From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anaconda
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Luis Llosa
Produced by	Andy Fickman Verna Harrah Carole Little Beau Marks Leonard Rabinowitz Susan Ruskin
Written by	Hans Bauer Jim Cash Jack Epps Jr.
Starring	Jennifer Lopez Ice Cube Jon Voight
Music by	Ice Cube Randy Edelman
Cinematography	Bill Butler
Editing by	Michael R. Miller
Distributed by	Sony Pictures
Release date(s)	April 11, 1997
Running time	89 minutes
Language	English
Followed by	Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Anaconda (1997) is a horror film. It was followed by the sequel Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid.

The plot centered on a film crew for National Geographic who are kidnapped by a hunter who is going after the world's largest anaconda, which is discovered in the remote jungle. Though a modest box office hit, the film was critically panned.

The movie contains many errors about the behavior of the anaconda, including its speed (anacondas are big, but slow, especially on land, they are much slower than a running man), reproductive habits, and disgorging freshly-caught prey simply to kill and eat again. In fact, most snakes only do this after being frightened or startled and feel the need to get away quickly. In addition, one scene of the movie wrongly portrayed new-born anacondas as less than 12 inches long when in reality, they are two feet long when born, and quite capable of swimming away from danger rather than being killed (Sarone walks away with some babies to take them to their 'mama' in the film, but are seen later in an abandoned house Sarone used for his trap) . The film is correct, however, in that anacondas continue to grow until they die.

Shooting a documentary about a long-lost Indian tribe on the Amazon River, director Terri Flores (Lopez) and members of her crew, including cameraman Danny Rich (Ice Cube) and Professor Steven Cale (Stoltz), come across stranded snake hunter Paul Sarone (Voight) and help him, believing he knows how to find the tribe they're searching for, but Sarone acts strangely and the crew suspect something. When Cale is bitten by a poisonous wasp which entered his mouth (leaving him unconscious for nearly the rest of the film), Sarone takes command of the boat...and the crew. They are then forced to help him achieve his true objective; hunting down and capturing a record-breaking Green Anaconda he had been tracking. During the process, several members of the crew are killed before the snake itself is shot dead and Sarone incapacitated by the newly awakened Cane. Later on, Terri and Danny, two of the surviving members of the crew, are captured when Sarone catches up to them. He dumps a bucket of animal blood on them and then uses them as bait in an attempt to capture a second, larger Anaconda. The anaconda, Terri and Danny are caught in a net by Sarone, but escape when the snake breaks free. The survivors cut their bonds and break free as Sarone himself is killed by his quarry. The snake becomes trapped in the smoke stack, which Danny ignites and it seems to have died. As Terri and Danny recuperate on a nearby dock and the snake appears one final time. Danny beats the anaconda with an axe until it is finally slain. Afterwards, the survivors of the expedition reunite on the ship, and as they float down the river, accidentally locate the natives they were originally searching for. They realize Sarone was right and begin filming their documentary as the movie ends.

• Anaconda at the Internet Movie Database