Product Description

From Mel Gibson, director of THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST and the Academy Award®-winning BRAVEHEART (Best Director, Best Picture, 1995) comes the thrilling historical epic APOCALYPTO. This intense, nonstop action-adventure transports you to an ancient South American civilization, for an experience unlike anything you’ve ever known. In the twilight of the mysterious Mayan culture, young Jaguar Paw is captured and taken to the great Mayan city where he faces a harrowing end. Driven by the power of his love for his wife and son, he makes an adrenaline-soaked, heart-racing escape to rescue them and ultimately save his way of life. Filled with unrelenting action and stunning cinematography, APOCALYPTO is an enthralling and unforgettable film experience.'

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3785 in DVD
• Brand: Disney
• Released on: 2007-05-22
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: Multilingual
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 139 minutes

Features

• All Movie Guide - As the foundation of the Mayan civilization begins to crumble, one man's previously idyllic existence is forever changed when he is chosen as a sacrifice needed to appease the gods in director Mel Gibson's mythic, end-times adventure. The Mayan kingdom is at the absolute height of opulence and power, but leaders are convinced that unless more temples are constructed and m

Amazon.com
Forget any off-screen impressions you may have of Mel Gibson, and experience Apocalypto as the mad, bloody runaway train that it is. The story is set in the pre-Columbian Maya population: one village is brutally overrun, its residents either slaughtered or abducted, by a ruling tribe that needs slaves and human sacrifices. We focus on the capable warrior Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood), although Gibson skillfully sketches a whole population of characters--many of whom don't survive the early reels. Most of the film is set in the dense jungle, but the middle section, in a grand Mayan city, is a dazzling triumph of design, costuming, and sheer decadent terror. The movie itself is a triumph of brutality, as Gibson lets loose his well-established fascination with bodily mortification in a litany of assaults including impalement, evisceration, snakebite, and bee stings. It's a dark, disgusted vision, but Gibson doesn't forget to apply some very canny moviemaking instincts to the violence--including the creation of a tremendous pair of villains (strikingly played by Raoul Trujillo and Rodolfo Palacias). The film is in a Maya dialect, subtitled in English, and shot on digital video (which occasionally betrays itself in some blurry quick pans). Amidst all the mayhem, nothing in the film is more devastating than a final wordless exchange of looks between captured villager Blunted (Jonathan Brewer) and his wife's mother (Maria Isabel Diaz), a superb change in tone from their early relationship. Yes, this is an obsessive, crazed movie, but Gibson knows what he's doing. --Robert Horton

Beyond Apocalypto

More films directed by Mel Gibson

Apocalypto soundtrack by James Horner

Customer Reviews

Gibson's Journey Into The Mayan Jungles Makes For An Exciting Action Epic
Even with all the controversy surrounding Mel Gibson last year (and doesn't it seem as if each new week brings another celebrity meltdown?), I still looked forward to seeing "Apocalypto." Why? If for no other reason--the subject matter, subtitles, and lack of star power made it a bold choice for a major studio release. Films of this nature generally go into limited distribution to develop an audience and critical word of mouth before expanding, if they ever do. But with Gibson at the helm, "Apocalypto" debuted with much fanfare and backing just in time to be considered for 2006's Academy Awards. For some reason, though, I still missed "Apocalypto" at the theaters. I have heard every description imaginable from those that have seen the film--from the "best movie ever" to "excessively violent and disturbing." And while I wouldn't go to either of those extremes, "Apocalypto" is certainly an accomplished adventure picture.

Set in ancient Mayan times, "Apocalypto" is essentially the harrowing journey of one man, a youth named Jaguar Paw (a convincing Rudy Youngblood). Living a simple and isolated existence, his tribe are very at home within the forest. One day, the unthinkable happens. They are attacked by another group with apparent intentions of enslaving whomever they don't kill. Youngblood's wife and son are stranded in an underground well, many others are murdered, and Youngblood is among a dozen or so who are rounded up and marched out in bondage. The subsequent journey leads to a fantastical temple sequence, where it becomes clear that the prisoners are not to become slaves--but sacrifices. The remainder of the film deals with how Youngblood can escape this situation. The temple scenes feature a cast of thousands, ritualistic and brutal slayings, and a mob mania that is terrifying and believable. Racing against the clock to save his wife, Youngblood must escape back through the jungle--where all he has to help him are his cunning and an almost spiritual connection to his surroundings. The action is practically nonstop, it's inventive, and it is beautifully staged. Much of "Apocalypto," therefore, is absolutely riveting and wildly entertaining.

For the purists who will debate the film's historical accuracy, I will neither deny or confirm the legitimacy of the events that transpire within "Apocalypto." While there do seem to be some liberties taken with the historical timeline (as evidenced by a surprise in the ending--which I enjoyed despite its implausibility), I really don't think that this film aspires to be a "historical document." Gibson has made an adventure story using a Mayan backdrop. The feel and look of his picture stay as valid as possible to the timeframe, however, I never interpreted this picture as a "true" story. Guess what? Fictional liberties are taken in every motion picture. Otherwise every motion picture would be a documentary--and even documentaries have an angle or slant which make them less than "true" in many cases. "Apocalypto," at heart, is an effective action picture that makes interesting use of its Mayan setting.

I guess "Apocalypto" is not for the squeamish--however, the violence depicted is by no means unusual by modern film standards. You can see much worse in today's "torture" cinema, those films that pass for horror with current audiences. I suppose what makes "Apocalypto" more vivid is that the violence is in a believable context. There are some beheadings and some hunting scenes, but the brutality is intrinsic to the story "Apocalypto" is telling. I don't believe serious minded filmgoers will be put off by seeing some savagery depicted in a film about ancient Mayan cultures--it's not as if this is a Merchant/Ivory production with tea parties and witty banter.

I do recommend "Apocalypto." Beautifully filmed, the technical merits of the film are beyond reproach. The cinematography, score, and editing all enhance this exciting tale. I imagine these elements really shone bright for those who saw this on the big screen. A great action picture that is for adults--check it out. KGHarris, 03/07.

FINALLY SOMETHING ORIGINAL !
A welcome change of pace for us who feel Hollywood keeps making the same picture over and over again. The first part of this film is the most unconventional but also hard to endure as only bad things seem to happen to the characters but once Act II arrives and the chase begins, grab on !. I can't remmember the last time a film had my stomach in knotts like this one.
Some people here in Mexico have complained about the film's historical accuracy since by the time the Spanish arrived in America, the Mayan civilization had already been taken over by other groups. In any case, Hollywood films are not the best way to learn about history.
When Braveheart came out over 10 years ago I remmember a friend telling me: "who would have thought Mel Gibson was a real director", 2 films later he keeps surprising me with his directing skills. It's too bad the public has let themselves be convinced by the media that he's the most evil person to ever come out of Hollywood which is absurd. I guess they feel the more they discredit him the more they discredit "The Passion of the Christ".
Great work Mel !

Watch It!!!
I am sick and tired of hearing people bag on this film (including professional film critics) or stating that they refuse to even go see it simply because "they don't like Mel Gibson." If I boycotted films that had actors in them that I didn't like as people then I'd never watch another film. Think what you will of Mel Gibson, the fact remains that he is an amazing filmmaker, and Apocalypto is a grand, epic entertainment that is in every way on par with his last great achievement (and no it's not The Passion of the Christ, but Braveheart). Aside from the needlessly bizarre scenes suggesting that prophecy, premonitions, and omens are real and accurate, aside from some laughably remote coincidences that continuously benefit the film's protagonist, Apocalypto emerges as one of the greatest action/adventure/survival films ever produced. In fact I even feel comfortable making one those ridiculously sweeping complements that critics are so fond of: Apocalypto is the absolute most relentless American action film since William Friedkin's Sorcerer, which, for those who do not know, was made in the 70s. Once the chaos starts it never lets up; it only mounts and escalates, piling tension upon tension as the tale gets more and more harrowing. The fight scenes are brutal and utterly realistic, easily the most convincing I've seen since Jones and Del Toro duked it out in The Hunted (which they really did by the way). Gibson follows Eastwood's advice: he takes a devastatingly simple story and premise, he films it in a simple, straightforward manner, lets the camera actually capture what we are to see, and plays it for all it's worth. This has got to be one of the first grand-scale action films since the 90s that wasn't totally ruined by that DISEASE of American cinema called THE SHAKY CAMERA SYNDROME, which is usually accompanied by FAST SHUTTER-ITIS. (Epidemiologists have traced this disease's origin to Michael Bay's The Rock, which ruined action films for years to come.) Thank you, Gibson, for not falling prey to this popular yet incompetent style of filmmaking (eh-hem, listen up Ridley Scott, Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven were fine films, but I couldn't see a darn thing). By the way, the quote that starts the film is apt and relevant even today in America, and I'm somewhat sure that is part of Gibson's point. Great civilizations can really only be destroyed by divisiveness and infighting. Gibson unabashedly shows us a realistic depiction of how bloody history actually is, as well as the fact that it is simply not the case that Natives were living in tranquility until Europeans came and ruined everything. They were engaged in terrible wars, and genocide was common among Native Americans before the Europeans ever came. If the nation depicted in Apocalypto had been an organized civilization not plundered by divisiveness, they could have easily wiped out the few conquistadors that came.