Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto" Brings the Past Violent Mayan Life into Our Consciousness
Apocalypto 4 Stars (Excellent)
Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto" shows the raw, violent face of the advanced Mayan civilization in its decline, with its rulers insisting that the key to continued prosperity is to build more temples and offer more human sacrifices to their Gods.
The result is the story of innocent Mayans being viciously attacked and their communal way of life being destroyed to meet an insane desire. Killing your own has never been a good idea historically and is perhaps a lesson we need to take more seriously today.
The focal point of this film is Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood) and his family. He is one of many sons of Flint Sky (Morris Birdyellowhead), the leader of a small, isolated Mayan community in the tropical jungle of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula just before the arrival of the Spanish in the New World. Flint Sky and his progeny wish only to be left alone to pursue their destiny in a peaceful environment.
Enter Zero Wolf (Raoul Trujillo) and his raiding party looking for victims to sacrifice to the Gods. Jaguar Paw and pregnant wife Seven (Dalia Hernandez) and their son Turtles Run (Carlos Emilio Baez) escape the attack. Jaguar Paw quickly finds a hiding place to keep his family safe, and then he returns to help fight off the attackers.
Many in his village are killed and many more are captured. This story is about how the captured Jaguar Paw can possibly survive the enforced march to an untimely death and then return to save his family. In the end, he must choose to greet the oncoming Spanish as their ships roll into the harbor, or retreat to the jungle and continue to live a hidden life.
I promise you that when you see this film you will be glued to the edge of your seat. Apocalypto will hold your interest like very few films can.
Some historians were falling all over themselves to criticize inaccuracies in the film, I suspect mainly to get some badly needed publicity which they obviously could not do on their own. Gibson is a film producer in Apocalypto, not an historian.
Good grief, if I want exact history, I will read history books. Gibson brings history to life and does what no one else in Hollywood dares or cares to do.
Gibson's film is an excellent presentation of how we would like life not to be, and also a reminder that no matter how smart we think we are we can sow the seeds of our own destruction right here in the greatest nation Earth has ever hosted.
Apocalypto is produced by Mel Gibson, Farhad Safinia and Bruce Davey, and written by Gibson and Safinia. It is worth the price of two tickets to see. I highly recommend it for adults. It is a not-so-subtle reminder of what civilization was and could be again.
The fate of the Mayan civilization remains a mystery even today. We know that around 300 BC the Mayan calendar was invented in the Yucatan and was more exact than older calendars. We know the oldest Mayan temples in Central America were built around AD 200.
We know that the Classic period of Mayan civilization occurred between AD 250 to 900 with the development of hieroglyphic writing and advances in art, architecture and science. We know the Post-Classical period of Mayan civilization began in AD 900 and extended to 1519.
The Mayan civilization was at its apex in the early 8th Century before eventually falling into decline and ultimately suffering abandonment. We do not know why the civilization collapsed but can only speculate that its fall was from within, sowing the seeds of its own destruction.
Apocalypto picked up nominations for Academy Awards in Makeup, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing.
I thought the cinematography was spectacular, the close up shots of Jaguar Paw running for his very life, the look of fear in the faces of those innocents who were violently executed by their attackers, and the jungle with its teeming flora and fauna.
Cinematographer Dean Semler used a Spydercam to shoot from atop the 170-foot waterfall when Jaguar Paw jumps to escape Zero Wolf and his killer squad. Semler filmed Apocalypto digitally, using the high-definition Panavision Genesis camera. Semler is an artist disguised as a cinematographer.
The Central Ohio and Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Associations saw what I did in giving Apocalypto their Best Cinematography Awards.
Apocalypto should have garnered more awards, but Mel Gibson's unfortunate drinking habit and run-in with a law enforcement officer did not endear him to the Hollywood community.
Gibson insisted on making the main sets based on actual buildings rather than computer-generated images. Three cheers for Gibson as I believe authenticity counts. I am so sick and tried of seeing stupid kung fu films showing actors jumping 150 feet straight up into the air and then fighting on a twig. I would like to see these wannabe clowns fighting Bruce Lee on his best day.
Was Apocalypto an epic? Absolutely. There was a main cast of 39 along with 700 extras.
Ever wonder what a support cast is to a film? For Apocalypto there were 179 people in the Makeup Department, 67 in the Art Department, 50 in Sound, 36 in Special Effects, 153 in Visual Effects, 33 in Stunts, 80 in Camera and Electrical, 8 in Casting, 22 in Costume and Wardrobe, 18 in Editorial, 62 in Transportation and 100 more additional crew. Total support: 800+. Cost of the film: $40 million. Total box office and rental revenue figures: $72 million and counting.
Many of the speaking roles were by Mayan people who had never acted. The sick child who curses the hunting party as they lead the captives on a forced march to their death was played by a 7-year-old girl who lived in a dirt-floored hut in a village not unlike Jaguar Paw's.
This was a haunting scene as the girl who was affected with the plague and untouchable upbraids the hunting party by saying "You fear me? So you should. All you who are vile. Would you like to know how you will die? The scared time is near. Beware the blackness of the day. Beware the man who brings the jaguar.
"Behold him reborn from mud and earth. For the one he takes you to will cancel the sky, and scratch out the earth. Scratch you out. And end your world. He's with us now. Day will be like night. And the man jaguar will lead you to your end."
Herein we learn how Jaguar Paw avoids being beheaded only to run the gauntlet of spears and arrows in his escape back into the jungle. This is a brutal and graphic film with beheadings like sound bites.
There are too many gems in this film to list here. Suffice to say a village elder uses animals to tell a story about how man will never be satisfied despite using the Earth and everything in it for his own gain. You will cringe when Jaguar Paw's wife and young son face downing as she falls and must deliver her newborn facing certain death. In the end Jaguar Paw uses his wit and wisdom to claim the forest as his own.
Get out and see Apocalypto. This is a film nearly everyone could benefit from seeing before they pass from this Earth. It will remind you of how fragile and perilous our life is.
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Ed Bagley is the Author of Ed Bagley's Blog which he Publishes with Original Articles on Current and Past Events, including Analysis and Commentary on Lessons in Life, Movies, Sports, Internet Marketing, Jobs and Careers that are intended to Delight, Inform, Educate and Motivate Readers. Visit Ed at . . .Mission Impossible Tv Series
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Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto" shows the raw, violent face of the advanced Mayan civilization in its decline, with its rulers insisting that the key to continued prosperity is to build more temples and offer more human sacrifices to their Gods.
The result is the story of innocent Mayans being viciously attacked and their communal way of life being destroyed to meet an insane desire. Killing your own has never been a good idea historically and is perhaps a lesson we need to take more seriously today.
The focal point of this film is Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood) and his family. He is one of many sons of Flint Sky (Morris Birdyellowhead), the leader of a small, isolated Mayan community in the tropical jungle of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula just before the arrival of the Spanish in the New World. Flint Sky and his progeny wish only to be left alone to pursue their destiny in a peaceful environment.
Enter Zero Wolf (Raoul Trujillo) and his raiding party looking for victims to sacrifice to the Gods. Jaguar Paw and pregnant wife Seven (Dalia Hernandez) and their son Turtles Run (Carlos Emilio Baez) escape the attack. Jaguar Paw quickly finds a hiding place to keep his family safe, and then he returns to help fight off the attackers.
Many in his village are killed and many more are captured. This story is about how the captured Jaguar Paw can possibly survive the enforced march to an untimely death and then return to save his family. In the end, he must choose to greet the oncoming Spanish as their ships roll into the harbor, or retreat to the jungle and continue to live a hidden life.
I promise you that when you see this film you will be glued to the edge of your seat. Apocalypto will hold your interest like very few films can.
Some historians were falling all over themselves to criticize inaccuracies in the film, I suspect mainly to get some badly needed publicity which they obviously could not do on their own. Gibson is a film producer in Apocalypto, not an historian.
Good grief, if I want exact history, I will read history books. Gibson brings history to life and does what no one else in Hollywood dares or cares to do.
Gibson's film is an excellent presentation of how we would like life not to be, and also a reminder that no matter how smart we think we are we can sow the seeds of our own destruction right here in the greatest nation Earth has ever hosted.
Apocalypto is produced by Mel Gibson, Farhad Safinia and Bruce Davey, and written by Gibson and Safinia. It is worth the price of two tickets to see. I highly recommend it for adults. It is a not-so-subtle reminder of what civilization was and could be again.
The fate of the Mayan civilization remains a mystery even today. We know that around 300 BC the Mayan calendar was invented in the Yucatan and was more exact than older calendars. We know the oldest Mayan temples in Central America were built around AD 200.
We know that the Classic period of Mayan civilization occurred between AD 250 to 900 with the development of hieroglyphic writing and advances in art, architecture and science. We know the Post-Classical period of Mayan civilization began in AD 900 and extended to 1519.
The Mayan civilization was at its apex in the early 8th Century before eventually falling into decline and ultimately suffering abandonment. We do not know why the civilization collapsed but can only speculate that its fall was from within, sowing the seeds of its own destruction.
Apocalypto picked up nominations for Academy Awards in Makeup, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing.
I thought the cinematography was spectacular, the close up shots of Jaguar Paw running for his very life, the look of fear in the faces of those innocents who were violently executed by their attackers, and the jungle with its teeming flora and fauna.
Cinematographer Dean Semler used a Spydercam to shoot from atop the 170-foot waterfall when Jaguar Paw jumps to escape Zero Wolf and his killer squad. Semler filmed Apocalypto digitally, using the high-definition Panavision Genesis camera. Semler is an artist disguised as a cinematographer.
The Central Ohio and Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Associations saw what I did in giving Apocalypto their Best Cinematography Awards.
Apocalypto should have garnered more awards, but Mel Gibson's unfortunate drinking habit and run-in with a law enforcement officer did not endear him to the Hollywood community.
Gibson insisted on making the main sets based on actual buildings rather than computer-generated images. Three cheers for Gibson as I believe authenticity counts. I am so sick and tried of seeing stupid kung fu films showing actors jumping 150 feet straight up into the air and then fighting on a twig. I would like to see these wannabe clowns fighting Bruce Lee on his best day.
Was Apocalypto an epic? Absolutely. There was a main cast of 39 along with 700 extras.
Ever wonder what a support cast is to a film? For Apocalypto there were 179 people in the Makeup Department, 67 in the Art Department, 50 in Sound, 36 in Special Effects, 153 in Visual Effects, 33 in Stunts, 80 in Camera and Electrical, 8 in Casting, 22 in Costume and Wardrobe, 18 in Editorial, 62 in Transportation and 100 more additional crew. Total support: 800+. Cost of the film: $40 million. Total box office and rental revenue figures: $72 million and counting.
Many of the speaking roles were by Mayan people who had never acted. The sick child who curses the hunting party as they lead the captives on a forced march to their death was played by a 7-year-old girl who lived in a dirt-floored hut in a village not unlike Jaguar Paw's.
This was a haunting scene as the girl who was affected with the plague and untouchable upbraids the hunting party by saying "You fear me? So you should. All you who are vile. Would you like to know how you will die? The scared time is near. Beware the blackness of the day. Beware the man who brings the jaguar.
"Behold him reborn from mud and earth. For the one he takes you to will cancel the sky, and scratch out the earth. Scratch you out. And end your world. He's with us now. Day will be like night. And the man jaguar will lead you to your end."
Herein we learn how Jaguar Paw avoids being beheaded only to run the gauntlet of spears and arrows in his escape back into the jungle. This is a brutal and graphic film with beheadings like sound bites.
There are too many gems in this film to list here. Suffice to say a village elder uses animals to tell a story about how man will never be satisfied despite using the Earth and everything in it for his own gain. You will cringe when Jaguar Paw's wife and young son face downing as she falls and must deliver her newborn facing certain death. In the end Jaguar Paw uses his wit and wisdom to claim the forest as his own.
Get out and see Apocalypto. This is a film nearly everyone could benefit from seeing before they pass from this Earth. It will remind you of how fragile and perilous our life is.
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Ed Bagley is the Author of Ed Bagley's Blog which he Publishes with Original Articles on Current and Past Events, including Analysis and Commentary on Lessons in Life, Movies, Sports, Internet Marketing, Jobs and Careers that are intended to Delight, Inform, Educate and Motivate Readers. Visit Ed at . . .Mission Impossible Tv Series
Chaise Electrique
2 Ddr Play Station System
Syracuse Orangemen Basketball
Florida Getaway Romantic Vacation
12 Chest Compartment Tea Wooden
Tamper Evident Tape
Lou Fusz Soccer Club
Gaming Computer Cases
Clean Shopper
Waiting For Santa
Kt42
Leslies Pool
Commercial Real Estate For Sale Minnesota
Td Bank Exchange Rate
X1 Mini Bike
Recipe For Chocolate Chip Cookies
Admiral Rickover
Living Senior Valley West
Diaper Bag Purse
Bob Hair Inverted Picture Style
2008 300 Car Chrysler
White Farm Tractor Part
Duty Free Outlet Shopping
Cell Phone Upgrade
A Consumer Dictionary Of Cosmetic Ingredient
Antique Rembrandt Lamp
Quiz Universitari
New Mexico Mesothelioma Attorney
Houses Sale Arizona
Bag Tote Wheels
Discount Flight To Orlando Florida
1 Dog Hot Job Part
Christ Hospital Cincinnati
Unopened Baseball Cards
Lodi Dentistry
Buy Aluminum
All Inclusive Time Share Rental
Aspire Credit Card Company
Bar Cafe Restaurant
Mtv Unplugged Shakira
Cheap Last Minute One Way Airfare
Psychic Blackmail And Time Travel
Color In Ipod Nano
Prescription Drug Definition
1 Cart Ecommerce Shopping Solution
Red Bull Vending
World Biggest Book Store Toronto Canada
Hawaii Accident Lawyer
Steel Hockey Goal
Glasses Oakley Sun Titanium
Care Hair Louisville Product
Super Bowl In 2008
06 2005 Hockey League National Nhl Official Official Rule Rule
1 Astrology Encyclopedia Medical Part
Famous People In American History
Healthy Breakfast Idea For Kid
Summer Holiday Jobs
Las Massage Therapist Vegas
Ruby Gold Dangle Earrings
Myanmar Actress
06 Costume Halloween Party
Alcohol Rehab Atlanta
Belgian Chocolate Leonidas
Kauai Coast Resort At The Beach Boy
Football Boot Online
Crystal Mountain Ski Report
Real Estate Condominium Conversion Companies
Arnette Glasses Repair Sun
Celtic Unity Candles
Acne Common Cure Household Remedy
Vegetarian Low Fat Diet
Kathleen Jones
Psychic Readings Psychic Tarot
Portable Cassette Cd Radio
Card Thank Wedding Words
Chanel Diamond Earring Logo
Oriental Massage In Md
Circit City
Gospel Hidden Jesus Saying Thomas
Fish Jelly Lion Mane
Keystone Rims
10 Year
New York City Sports Club
0n Cruise Group Pacific Wedding
How To Make Wire Earring Hoops
Juan Ramon Jimenez
Heelys Shoes Store
Australian Chat Free Site
Release Diet Supplement
Foreclosures Canada
Uk Airline Industry
Cheap Verizon Camera Phone
2008 Brownback President Win
Directory Of Hotel Resort
Antares Restaurant Dallas Texas
Arts Cambodia Entertainment
Grand Am Car
Die Cast Models
Boy Diamond Earring
Adidas Perfume For Woman
Free Download Window Xp Screensaver
Alcohol Drug Drug Rehab
Kt88
0wr 35mm Camera Manual Pentax
Beauty Tip For Teen Girl
Course Golf Management Northbrook
Disney Resales Share Time
Solar Pool Cover
03 Agency Christian Dating
Kt113
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