the BBFC for the UK Blu-ray release, which was classified '15' uncut.

Connections
Featured in Side by Side (2012)

Soundtracks
Deep in the Meadow
(Lullaby)
Lyrics by Suzanne Collins
Music by T Bone Burnett and Simone Burnette
Performed by Jennifer Lawrence and Willow Shields

User reviews2.2K

Review

Featured review

10/10

Perspective from a VERY senior citizen

This is not so much a review, everything has already been said in the other postings, but rather my experience with this movie and book.

OK, look, I'm probably old enough to be the grandfather of most of the people submitting reviews to this movie. I am not into the teen age drivel that seems to be everywhere you look these days but .....

I first heard about the story when the book came out. It seemed you couldn't turn around without hearing it being discussed everywhere. The enormous hype made me mildly curious, but not so curious that I wanted to read the book. Fast forward several years: the book had been out, the movie hade been out, the DVD had been out and only then did I accidentally stumble across the DVD at the library. I could check it out for free and if I didn't like it I could turn it off after ten minutes ... so, why not?

I immediately found myself captivated by the beautiful cinematography and background theme and despite the over-the-top and ridiculous costumes and makeup of the people in The Capitol I decided to continue watching. I was drawn deeper and deeper into the story and the characters and after about a fourth of the way through I knew I was hooked. The acting, starting with Jennifer Lawrence, was exceptionally good. I have to go through about 25 movies before I find one that I can say I absolutely loved ... this was a 25er.

To finish my story: unbelievably, when I returned the DVD to the library, on a table in the lobby of the library where they sold used books cheaply, I found a mint condition copy of the book (the big paperback format) for fifty cents. I grabbed it. I began reading the book when I got home and couldn't put it down even though I already knew the story. Collins' writing style was as captivating as her story and the very few differences between the movie and the book were not worth mentioning. Actually, I thought the movie version of the ending was better (just couldn't imagine Rue as a werewolf).

I now own, and have seen and read, all of the books and movies of the franchise and consider them among some of the best entertainment of my life. SO it seems the old adage is wrong because you really CAN teach an old dog new tricks. Other young adult movies came out after 'The Hunger Games' which tried to capitalize on the same type of theme and they, by comparison, have failed miserably in my estimation.