Apocalypto (2006)

Director:

Mel Gibson

Writers:

Mel Gibson (written by) &
Farhad Safinia (written by)

Release Date:

8 December 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

When the end comes, not everyone is ready to go

Plot:

As the Mayan kingdom faces its decline, the rulers insist the key to prosperity is to build more temples and offer human sacrifices. Jaguar Paw, a young man captured for sacrifice, flees to avoid his fate.

Plot Keywords:

Jaguar | Tribe | Forest | Temple | Maya

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Rudy Youngblood	...	Jaguar Paw
Dalia Hernández	...	Seven
Jonathan Brewer	...	Blunted
Morris Birdyellowhead	...	Flint Sky
Carlos Emilio Báez	...	Turtles Run
Amilcar Ramírez	...	Curl Nose
Israel Contreras	...	Smoke Frog
Israel Ríos	...	Cocoa Leaf
María Isabel Díaz	...	Mother in Law (as Isabel Diaz)
Espiridion Acosta Cache	...	Old Story Teller
Mayra Serbulo	...	Young Woman
Iazua Larios	...	Sky Flower
Lorena Heranandez	...	Village Girl
Itandehui Gutierrez	...	Wife
Sayuri Gutierrez	...	Eldest Daughter

Also Known As:

"Mel Gibson's Apocalypto" - USA (promotional title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sequences of graphic violence and disturbing images.

Runtime:

139 min

Country:

USA

Language:

Maya

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Canada:18A (British Columbia/Ontario) | Ireland:15A | Germany:18 | UK:18 | Australia:MA | Israel:18 | Argentina:18 | Malaysia:18PL | China:(Banned) | Indonesia:Dewasa | Thailand:R-14 | Philippines:R-18 | Taiwan:R-18 | Finland:K-15 | Hong Kong:III | Singapore:M18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Italy:T (original rating) | France:-12 | Canada:14A (Alberta) | South Africa:16 (V) | Italy:VM14 (re-rated) (court decision) (2007) | South Korea:18 | Norway:15 (original rating) | Norway:18 (re-rating) | Poland:18 | USA:R (certificate #42915) | Brazil:16 | Hungary:18 | Japan:R-15 | Portugal:M/16 (Qualidade) | New Zealand:R16 | Sweden:15 | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Catemaco, Veracruz, Mexico

Company:

Icon Entertainment International

Trivia:

Bodycount: 114

Goofs:

Factual errors: The partial part of a solar eclipse takes about hour and half, while the total part typically lasts few minutes. In this movie however, both parts seem very short and of the same length, and occur in a minute time frame between the sacrifice of the last captive, and an attempt to force the same fate to the main character. This discrepancy then results in a funny effect of the moon seemingly coming to stop during the total phase and resuming its absurdly fast movement after it.

Quotes:

[first lines]
title card:"A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within." W. Durant

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Love Songs (2007)

Soundtrack:

¿He De Dejar Las Bellas Flores?

Probably one of the ten best movies of the year

Apocalypto is probably one of the ten best movies of the year, a compelling action movie with not only adrenaline, but also brains and heart. Its portrayal of the Mayan culture -- including its strange dress, hair styles, costumes, tattoos, body piercing, and decorative scars, as well as its industry, class system, cities, warfare, weapons, myth, and religion -- provide a bizarre and fascinating anthropological backdrop for what is, at its heart, a solid, thrilling, fast paced old fashioned struggle between good guys and bad guys. The movie does have a lot of violence. But the violence is woven into a story with characters we care about. It is a realistic part of the culture being described. And it is not shown in a hyper gruesome manner, as is much of movie violence today. Thus, I found it much less offensive than many reviews had led me to believe I would. Unlike in some movies, I found the subtitles in Apocalypto so easy to read that most of time I forgot I was reading them. If anything the strange language only adds to the tone of exotic strangeness that pervades this unusually good and thrilling movie.