FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: Apocalypto [DVD] [2006]

Apocalypto [DVD] [2006]
enlarge	Director: Mel Gibson Actors: Dalia Hernandez, Mayra Serbulo, Raoul Trujillo, Rudy Youngblood Studio: Icon Home Entertainment Category: DVD List Price: ~~£19.99~~ Buy New: £2.78 as of 21/11/2009 07:26 GMT details You Save: £17.21 (86%) New (27) Used (40) Collectible (3) from £0.99 Seller: direct_offers_uk Rating: 107 reviews Sales Rank: 3411 Format: PAL Language: English (Subtitled) Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over Region: 2 Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 132 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.7 EAN: 5051429101118 ASIN: B000GNOKQG Theatrical Release Date: 2006 Release Date: June 11, 2007 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Editorial Reviews: Amazon.co.uk Reviews Forget any off-screen impressions you may have of Mel Gibson, and experience IApocalypto/I 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. I--Robert Horton/I

Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 107 1 2 3 4 5 6 ...22 Next » Jaguar December 13, 2006 MICHAEL ACUNA (Southern California United States) 15 out of 19 found this review helpful Fascinating, Brutally violent at times, historically plausible (no one knows exactly what happened to the Mayans or to their civilization...hence the mystery that has surrounded them for centuries) yet at times profoundly touching and personal, Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto" is, after all is said and done, after all is shown on the screen, a story about one man, Jaguar Paw (a terrific Rudy Youngblood) and his family (wife Seven played by Dalia Hernandez, his son and his father). As "Braveheart" was basically about William Wallace, so Director Gibson smartly uses one character as a repository of all his thematic material thereby focusing not diffusing our attention on something upon which we cannot relate (though, to be truthful and based on Gibson's recent public outburst, you can't help wondering what the subtext here is...i.e. how this relates to our current political and religious situation): i.e. in this case the last days of a crumbling Mayan civilization which, out of desperation has put all its hopes in basically witch doctors who attempt to appeal to the "Gods" via human sacrifice. br /Jaguar Paw, as one of the many captured by the ruling tribe, is the center of our attention thereby making his plight personal. JP as portrayed by Rudy Youngblood is strong, handsome, brave, intelligent, a loving husband, son and parent. When he is captured and sent to be sacrificed, degraded by his captors, even then his innate goodness and bravery shine through. br /The Centerpiece of "Apocalypto" is the Temple scene at which the High Priest (a disgustingly smug Fernando Hernandez) spills the blood and removes the entrails of several men (the captured women are sold off like cattle) all in service of the "Gods." br /Gibson films this scene in what can only be called a frightening, crazy, frantic manner: the beheadings, the Royal family smirking, the thousands of citizens screaming for blood, the heads rolling down from the upper regions of the temple: the camera swirling all around from the frightened faces of the captives soon to be killed to the strange, almost immobile, because of face markings and headgear, grin of the King (a very weird looking Rafael Velez). The scene becomes almost unbearable because of the intensity with which it is staged and filmed...then Gibson pulls away. br /To me all that is important about Gibson as a director is that he makes good movies. And "Apocalypto," though not up to the level of his "Passion of The Christ" is a very good movie. It's furiously paced, it's beautiful to watch, the acting is first rate and it is infused with the sounds and vistas of an almost mystical and very much mysterious time and place. A place and a time that Gibson brings alive by way of his magic. br / THANK YOU MR GIBSON ! September 10, 2007 G. Kyriacou (UK) 11 out of 14 found this review helpful Thank you Mel Gibson for this absolutely amazingly brilliant film. I loved every second of it from start to finish. It was visually stunning, and very emotional. Superbly directed. You need no words in this film, even though there are subtitles, you do not need them, as this is a film where you heart and soul will follow the story with no problem. A real thought provoking film that delivers history, and the power of human survival. br / br /I cannot find one fault with this film. It is a must see film, and definately on my top 10 films of all time. We borrowed the film, but I HAVE to buy it. br / br /WELL DONE MEL THANK YOU FOR THE AMAZING JOURNEY THIS FILM TOOK ME ON. br / br / Well Worth Watching November 30, 2007 Laura Knight-Jadczyk (France) 12 out of 16 found this review helpful I had my doubts about seeing this movie because I had heard it was so bloody and violent, but after watching it, I am glad I did. Many other reviewers have described the movie, so I won't bore you with that, I'll just offer some general impressions. br / br /The opening scenes are designed, I think, to engage the sympathy of the viewer for the forest tribe. While it might be difficult for many people to feel sympathy for pre-Colombian natives who are violent and even savage, I think Gibson did a good job on this part. We accompany the men on a hunt, see that they engage in typical "male bonding" behavior, see that they have mother-in-law problems, love and cherish their children, and so on. br / br /More than that, during the hunting scene, we see something else: a warning given that was ignored, shoved under the rug. Had that warning of fear been heeded, preparations made to resist the impending terror, there might have been less destruction. That's a good object lesson for us even today. br / br /The scenes of the Mayan city were especially helpful to me. I have been to Mexico and have studied Mayan ruins first hand. They left me feeling very disturbed; I could NOT imagine what kind of culture would create such savage and even ugly art. I don't mean ugly in the sense that it was badly done, not that at all. But the "soul" revealed in Mayan art is truly horrifying. br / br /Mel Gibson gave this art a background for me that finally helped me to make sense of it. br / br /I noticed something else: all the savagery, body pierciings, horrible and ugly hairdos of the women, and the general behavior of the culture reminded me of U.S. society over the past 10 years or so. I know that seems a bit over-the-top, but I have never been able to understand why attractive people would go so far out of their way to make themselves ugly with hair that looks like its been cut with a dull lawnmower, body piercings, wearing clothes that look like slave gear or rejects from a concentration camp, and so on. It's just bizarre. (And I won't even go into what passes as art these days, much less music!) br / br /When you take those things in the context of what has happened to the U.S. since 9-11, and you compare it to the society depicted in this movie, there are unnerving parallels. I even think that Gibson intended the movie to reflect the U.S. in it's decline. At the beginning of the movie, he quotes Ariel Durant who wrote: br / br /"A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within." br / br /As the movie came to the end, I was glad that Gibson didn't use it as a cheesy add for his religious agenda... br / br /It was beautifully photographed, with fantastic sets and I have to say that the violence was not gratuitous: that's just how things were then and to have made the movie otherwise would have been cheating. br / br /Well worth watching; I'm glad I did. br / Unexpectedly great!! April 9, 2007 C. E. Magos (Athens, Greece) 14 out of 20 found this review helpful Apocalypto is an interesting story depicting a primitive meso-American tribe living and enjoying their simple tribal life, which is beautifully presented in a funny and interesting way, giving a sense of immersion and identification with those people. But, as the idyllic life is going on, evil Mayan slavers come to the village, pillaging the village, taking all able males as slaves, and raping/killing everyone else except children (who are left alone) and the village is burnt down. br / br /The film continues with an interesting journey to the slaver's city, seeing things that, for those simple tribesman's eyes would seem as wonderful, never having seen a city before. The fate of the slaves though, is the most unfortunate...they are to be sacrified to the God Kukulkan (aka Quetzalcoatl). br / br /The film is presented in a beautiful and immersive way, depicting life in the Yucatan in the early 16th Century, the horror of a decadent Mayan society, hunting and escaping into the jungle, and most rewarding of all, an amazing and horribly just ending. br / br /Maybe not the most historically accurate film out there (it has been criticized as being an amalgamation of disparate mesoamerican cultures, events and architecturals styles that has really got almost no historical accuracy) but neverthelss, if you can overlook those lapses, it's still a great and interesting view. br / br / br / Utterly fantastic! June 21, 2007 M. JONES (uk) 8 out of 11 found this review helpful If you want a film that tries to be accurate, objective and informative then Apocalypto isn't the film for you. Instead, if you want a gripping, immersive action thriller them take a seat and enjoy one of the best films this year. br / br /Apocalypto is a winner and it succeeds in its opening minutes by drawing us straight in with characters one can root for. With plenty of humour, we are introduced to a peaceful Mayan village where out hero, Jaguar Paw, lives with his pregnant wife and child. The village is carefree and happy, making the first 30 minutes very enjoyable and hooks us in. Then, things take a horrible turn when another tribe appear and attack the village, taking as many prisoners as possible and killing the rest. br / br /Jaguar Paw is also captured, but not before he manages to hide his wife and kid in a deep cave nearby. From here on in, its going to be a tough ride for our hero. The villagers are tied up and taken to a city made up of stone monuments and temples. When it appears that the villagers are to be sacrificed, Jaguar Paw manages to flee his captors, kicking off one of the best sustained pusuits in cinema history. br / br /There's no hiding that Mel Gibson likes his violence. But in contrast to Passion of the Christ, its presented here with a lot more to offer besides. The hero and his fellow villagers are all likeable characters and his quest to get back home is utterly engrossing from to start to finish. His enemies, Holcane warriors, are also very effective and brutally determined. The two key villains are played very well indeed and are completely hateful characters. br / br /Essentially, this is a two-part film; one, being the terrible ordeal of the villagers and their horrific journey, the second part is a fantastic chase which incorporates elements of 'Last of the Mohicans' and 'Predator' among other things. Poison darts, snakes and all sorts of tactics are used in a series of heart-pounding set-pieces as Jaguar escapes. This isn't for the squeemish; it contains a number of heads and hearts being thrown around aswell as a gory attack by a real jaguar! The pace is relentless and there's not one dull moment in the film. br / br /Apocalypto is definately one of the best films this year and well worth checking out if you haven't already. Showing reviews 1-5 of 107 1 2 3 4 5 6 ...22 Next »

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