Paramount Pictures has released the first trailer for director Darren Aronofsky’s Biblical epic Noah, and it looks exactly like a Darren Aronofsky version of the Great Flood story.  The visuals here are quite stunning, and the production's decision to shoot in Iceland looks to be more than warranted.  How refreshing it is to see a film with real backgrounds and landscapes as opposed to CG-created everything (ahem Maleficent).  What I'm most excited about, though, is the human element, as Aronofsky has a knack for telling wonderfully intimate stories that are extremely character-focused.  Combined with the expansive visuals of the Great Flood, this has the makings to be quite the event film.  Whatever quarrels are going on about the current edit of the feature, I sincerely hope Aronofsky's signature style isn't lost in the final cut.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film stars Russell Crowe, Emma Watson, Jennifer Connelly, Logan Lerman, Ray Winstone, Douglas Booth, Kevin Durand, Martin Csokas, Mark Margolis, and Anthony Hopkins.  Noah opens on March 28, 2014. [Update: Paramount has also released an entirely different international trailer, which is also included after the jump.]

Click over to Apple to watch in HD.

Here’s the official logline for Noah:

Academy Award® winner Russell Crowe stars as Noah, a man chosen by God for a great task before an apocalyptic flood destroys the world.