http://apocalypto.movies.go.com/) Mel Gibson's epic film about the fall of the Mayan Empire in southern Mexico and Guatemala, Belize opens December 11th. Filming was delayed for months by Hurricane Georges destructive swath through Guatemala last year. All filmed in native Mayan. --________________________________________________________-- Peter Bart: Will Hollywood fall victim to the Apocalypto Syndrome? Small screenings of the still-uncompleted film are quietly taking place. The movie is rough around the edges -- temp score and sound, scenes still to be honed. But the word has seeped out: From Mel Gibson's dark, troubled mind has emerged yet another brilliant exercise in filmmaking, extremely violent, yet compelling. The inner demons that play havoc with his personal life continue to energize his creative vision. But how will his work be judged? The film is being released not just as "Apocalypto," but as Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto." Will the very community that understandably has been offended by Gibson's inebriated diatribes be willing to pass fair judgment on his artistic contributions? The film itself represents a defiantly maverick voice. Subtitles run throughout. The cast is totally non-professional. The action is virtually nonstop and the confrontations brutal. A fiercely original work like this normally would be screened and promoted for Oscar nominations and critics plaudits. This will not be the case with Gibson's film. Hence, the looming Apocalypto Syndrome: Mel Gibson is not exactly a poster boy for tolerance. And that's the paradox: Acceptance of his work demands exactly that. I cannot wait for this movie. I do not like Gibson but will overlook his faults for this historic film.
I always liked his movies, back to the Mad Max films but then I started hearing how he was a rightwinger and his father is a Nazi apologist and the charges went on & on. But after seeing Braveheart and the Thrashin of the Christ I was really impressed by his directing and acting. I'm very much looking forward to the new one. Nothing fascinates me more than exploring extinct cultures.
No, it's a movie about the fall of the ancient Mayan culture in Central America. A civilization that lasted centuries. All in a Mayan dialect that is long gone. If a movie must have an all white cast you should probably skip it. Not too long ago US directors would use white actors with English accents to play ancient Mayans. I'm glad they're not going that route and using native indigenous Mayans of the region today to tell this story.
Yeah, and we don't want to go down that road. It could lead to someone making a movie which demonises white people. Can you imagine that?
And 'Demonizing?' Where does that come from? It's about one of the greatest, oldest civilizations in the Western Hemisphere, that lasted hundreds of years. I think Saluting is a better term. All old cultures were violent to the extreme.
I hope it's an objective and factual portrayal....unlike Braveheart. As a Scot, while I loved the english being made to look like a bunch of evil bastards, the way William Wallace was portrayed was a load of nonsense.
As an englishmen, I hated how pleasant and quick his execution was, it's insulting to my people and downright inaccurate to suggest that's all the effort we used to put into torturing people to death. They falsely maintained wallace's dignity in the movie, in real life england had the last laugh and it was hearty. Wallace probably even shat himself before dieing.
The US is very pro Scot and Irish when these old battles against the Kingdom are portrayed. I know little about the ancient Western civilizations but I read scholars on Mayan history and culture, including language were tapped for the film. Also the Guatemalan government made efforts to see an accurate depiction of this civilization is made, for what that's worth. The very strong violence is something glossed over in the history books I think. It'll be brutal, as it really was. Cannibalism and human sacrifice, of children too, was common.
That's nice. But to claim that Hollywood is historical is... delusional. Even TV nature documenteries are full of shit.
Correction: Robert the Bruce had the last laugh....even in the film Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
So we stick with titty movies and horror flicks? It's about the Mayan Empire. That be history, whether you want it to be or not.
Bravehart may have had some historical inaccuracies, but it was a damn good film. In fact, it was one of the best films of the 1990's out of Hollywood. The Passion of the Christ was ruined by two things: 1. A terrible soundscore. 2. An over extended death sequence. It wasn't harrowing, it was drawn out.
