Apocalypto (2006)

As the Mayan kingdom faces its decline, a young man is taken on a perilous journey to a world ruled by fear and oppression.

Director:

Mel Gibson

Writers:

Mel Gibson, Farhad Safinia

Stars:

Gerardo Taracena, Raoul Max Trujillo, Dalia Hernández

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 20 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

Storyline

In the Maya civilization, a peaceful tribe is brutally attacked by warriors seeking slaves and human beings for sacrifice for their gods. Jaguar Paw hides his pregnant wife and his son in a deep hole nearby their tribe and is captured while fighting with his people. An eclipse spares his life from the sacrifice and later he has to fight to survive and save his beloved family.

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Plot Keywords:

tribe | mayan | prophecy | hunted turns hunter | knife | 

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Taglines:

When the end comes, not everyone is ready to go

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sequences of graphic violence and disturbing images

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

Maya

Release Date:

8 December 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mel Gibson's Apocalypto

Filming Locations:

Catemaco, Veracruz, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,005,604, 10 December 2006

Gross USA:

$50,866,635

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$120,654,337

Company Credits

Production Co:

Icon Entertainment International, Icon Productions, Touchstone Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

139 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The teaser trailer for the movie has an almost entirely different cast than the one that ends up in the film.

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Goofs

(at around 2h 5 mins) At the end of the movie, all three characters are staring in the same direction. As the camera zooms in to Jaguar Paw, the character behind him on the right is clearly following the camera. Four seconds later he's looking straight into camera on his right. Watch the whites of his eyes.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

Daniel Paredes ...... Crazy Student and Son of a Driver

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Connections

References Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

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Soundtracks

Apocalypto
Written by James Horner

User Reviews

A Brilliant Message About Civilization

Say what you want about Mel Gibson, but he knows how to make an authentically real statement about the human condition. The movie is about civilization and how smaller is better. There are some rain-forest dwelling American natives, somewhere in America where there are jaguars and monkeys. Then there are some "civilized" natives, with a huge society of nobles, serfs, slaves and sacrificial victims who get their hearts torn out and heads chopped off on top of a pyramid, for the appeasement of their gods and for the sake of controlling and entertaining the "citizens." Our noble small villagers of the forest are ultimately hunted down and enslaved by the more organized, and totally vicious, pyramid builders. This is a story of how one of these villagers deals with the horrific trials that his captors heap upon him. The whole movie is in an ancient native language, subtitled in English, and it lends an air of excruciating authenticity to the happenings. One gets the feeling of being a time traveler, as this 500-year-old world seems so real, with every detail of weaponry, cookware, clothing, jewelry, labor practices, buildings, village characters, and sacrificial ceremonies so obviously researched that it made me feel uncomfortably like I was involved in it all. We are constantly getting the crowd's point of view of all the empire's activities and abuse of its captives and underlings. There is a lot to look at here, from God's beautiful nature to man's nightmarish creations, so it deserves to be seen on a big screen.