Apocalypto [Blu-ray] DVD

Apocalypto
As the foundation of the Mayan civilization begins to crumble, one man's previously idyllic existence is forever changed when he is chosen as a sacrifice needed to appease the gods in director Mel Gibson's mythic, end-times adventure. The Mayan kingdom is at the absolute height of opulence and power, but leaders are convinced that unless more temples are constructed and more human sacrifices made, the crops, and ultimately the people, will suffer. Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood) is a peaceful hunter from a remote forest tribe whose life is about to be changed forever. When Jaguar Paw's village is raided and he is prepared as a sacrifice that the Mayan deities have demanded, the brave young hunter is forced to navigate a horrific new world of fear and oppression. Fearlessly determined to escape his captors and save his family from a harrowing demise, Jaguar Paw prepares to risk it all in one final, desperate attempt to preserve his dying way of life. However, few who have seen the sacrificial alter of the Mayans have managed to live to see another day. Now, in order to rescue his pregnant wife and young son, Jaguar Paw will have to elude the most powerful warriors of the Mayan kingdom while using his vast knowledge of the forest to turn the tables on those who would rather see him dead than set free. Inspired by such ancient Mayan texts as the Popul Vuh, Apocalypto marks a comprehensive collaboration between director Gibson, Cambridge-educated screenwriter Farhad Safinia, and world-renowned archeologist and Mayan culture expert Dr. Richard D. Hansen -- whose services as a special consultant on the film lent the production an unprecedented degree of historical accuracy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Cast Rudy Youngblood as Jaguar Paw Dalia Hernandez as Seven Jonathan Brewer as Blunted Morris Birdyellowhead as Flint Sky Carlos Emilio Baez as Turtles Run Amilcar Ramirez as Curl Nose Israel Contreras as Smoke Frog Israel Rios as Cocao Leaf Isabel Diaz as Mother In Law Espiridion Acosta Cache as Old Story Teller Mayra Serbulo as Young Woman Iazua Larios as Sky Flower Lorena Hernández as Village Girl Itandehui Gutiérrez as Wife Sayuri Gutiérrez as Eldest Daughter Hiram Soto as Fish Hunter José Suárez as First Temple Sacrifice Raoul Trujillo as Zero Wolf Gerardo Taracena as Middle Eye Rodolfo Palacios as Snake Ink Ariel Galván as Hanging Moss Bernando Ruíz as Drunkards Four Ricardo Díaz Mendoza as Cut Rock Richard Can as Ten Peccary Carlos Ramos as Monkey Jaw Ammel Rodrigo Mendoza as Buzzard Hook Marco Antonio Argueta as Speaking Wind Javier Escobar as Vicious Holcane Fernando Hernandez as High Priest Maria Isidra Hoil as Oracle Girl Aquetzali Garcia as Oracle Girl Abel Woolrich as Laughing Man Antonio Monroy as Chilam Nicolas Jasso as Man On Temple Top Ronaldo Eknal as Slave Auctioneer Miriam Tun as Women Auctioneer Rafael Vélez as King Diana Botello as Queen Joaquín Rendón as Head Chac

Crew Roberto Bonelli - Art Director Naaman Marshall - Art Director Theresa Wachter - Supervising Art Director Carla Hool - Casting Rulan Tangen - Choreography Farhad Safinia - Co-producer Mayes C. Rubeo - Costume Designer Adrian Grunberg - First Assistant Director Mel Gibson - Director Mic Rodgers - Second Unit Director John Wright - Editor Ned Dowd - Executive Producer Vicki Christianson - Executive Producer Claudio Di Cola - Hair Styles Aldo Signoretti - Hair Styles Guadalupe Ramirez - Hair Styles Angelo Vannella - Hair Styles Josefina Mendoza - Hair Styles Gerardo Aragón Pavón - Hair Styles Virna Vento - Hair Styles Elena De Nigris - Hair Styles Aniello Piscopo - Hair Styles Orla Carroll - Hair Styles Paola Genovese - Hair Styles Samankta Mura - Hair Styles Elena Gregorini - Hair Styles Marco Perna - Hair Styles Fulvio Zucconi - Hair Styles Gaetano Panico - Hair Styles Michele Vigliotta - Hair Styles Alessio Pompei - Hair Styles Cam Burton - Location Manager Fernando 'Boogie' Uriegas - Location Manager James Horner - Composer (Music Score) Giulio Pezza - Makeup Iana Carboni - Makeup Gabriella Trani - Makeup Federico Carretti - Makeup David Ruiz Gameros - Makeup Antonio Garfias - Makeup Laura Bonilla Cerón - Makeup Vittorio Sodano - Makeup Aldo Signoretti - Makeup Enrico Iacoponi - Makeup Captive Audience Prods. - Makeup Special Effects Ian Fox - Camera Operator Guillermo Rosas - Camera Operator Andrew Rowlands - Camera Operator Richard Merryman - Camera Operator Tom Sanders - Production Designer Mario Cardona - Cinematographer Dean Semler - Cinematographer Daryn Okada - Cinematographer Mel Gibson - Producer Sergio Miranda - Producer Bruce Davey - Producer Rahat Nusrat Ali Kahn - Singer Terry Edwards - Singer Erick Monroy - Set Designer Carlos Benassini - Set Designer Benjamin Cook - Set Designer MPFX Studios - Special Effects Greg P. Russell - Sound Mixer Kevin O'Connell - Sound Mixer Fernando Camara - Sound/Sound Designer Gerardo Moreno - Stunts Coordinator Mic Rodgers - Stunts Coordinator Jesús 'Chucho' Duran - Special Effects Supervisor Ned Dowd - Unit Production Manager Farhad Safinia - Screenwriter Mel Gibson - Screenwriter Richard Merryman - Second Unit Director Of Photography Mark O'Kane - Additional Cinematography Ted Rae - Visual Effects Supervisor Juan Manuel Chaparro - Model Effects Pablo Facundo Ángeles - Model Effects Diego Demian Decont - Model Effects Shady Blackwold - Model Effects Jorge Fuentes Ronquillo - Model Effects Jimmy Mendoza - Model Effects Kevin Stitt - Additional Editing Keith Vanderlaan - Animatronic Effects Zen Haven Studios - Digital Effects Svengali Visual Effects - Digital Effects Luma Pictures - Digital Effects Look FX - Digital Effects Asylum Visual Effects - Digital Effects Filmworks.FX - Digital Effects Radium - Digital Effects James Gilson - Gaffer Lorella De Rossi - Makeup Supervisor Rajeev Malhotra - Post Production Supervisor Siobhan Brook - Production Coordinator Rodrigo Rojas - Production Coordinator Belinda Uriegas - Production Coordinator Richard Young - Properties Master Rene Márquez - Properties Master Marinela Spasenovic - Prosthetic Makeup Effects Giuseppe Desiato - Prosthetic Makeup Effects Aisling Nairn - Prosthetic Makeup Effects Audrey Doyle - Prosthetic Makeup Effects Alfredo Mora - Prosthetic Makeup Effects Keith Vanderlaan - Prosthetic Makeup Effects Hannah Eccleston - Prosthetic Makeup Effects Sharon Doyle - Prosthetic Makeup Effects Rebekah Sanders - Prosthetic Makeup Effects Lyn Johnston - Prosthetic Makeup Effects Matteo Silvi - Prosthetic Makeup Effects Sylvie Chesneau - Script Supervisor Stacy Perskie - Second Assistant Director Andrew Rowlands - Steadicam Operator Alan Kevin Contreras - Steadicam Operator Chad L. Rivetti - Steadicam Operator Sean McCormack - Supervising Sound Editor Kami Asgar - Supervising Sound Editor Maryan Zurek - Underwater Photography Ted Rae - Visual Effects Producer Javier Méndez Ramírez - Construction Coordinator José Luis Méndez Ramírez - Construction Coordinator Jeannie Ione Flynn - Costumes Supervisor Ismael Jardón - Costumes Supervisor Aurora Chavira - Key Hairstylist Armando Amador - Production Accountant Robert F. Kocourek - Production Accountant Matt Dalton - Production Accountant Berenice Manjarrez - Second Unit Assistant Director Jay Aroesty - Set Decorator Gian Ganziano - Visual Effects Editor Scarlet Letters - Title Design

Apocalypto
An artfully crafted chase film that is as breathless as it is brutal, Mel Gibson's end-times tale of peril is, when all is said and done, a typical action film with some decidedly atypical qualities. Jaguar Paw is a good-natured hunter from a peaceful forest village, but his life is turned upside down when invading Mayans emerge from the trees seeking sacrifices to appease their angered gods and entertain the masses. Despite managing to usher his pregnant wife and young son to safety before being spirited away to an uncertain fate, Jaguar Paw remains determined to escape his captors, rescue his family, and return to the forest where he hunted with his father, and will one day hunt with his children. His desperate quest is complicated, however, by a sadistic group of Mayans who will hunt him to his dying breath. While the subtitles and sweeping trailers may have given some the impression that Gibson's follow-up to The Passion of the Christ was a grandiose epic richly detailing the downfall of a once-powerful kingdom, the fact is that, despite surface appearances, Apocalypto is about as typical an action film as they come. All of the pieces are perfectly in place here -- from the noble young hero on a mission to save his loved ones to the intimidating villain who simply seems too powerful to overcome, his sickeningly sadistic sidekick, and adrenaline-soaked action scenes that will have viewers gripping their seats as they duck to avoid lethal projectiles. It's an absorbing tale of survival punctuated by an extended, expertly crafted chase sequence that will likely elicit sweat from the palms of even the most skeptical of viewers. The fact that the cast is largely comprised of unfamiliar faces and that the film is spoken in an unfamiliar dialect goes a long way in allowing viewers to lose themselves in the story, with Gibson's and co-screenwriter Farhad Safinia's strong eye for character offering colorful details for even some of the most inconsequential of supporting players. In an unusual move for such a seemingly serious-minded film, Gibson and Safinia allow the characters to define themselves not only through their actions in times of great danger, but their humor and warmth in times of peace as well. It's an interesting move, and one that makes the horrific massacre which sets the plot into motion all the more effective. Artistically, the film is a feast for the eyes with awe-inspiring sets, fluid jungle photography, and an appropriately primal score by James Horner punctuated by chest-thumping percussion. Assured editing keeps things moving at a brisk, satisfying pace that stealthily belies its somewhat intimidating running time (well over the two-hour mark). For multiplex viewers willing to give a subtitled action flick a fair shake, Apocalypto delivers the goods with fierce abandon and forceful intensity. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
 

Aldo Signoretti: Academy, Best Makeup (nominated) Dean Semler: American Society of Cinematographers, Best Cinematography (nominated) Dean Semler: Dallas-Ft. Worth Film Critics Awards, Best Cinematography (winner) Dean Semler: Online Film Critics, Best Cinematography (nominated) Dean Semler: Phoenix Film Critics Circle, Best Cinematography (winner) Fernando Camara: Academy, Best Sound Mixing (nominated) Greg P. Russell: Academy, Best Sound Mixing (nominated) Kami Asgar: Academy, Best Sound Editing (nominated) Kevin O'Connell: Academy, Best Sound Mixing (nominated) Sean McCormack: Academy, Best Sound Editing (nominated) Vittorio Sodano: Academy, Best Makeup (nominated)

British Academy Awards, Best Foreign Language Film (nominated) Broadcast Film Critics Association, Best Foreign Language Film (nominated) Chicago Film Critics Circle, Best Foreign Language Film (nominated) Golden Globe, Best Foreign Language Film (nominated) London Film Critics Circle, Best Foreign Language Film (nominated) Satellite Awards, Best Foreign Language Film (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: Subtitle Options: French, Spanish Sound Processing: DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel Additional Features: Backstage: Feature commentary by writer/director/ producer Mel Gibson and writer/co-producer Farhad Safinia "Becoming Mayan: making Apocalypto" Deleted Scene (Can be viewed with optional commentary by writer/director/ producer Mel Gibson and writer/co- producer Farhad Safinia) Movie Showcase: Instant movie access to select movie scenes that showcase the ultimate in high definition picture and sound Seamless menus DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1: Theatre Wide-Screen MPAA Rating: R DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: A Content Length: 138 min   DVD Chapters: Disc #1 -- Apocalypto 1. Hunters 2. Safe Passing 3. Fear 4. Sacred Gathering 5. Ravage 6. "Don't Be Afraid" 7. Safe From Harm 8. Cut Loose 9. Prophet 10. Place Built of Stone 11. Sacrifice 12. Day Becomes Night 13. Run! 14. Man Who Brings the Jaguar 15. "I Am Jaguar Paw" 16. Reborn of Mud and Earth 17. Warrior's Death 18. New Beginning 19. Credits