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Apocalypto

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Apocalypto



 
 
Apocalypto is a 2006 epic film
Epic film

An epic is a genre of film which places emphasis on human drama on a grand scale. They are more ambitious in scope than other genres which helps to differentiate them from similar genres such as the period piece or adventure film....
 directed by Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson

Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, Officer of the Order of Australia is an Australian-American actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter....
 and starring Rudy Youngblood
Rudy Youngblood

Rudy Youngblood is an American Hollywood, California actor, musician, dancer and artist....
. Set in ancient Central America, during the declining period of the Maya civilization, Apocalypto depicts the journey of a Mesoamerican tribesman who must escape human sacrifice
Human sacrifice

Human sacrifice is the act of killing human beings as part of a religious ritual . Its typology closely parallels the various practices of ritual slaughter of animals and of religious sacrifice in general....
 and rescue his family after the capture and destruction of his village.

The film features a cast of Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Americas, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those peoples....
 descent, and its Yucatec Maya dialogue is accompanied by subtitles.

film begins with an epigraph
Epigraph (literature)

In literature, an epigraph is a phrase, quotation, or poem that is set at the beginning of a document or component. The epigraph may serve as a preface, as a summary, as a counter-example, or to link the work to a wider Canon , either to invite comparison or to enlist a conventional context....
 from Will Durant
Will Durant

William James Durant was a prolific United States writer, historian, and philosopher. He is best known for the 11-volume The Story of Civilization, written in collaboration with his wife Ariel Durant and published between 1935 and 1975....
: "A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within."

While hunting tapir
Tapir

Tapirs are large Herbivory mammals, roughly pig-like in shape, with short, prehensile snouts. They inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia....
 in the Mesoamerican jungle, Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood
Rudy Youngblood

Rudy Youngblood is an American Hollywood, California actor, musician, dancer and artist....
), his father Flint Sky (Morris Birdyellowhead
Morris Birdyellowhead

Morris Birdyellowhead is an actor best known for his portrayal of Flint Sky in the 2006 epic film Apocalypto, directed by Mel Gibson. He is 6'3 and is an avid Darts player....
), and their fellow tribesmen encounter a procession of traumatized and fearful refugees.






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Apocalypto is a 2006 epic film
Epic film

An epic is a genre of film which places emphasis on human drama on a grand scale. They are more ambitious in scope than other genres which helps to differentiate them from similar genres such as the period piece or adventure film....
 directed by Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson

Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, Officer of the Order of Australia is an Australian-American actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter....
 and starring Rudy Youngblood
Rudy Youngblood

Rudy Youngblood is an American Hollywood, California actor, musician, dancer and artist....
. Set in ancient Central America, during the declining period of the Maya civilization, Apocalypto depicts the journey of a Mesoamerican tribesman who must escape human sacrifice
Human sacrifice

Human sacrifice is the act of killing human beings as part of a religious ritual . Its typology closely parallels the various practices of ritual slaughter of animals and of religious sacrifice in general....
 and rescue his family after the capture and destruction of his village.

The film features a cast of Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Americas, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those peoples....
 descent, and its Yucatec Maya dialogue is accompanied by subtitles.

Plot

The film begins with an epigraph
Epigraph (literature)

In literature, an epigraph is a phrase, quotation, or poem that is set at the beginning of a document or component. The epigraph may serve as a preface, as a summary, as a counter-example, or to link the work to a wider Canon , either to invite comparison or to enlist a conventional context....
 from Will Durant
Will Durant

William James Durant was a prolific United States writer, historian, and philosopher. He is best known for the 11-volume The Story of Civilization, written in collaboration with his wife Ariel Durant and published between 1935 and 1975....
: "A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within."

While hunting tapir
Tapir

Tapirs are large Herbivory mammals, roughly pig-like in shape, with short, prehensile snouts. They inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia....
 in the Mesoamerican jungle, Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood
Rudy Youngblood

Rudy Youngblood is an American Hollywood, California actor, musician, dancer and artist....
), his father Flint Sky (Morris Birdyellowhead
Morris Birdyellowhead

Morris Birdyellowhead is an actor best known for his portrayal of Flint Sky in the 2006 epic film Apocalypto, directed by Mel Gibson. He is 6'3 and is an avid Darts player....
), and their fellow tribesmen encounter a procession of traumatized and fearful refugees. The procession's leader explains that their lands have been ravaged, and asks for Flint Sky's permission to pass through the jungle. When Jaguar Paw and his tribesmen return to their village, Flint Sky tells his son not to let the procession's state of fear seep into him. At night, the tribe's elder tells the village a fable
Fable

A fable is a succinct story, in prose or verse, that features animals, plants, inanimate, or nature which are anthropomorphized , and that illustrates a moral lesson , which may at the end be expressed explicitly in a pithy maxim ....
 of man forever unable to fill his want, despite having been given the capabilities of all of the animals. The villagers follow the story with music and dance, leaving Jaguar Paw to ponder.

The next morning, Jaguar Paw wakes from a nightmare to see strangers enter the village and set the huts ablaze. The raiders, led by Zero Wolf (Raoul Trujillo
Raoul Trujillo

Raoul Trujillo is a Native Americans in the United States actor, dancer, and former soloist with the Alwin Nikolais Dance Theatre and the original choreographer and co-director for the American Indian Dance Theatre....
), attack and subdue the villagers. Jaguar Paw slips out with his pregnant wife Seven (Dalia Hernández
Dalia Hernández

Dalia Hern?ndez Armenta is a Mexico actress who made her acting debut in the 2006 epic film Apocalypto, which chronicles the declining years of the Maya civilization....
) and his little son Turtles Run, lowering them on a vine into a small cave (a chultun
Chultun

A chultun is a bottle-shaped underground storage chamber built by the pre-Columbian Maya civilization in southern Mesoamerica. Their entrances were surrounded by plastered aprons which guided rainwater into them during the rainy seasons....
, shaped something like a well) to hide them. Jaguar Paw returns to the village to fight the raiders but is subdued with the rest of the tribe. A raider whom Jaguar Paw attacks and almost kills, the vicious Middle Eye (Gerardo Taracena
Gerardo Taracena

Gerardo Taracena is a Mexico film actor, theatre actor and dancer. He is known for his roles in Apocalypto, Man on Fire, American Family and The Mexican....
), slits Flint Sky's throat while Jaguar Paw helplessly watches. His last words to him are to not be afraid.

Before the raiders leave the village with their prisoners, one suspicious raider severs the vine leading into the ground cave, trapping Jaguar Paw's wife and son within. The raiders and their captives trek toward the Maya city, encountering razed forests, failed maize
Maize

Maize , known as corn in some countries, is a cereal domesticated in Mesoamerica and subsequently spread throughout the American continents....
 crops, slaves producing plaster
Plaster

The term plaster can refer to plaster of Paris, lime plaster, or cement plaster. This article deals mainly with plaster of Paris.Plaster of Paris is a type of building material based on calcium sulfate Hydrate, nominally CaSO4?0.5H2O....
, and the sick and dying. A small diseased girl prophesies that a man bringing the jaguar will bring the raiders to those who will scratch out the earth and end their world. In the city's outskirts, the female captives are sold as slaves and the males are escorted to the top of a step pyramid. The high priest sacrifices several captives by decapitating them after pulling out their beating hearts. When Jaguar Paw is about to be sacrificed, a solar eclipse
Solar eclipse

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth so that the Sun is wholly or partially obscured. This can only happen during a new moon, when the Sun and Moon are in conjunction as seen from the Earth....
 stays the priest's hand. He looks at the king, sitting nearby, and the two share a smile while the uneducated commoners below panic at the phenomenon. The priest declares the sun god Kukulkan
Kukulkan

Kukulkan is a god in the pantheon of Maya mythology.El Castillo, Chichen Itza in Chichen Itza served as a temple to Kukulkan. During the spring and fall equinoxes the shadow cast by the angle of the sun and edges of the nine Step pyramid of the pyramid combined with the...
 is satisfied with the sacrifices. To trick the crowd into believing he has great power, he asks Kukulkan to let light return to the world just as he knows the eclipse will pass. The crowd cheers in amazement as the priest orders that the remaining captives be disposed of.

Zero Wolf takes the villagers to an amphitheater. The captives are released in pairs and forced to run the length of the open space within the amphitheater to give Zero Wolf's men target practice, with a cynical promise of freedom, should they reach the end of the field alive. However, Zero Wolf's son, Cut Rock is sent to the end of the field to "dispose of" any survivors. The raiders target them with javelin
Javelin

A Javelin is a throw weapon, used more commonly in the modern athletics discipline: Javelin throw.Javelin may also refer to:* Javelin , a DC Comics supervillain...
s, arrows, and slingstones as they run. Jaguar Paw is struck by an arrow through the abdomen but reaches the end of the field and breaks off the arrowhead. As Cut Rock, approaches to finish him off with an obsidian
Obsidian

Obsidian is a naturally occurring glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock. It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools without crystal growth....
 blade, Jaguar Paw shoves the broken arrow into Cut Rock's throat. As Cut Rock bleeds out with Zero Wolf easing him into the next life, Jaguar Paw escapes through a withered maize field and an open mass grave
Mass grave

A mass grave is a grave containing multiple, usually unidentified human corpses. There is no strict definition of the minimum number of bodies required to constitute a mass grave....
. The enraged Zero Wolf and his raiders pursue Jaguar Paw into the jungle and back toward Jaguar Paw's home. Along the way, one of the raiders is killed by a black jaguar
Black panther

A black panther is a black color variant of one of several species of larger Felidae which are known by the term panther in various parts of the world, and belong to the feline genus panthera which contains lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars....
 that has been disturbed by Jaguar Paw. As he flees, Jaguar Paw jumps over a high waterfall and survives, declaring from the riverbank below that the raiders are now in his homelands.

Zero Wolf's raiders jump the waterfall as well, then fall to both the forest's elements and Jaguar Paw's traps. A heavy rain sets in, which begins to flood the ground cave in which Jaguar Paw's wife and son are still trapped. Jaguar Paw bludgeons Middle Eye in hand-to-hand combat and kills Zero Wolf by leading him into a trap meant for hunting tapir. He is chased by two remaining raiders out to a beach where they encounter the fourth expedition of Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was a Republic of Genoa navigator, colonialist and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean?funded by Queen Isabella of Spain?led to general European awareness of the America in the Western Hemisphere....
 making their way ashore in boats. The amazement of the raiders allows Jaguar Paw to flee. He returns into the forest to pull his wife and son out of the flooded pit where they are hiding around the time when Seven gives birth to a child. He returns in time to save the family, and sees that his wife has given birth to a healthy second son. As the family walks near the coastline, Jaguar Paw's wife asks what the strange objects near the shore are. Jaguar Paw responds only that "they bring men." Jaguar Paw and his family go deeper into the forest, "to seek a new beginning," leaving the Spanish
Conquistador

Conquistador is the name given to the Spaniards soldiers, leaders, List of explorers, and adventurers involved in the conquest of the Americas following the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492....
 who are anchored in ships off the beach.

Production


Screenplay

Screenwriter
Screenwriter

Screenwriters or scenarists are scriptwriters who write the screenplays from which films and television programs are made.Most screenwriters start their careers writing on speculation....
 and producer Farhad Safinia
Farhad Safinia

Farhad Safinia is a screenwriter and film producer....
 first met director Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson

Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, Officer of the Order of Australia is an Australian-American actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter....
 while working as an assistant during the post-production of The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ

The Passion of the Christ is a 2004 in film film co-written, co-produced and directed by Mel Gibson. It is based on Catholic accounts of the arrest, trial, torture, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus, events commonly known as "The Passion "....
. Eventually, Gibson and Safinia found time to discuss "their mutual love of movies and what excites them about moviemaking." Safinia notes:

We started to talk about what to do next, and we specifically spent a lot of time on the action-chase genre of filmmaking. Those conversations essentially grew into the skeleton of ('Apocalypto'). We wanted to update the chase genre by, in fact, not updating it with technology or machinery but stripping it down to its most intense form, which is a man running for his life, and at the same time getting back to something that matters to him.


Gibson said they wanted to "shake up the stale action-adventure
Action-adventure

Action-adventure may refer to:*A genre that can include:** action-adventure game** action game** adventure game** action *** action movie...
 genre," which he felt was dominated by CGI
Computer-generated imagery

Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in films, television programs, Television commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media....
, stock stories and shallow characters and to create a footchase that would "feel like a car chase that just keeps turning the screws."

Gibson and Safinia were also interested in portraying and exploring an ancient culture as it existed before the arrival of the Europeans. Considering both the Aztecs and the Maya, they eventually chose the Maya for their high sophistication and their eventual decline. Safinia notes:

The Mayas were far more interesting to us. You can choose a civilization that is bloodthirsty, or you can show the Maya civilization that was so sophisticated with an immense knowledge of medicine, science, archaeology and engineering ... but also be able to illuminate the brutal undercurrent and ritual savagery that they practiced. It was a far more interesting world to explore why and what happened to them.


The two researched ancient Maya history, reading both creation and destruction myth
Eschatology

Eschatology is a part of theology and philosophy concerned with what is believed to be the final events in the history of the world, or the ultimate destiny of All humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world....
s, including sacred texts such as the Popul Vuh. In the audio commentary of the film's first DVD release, Safinia states that the old shaman's story (played by Espiridion Acosta Cache who is an actual modern day Maya storyteller) was modified from an authentic Mesoamerican tale that was retranslated into the Yucatec Maya language by the young Maya professor Hilario Chi Canul
Hilario Chi Canul

Hilario Chi Canul is a young Mexican linguist of Maya peoples ethnicity who worked as a translator and language coach in the production of the movie Apocalypto by Mel Gibson....
 who also acted as a dialogue coach during production. As they researched the script, Safinia and Gibson traveled to Guatemala
Guatemala

Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize and the Caribbean to the northeast, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast....
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica

Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the east and south, the Pacific Ocean to the west and south and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
 and the Yucatán peninsula
Yucatán Peninsula

The Yucat?n Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern coastline on the Yucat?n Channel....
 to scout filming locations and visit Maya ruins.

Striving for a degree of historical accuracy, the filmmakers employed a consultant, Richard D. Hansen
Richard D. Hansen

Dr. Richard D. Hansen, Ph.D, is an eminent American archaeologist and currently Senior Scientist in the Institute for Mesoamerican Research in in the Department of Anthropology at Idaho State University....
, a specialist in the Maya, assistant professor of archaeology at Idaho State University
Idaho State University

Idaho State University is a public university operated by Idaho. Its main campus is in Pocatello, Idaho with outreach programs in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Idaho Falls, Idaho, Boise, Idaho, and Twin Falls, Idaho....
, and director of the Mirador Basin
Mirador Basin

The Mirador Basin is a geographically defined elevated basin found in the remote rain forest of the northern department of Pet?n , Guatemala. The basin is dominated by low lying swamps called bajos....
 Project, an effort to preserve a large swath of the Guatemalan rain forest and its Maya ruins. Gibson has said of Hansen's involvement:

Richard’s enthusiasm for what he does is infectious. He was able to reassure us and make us feel secure that what we were writing had some authenticity as well as imagination.


Gibson is interested in using unfamiliar languages on film, having already used Aramaic
Aramaic language

Aramaic is a Semitic languages with a 3,000-year history. It has been the language of administration of empires and the language of divine worship....
, Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 and Hebrew in his religious blockbuster
Blockbuster (entertainment)

Blockbuster, as applied to film or theater, denotes a very popular and/or successful production. The term was originally derived from theater slang referring to a particularly successful Play but is now used primarily by the film industry....
 The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ

The Passion of the Christ is a 2004 in film film co-written, co-produced and directed by Mel Gibson. It is based on Catholic accounts of the arrest, trial, torture, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus, events commonly known as "The Passion "....
. In Apocalypto, the dialogue is entirely in the Yucatec Maya language. Gibson explains:

I think hearing a different language allows the audience to completely suspend their own reality and get drawn into the world of the film. And more importantly, this also puts the emphasis on the cinematic visuals, which are a kind of universal language of the heart.


Casting

Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson

Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, Officer of the Order of Australia is an Australian-American actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter....
 chose a cast of actors who were from Mexico City
Mexico City

Mexico City is the capital city of Mexico. It is the most important economic, industrial, and cultural center in the country; the most populous city with over 8,836,045 inhabitants in 2008....
, the Yucatán
Yucatán

Yucat?n is one of the States of Mexico of Mexico, located on the north of the Yucat?n Peninsula. The Yucatan peninsula includes three states: Yucat?n, Campeche, and Quintana Roo; all three modern states were formerly part of the larger historic state of Yucat?n in the 19th century....
, or who were descendants of indigenous peoples of Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 and the USA
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. It was important for the director that "these characters have to be utterly believable as pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian

The pre-Columbian era incorporates all archaeology of the Americas in the history of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the Americas continents....
 Mesoamericans." Some of the youngest and oldest cast members were Maya who knew no language besides Maya and had never seen a tall building before.

Gibson explained that he wanted to cast unknown actors so that they could play certain mythic types without the audiences associating them with prior roles. "In terms of casting it, you always have many choices. You can go against type, or with type. On this one I have purposely chosen an archetypal selection, casting it right with type, because of the obscure dialect and the unfamiliar period in which the story is set." In addition to the lead actors, some scenes required as many as 700 extras.

Costumes and Makeup

The production team consisted of a large group of make-up artists and costume designers who worked to recreate the Maya look for the large cast. Led by Aldo Signoretti
Aldo Signoretti

Aldo Signoretti is an Italians make-up artist. He was nominated twice for the Academy Award for Makeup, the first time for his work in Moulin Rouge! , the second time for his work in Apocalypto ....
, the make-up artists daily applied the required tattoos, scarification, and earlobe extension to all of the onscreen actors. According to advisor Richard D. Hansen
Richard D. Hansen

Dr. Richard D. Hansen, Ph.D, is an eminent American archaeologist and currently Senior Scientist in the Institute for Mesoamerican Research in in the Department of Anthropology at Idaho State University....
, the choices in body make-up were based on both artistic license and fact: "I spent hours and hours going through the pottery and the images looking for tattoos. The scarification and tattooing was all researched, the inlaid jade teeth are in there, the ear spools are in there. There is a little doohickey that comes down from the ear through the nose into the septum
Nasal septum

The nasal septum separates the left and right airways in the nose, dividing the two nostrils.It is Depression by the Depressor septi nasi muscle....
 – that was entirely their artistic innovation." An example of attention to detail is the left arm tattoo of Seven, Jaguar Paw's wife, which is a horizontal band with two dots above – the Mayan symbol for the number seven.

Simon Atherton, an English armorer and weapon-maker who worked with Gibson on Braveheart
Braveheart

Braveheart is an Academy Award-Winning, 1995 historical action-drama movie film producer and Film director by Mel Gibson, who also starred in the title role....
, was hired this time to research and provide the Maya weapons. Gibson let Atherton play the cross-bearing Franciscan
Franciscan

The term Franciscan is commonly used to refer to members of Catholic religious orders that follow a body of regulations known as "The rule of St....
 friar
Friar

A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders....
 who appears on a boat at the end of the film.

Set Design

Director Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson

Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, Officer of the Order of Australia is an Australian-American actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter....
 wanted Apocalypto to feature sets with actual buildings rather than relying on computer-generated images
Computer-generated imagery

Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in films, television programs, Television commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media....
. Most of the step pyramids seen at the Maya city were models designed by Thomas E. Sanders (Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 in film Cinema of the United States war film set during the Invasion of Normandy of Normandy in World War II. It was film director by Steven Spielberg and Screenplay by Robert Rodat....
). Sanders explained his approach, "We wanted to set up the Mayan world, but we were not trying to do a documentary
Documentary

A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photography...
. Visually, we wanted to go for what would have the most impact. Just as on Braveheart, you are treading the line of history and cinematography. Our job is to do a beautiful movie."

While many of the architectural details of Maya cities are correct, they are blended from different locations and eras, a decision Farhad Safinia
Farhad Safinia

Farhad Safinia is a screenwriter and film producer....
 said was made for aesthetic reasons. While Apocalypto is set during the post-classic period of Maya civilization, the central pyramid of the film comes from the classic period, which ended in A.D. 900. Furthermore, the temples are in the shape of those of Tikal
Tikal

Tikal is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centers of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the archaeological region of the Pet?n Basin in what is now modern-day northern Guatemala....
 in the central lowlands classic
Mesoamerican chronology

Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into a number of named successive eras or periods, from the earliest evidence of human habitation through to the early Colonial period which followed the Spanish colonization of the Americas....
 style but decorated with the Puuc
Puuc

Puuc is the name of a region in the Mexican state of Yucat?n as well as a maya architectural style prevalent in that region. The word "puuc" is derived from the Maya term for "hill"....
 style elements of the north west Yucatan centuries later. Richard D. Hansen
Richard D. Hansen

Dr. Richard D. Hansen, Ph.D, is an eminent American archaeologist and currently Senior Scientist in the Institute for Mesoamerican Research in in the Department of Anthropology at Idaho State University....
 comments, "There was nothing in the post-classic period that would match the size and majesty of that pyramid in the film. But Gibson … was trying to depict opulence, wealth, consumption of resources."

The set design of Apocalypto also blended elements of Maya art from different eras and locations. The mural in the arched walkway combined elements from the Maya codices, the Bonampak
Bonampak

Bonampak is an ancient Maya civilization archaeological site in the Mexico Political divisions of Mexico of Chiapas. The site is approximately 30km south of the larger site of Yaxchilan, under which Bonampak was a dependency, and the border with Guatemala....
 murals (over 700 years earlier than the film's setting), and the San Bartolo murals (some 1500 years earlier than the film's setting).

Filming

Gibson filmed Apocalypto mainly in Catemaco
Catemaco

Catemaco is a city in the south central portion of the Mexican state of Veracruz, within the volcanic mountains of the Sierra de Los Tuxtlas. It serves as the municipal seat for the Catemaco ....
, San Andrés Tuxtla
San Andrés Tuxtla

The municipality of San Andr?s Tuxtla is located in the south-central portion of the Mexican state of Veracruz. Its municipal seat is also called San Andr?s Tuxtla, located 150 km from the city of Veracruz along Mexican Federal Highway in the Sierra de Los Tuxtlas region....
, and Paso de Ovejas
Paso de Ovejas

Paso de Ovejas is a city in the Mexican state of Veracruz.It serves as the municipal seat for the Paso de Ovejas .Paso de Ovejas is bordered by...
 in the Mexican
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
 state of Veracruz
Veracruz

Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave is one of the 31 states of Mexico that constitute the republic of Mexico....
. The waterfall scene was filmed on a real waterfall called Salto de Eyipantla, located in San Andrés Tuxtla
San Andrés Tuxtla

The municipality of San Andr?s Tuxtla is located in the south-central portion of the Mexican state of Veracruz. Its municipal seat is also called San Andr?s Tuxtla, located 150 km from the city of Veracruz along Mexican Federal Highway in the Sierra de Los Tuxtlas region....
. Other filming by second-unit crews took place in El Petén, Guatemala
Guatemala

Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize and the Caribbean to the northeast, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast....
, and in Great Britain
Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....
. The film was originally slated for an August 4, 2006, release, but Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures

Touchstone Pictures is one of several alternate film labels of The Walt Disney Company, established in 1984. Its releases typically feature more mature themes than those that are released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner....
 delayed the release date to December 8, 2006, due to heavy rains and two hurricanes interfering with filming in Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
. Principal photography ended in July 2006.

Apocalypto was shot on high-definition
High-definition video

High-definition video or HD video generally refers to any video system of higher than Standard-definition_television, most commonly at display resolutions of 1280?720 or 1920?1080 ....
 digital video
Digital video

Digital video is a type of video recording system that works by using a digital rather than an analog signal video signal.The terms camera, video camera, and camcorder are used interchangeably in this article....
, using the Panavision Genesis
Genesis (Panavision)

The Genesis is Panavision's high-end digital movie camera, which uses a proprietary, full frame 35mm-width, 1.78:1 aspect ratio , 12.4-megapixel RGB filtered Charge-coupled device....
 camera. During filming, Gibson and cinematographer Dean Semler
Dean Semler

Dean Semler, A.C.S., A.S.C. is an Australian cinematographer. Over his career, he has worked as a cinematographer, camera operator, director, second unit director, and assistant director....
 employed the use of Spydercam
Spydercam

Spydercam is a type of film camera, used for aerial or suspended film editing. Using wires which are connected to a ceiling or building, it is used as an alternative to a crane or a different suspension system....
, a suspended camera system allowing shooting from atop. This equipment was used in a scene in which Jaguar Paw leaps off a waterfall:

We had a Spydercam shot from the top of [the] waterfall, looking over an actor's shoulder and then plunging over the edge –- literally in the waterfall. I thought we’d be doing it on film, but we put the Genesis [camera] up there in a light-weight water housing. The temperatures were beyond 100 degrees at [the] top, and about 60 degrees at the bottom, with the water and the mist. We shot two fifty-minute tapes without any problems – though we [did get] water in there once and fogged up.


A number of animals are featured in Apocalypto, including a Baird's tapir
Baird's Tapir

Baird?s Tapir is one of the three species of tapir found in Latin America....
 and a black jaguar
Jaguar

The jaguar, Panthera onca, is a New World Felidae and one of four "big cats" in the Panthera genus, along with the tiger, lion, and leopard of the Old World....
. Animatronics
Animatronics

Animatronics is the use of electronics and robotics in mechanised puppets to make them appear to be alive. They were first perfected by Walt Disney Imagineering and used at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California for the The Enchanted Tiki Room attraction....
 or puppets were employed for the scenes injurious to animals.

Distribution and Marketing

While Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson

Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, Officer of the Order of Australia is an Australian-American actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter....
 financed the film through his Icon Productions
Icon Productions

Icon Productions LLC is an American independent production company founded in August 1989 by American-Australian actor/director Mel Gibson and Australian producing partner Bruce Davey....
, Disney
The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company is the largest media and entertainment corporation in the world. Founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt Disney and Roy O....
 signed on to distribute Apocalypto for a fee in certain markets. The publicity for the film started with a December 2005 teaser trailer that was filmed before the start of principal photography and before Rudy Youngblood
Rudy Youngblood

Rudy Youngblood is an American Hollywood, California actor, musician, dancer and artist....
 was cast as Jaguar Paw. As a joke, Gibson inserted a subliminal cameo of the bearded director in a plaid shirt with a cigarette hanging from his mouth posing next to a group of dust-covered Maya. A clean-shaven Gibson also filmed a Mayan-language segment for the introduction of the 2006 Academy Awards
Academy Awards

The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers....
 in which he declined to host the ceremony. On September 23, 2006, Gibson pre-screened the unfinished film to two predominantly Native American
Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii....
 audiences in the US state
U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
 of Oklahoma
Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a U.S. state and a sovereignty located in the South Central United States and Southern United States of the United States of America ....
, at the Riverwind Casino
Riverwind Casino

Riverwind Casino is currently the largest casino in Oklahoma, at . It is located in Goldsby, Oklahoma at the Interstate 35 /State Highway 9 west junction....
 in Goldsby
Goldsby, Oklahoma

Goldsby is a town in McClain County, Oklahoma, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,204 at the United States Census, 2000....
, owned by the Chickasaw Nation
Chickasaw Nation

The Chickasaw Nation is a Native Americans in the United States nation that was part one of the Five Civilized Tribes in the United States. The Five Civilized Tribes were differentiated from other Indian reservations in that they had semi-autonomous constitutional governments and delegates in the U.S....
, and at Cameron University
Cameron University

Cameron University is a four-year, state-funded university located in Lawton, Oklahoma, Oklahoma, that offers more than 50 degrees through two-year, four-year and graduate programs....
 in Lawton
Lawton, Oklahoma

Lawton is a city in and the county seat of Comanche County, Oklahoma, Oklahoma, United States. It is the principal city of the Lawton, Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area....
. He also did a pre-screening in Austin
Austin, Texas

Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Travis County, Texas. Situated in Central Texas and part of the Southwestern United States, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 16th-largest in the United States....
, Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
, on September 24 in conjunction with one of the movie's stars, Rudy Youngblood
Rudy Youngblood

Rudy Youngblood is an American Hollywood, California actor, musician, dancer and artist....
. In Los Angeles
Los Ángeles

Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile....
, Gibson screened Apocalypto and participated in a Q&A session for Latin Business Association and for members of the Maya community. Due to an enthusiastic response from exhibitors, Disney opened the film on more than 2,500 screens in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
.

Themes

According to Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson

Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, Officer of the Order of Australia is an Australian-American actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter....
, the Mayan setting of Apocalypto is "merely the backdrop" for a more universal story of exploring "civilizations and what undermines them."

Although it is not directly expressed in the film, the background to the events depicted is the collapse of the Maya civilization, which the filmmakers researched before writing. According to historian Michael D. Coe, "Maya civilization in the Central Area reached its full glory in the early eighth century, but it must have contained the seeds of its own destruction, for in the century and a half that followed, all its magnificent cities had fallen into decline and ultimately suffered abandonment. This was surely one of the most profound social and demographic catastrophes of all human history." Coe lists "environmental collapse" as one of the leading causes of the fall of the great empire, alongside "endemic warfare", "overpopulation", and "drought". "There is mounting evidence for massive deforestation and erosion throughout the Central Area. The Maya apocalypse, for such it was, surely had ecological roots," explains Coe. The corrosive forces of corruption are illustrated in specific scenes throughout the movie. Excessive consumption can be seen in the extravagant lifestyle of the upper-class Maya, their vast wealth contrasted with the sickly, the extremely poor, and the enslaved. Environmental degradation is portrayed both in the exploitation of natural resources such as the over-mining and farming of the land, but also through the treatment of people, families and entire tribes as resources to be harvested and sold to slavery. Political corruption is seen in the leaders' manipulation, the human sacrifice
Human sacrifice

Human sacrifice is the act of killing human beings as part of a religious ritual . Its typology closely parallels the various practices of ritual slaughter of animals and of religious sacrifice in general....
 on a large scale, and the slave trade. The film shows slaves being forced to create the lime stucco
Stucco

Stucco or render is a material made of an Construction aggregate, a binder , and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid....
 cement that covered their temples, an act that some historians consider a major factor in the Maya decline. One calculation estimates that it would take five tons of jungle forestry to make one ton of quick lime. Historical consultant Richard D. Hansen
Richard D. Hansen

Dr. Richard D. Hansen, Ph.D, is an eminent American archaeologist and currently Senior Scientist in the Institute for Mesoamerican Research in in the Department of Anthropology at Idaho State University....
 explains, "I found one pyramid in El Mirador
El Mirador

El Mirador is a large pre-Columbian Maya civilizationn settlement, located in the north of the modern Departments of Guatemala of El Pet?n, Guatemala....
 that would have required nearly 650 hectares (1,600 acres) of every single available tree just to cover one building with lime stucco... Epic construction was happening... creating devastation on a huge scale"

The filmmakers intended this depiction of the Maya collapse to have relevance for contemporary society. The problems "faced by the Maya are extraordinarily similar to those faced today by our own civilization" co-writer Safinia stated during production, "especially when it comes to widespread environmental degradation, excessive consumption and political corruption." Gibson himself has stated that the movie is an attempt at illustrating the parallels between a great fallen empire of the past and the great empires of today, saying "People think that modern man is so enlightened, but we're susceptible to the same forces – and we are also capable of the same heroism and transcendence." The film serves as a cultural critique – in Hansen's words, a "social statement" – sending the message that it is never a mistake to question our own assumptions about morality.

However, Gibson has also stated that he wanted the film to be hopeful rather than entirely negative. While the title, Apocalypto, connotates destruction in English, Gibson has defined the title as "a new beginning or an unveiling — a revelation"; he says "Everything has a beginning and an end, and all civilizations have operated like that." The precise translation of the Greek word (ap??a??pt? or apokalýpto) is in fact a verb
Verb

In syntax, a verb is a word that usually denotes an action , an occurrence , or a state of being . Depending on the language, a verb may vary in form according to many factors, possibly including its grammatical tense, grammatical aspect, grammatical mood and grammatical voice....
 meaning "I uncover," "disclose," or "reveal." Gibson has also said a theme of the film is the exploration of primal fears.

Reception

The film was released in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 on December 8, 2006, to generally positive reviews from film critics. Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper

Richard Roeper is an United States journalist and film critic for The Chicago Sun Times. He also co-hosted the television series At the Movies with Roger Ebert from 2000?2008....
 and guest critic Aisha Tyler
Aisha Tyler

Aisha N. Tyler is an United States actor, stand-up comedy and writer....
 on the television show Ebert & Roeper gave it "two big thumbs up" rating. Michael Medved
Michael Medved

Michael Medved is an United States radio personality and is a pundit , film critic, and author. He identifies himself as Conservatism in the United States....
 gave Apocalypto four stars (out of four) calling the film "an adrenaline-drenched chase movie" and "a visceral visual experience." Overall, the review tallying website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 116 out of the 178 reviews they tallied were positive for a score of 65% and a certification of "fresh".

As the film opened, there were rumors that the Mexican populace would riot and protest the film. But the film registered a wider number of viewers than Perfume
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (film)

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is a 2006 in film English language film directed by Tom Tykwer and based on the novel Perfume by Patrick S?skind....
 and Rocky Balboa
Rocky Balboa (film)

Rocky Balboa is a 2006 in film written and directed by Sylvester Stallone who also stars as underdog Boxing Rocky Balboa. It is the sixth and final film in the Rocky , which began with the Oscar-winning Rocky thirty years earlier in 1976....
. It even displaced memorable Mexican premieres such as Titanic
Titanic (1997 film)

Titanic is a 1997 United States romantic film directed, written, co-produced and co-edited by James Cameron about the sinking of the RMS Titanic....
 and Poseidon
Poseidon (film)

Poseidon is a 2006 in film action-adventure disaster film and the third film adaptation of The Poseidon Adventure by Paul Gallico. It stars Kurt Russell, Josh Lucas, Emmy Rossum, and Richard Dreyfuss....
. According to polls performed by the newspaper Reforma
Reforma

Reforma is a Mexico newspaper based in Mexico City. It has 276,700 readers in Mexico City. The paper shares content with other papers in parent newsgroup Grupo Reforma....
, 80% of polled Mexicans labeled the film as “very good” or “good”.

Apocalypto gained some passionate champions in the Hollywood community. Actor Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall

Robert Selden Duvall is an United States film actor and Film director who has won an Academy Award, two Emmys, and four Golden Globes. He has appeared in films such as To Kill a Mockingbird , The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, Apocalypse Now, The Natural , Network , THX 1138, MASH , The Great Santini,...
 called it "maybe the best movie I’ve seen in 25 years." Director Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, Film producer, cinematographer and actor. He rose to fame in the early 1990s as an independent film filmmaker whose films used nonlinear and aestheticization of violence....
 said, "I think it’s a masterpiece. It was perhaps the best film of that year. I think it was the best artistic film of that year." Actor Edward James Olmos
Edward James Olmos

Edward James "Eddie" Olmos is an Emmy Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated United States actor and director. Some of his most memorable roles are Characters in Blade Runner#Gaff in Blade Runner, Lieutenant Martin Castillo in Miami Vice, Jaime Escalante in Stand and Deliver, William Adama in the Battlestar Galactica re-i...
 said, “I was totally caught off guard. It’s arguably the best movie I’ve seen in years. I was blown away.”

Controversies


Representation of the Maya


Just prior to its release, Apocalypto was criticized by activists in Guatemala
Guatemala

Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize and the Caribbean to the northeast, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast....
, including Lucio Yaxon, who charged that the trailer depicts Maya as savages. In her review of the film, anthropologist Traci Ardren wrote that Apocalypto was biased because "no mention is made of the achievements in science and art, the profound spirituality and connection to agricultural cycles, or the engineering feats of Maya cities." Apocalypto also sparked a strong condemnation from art professor Julia Guernsey, who said, “I think it's despicable. It's offensive to Maya people. It's offensive to those of us who try to teach cultural sensitivity and alternative world views that might not match our own 21st-century Western ones but are nonetheless valid.”

However, many Mayas were not offended by the film. Sara Zapata Mijares, president and founder of Federación de Clubes Yucatecos-USA, a group of Yucatec Mayas in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, called it "a great picture", although she commented that the film "should have had a little bit more of the culture. It could have shown a little more why these buildings [pyramids] were built."

Furthermore, some writers felt that Gibson's film was more truthful about the Maya than other representations. One Mexican reporter, Juan E. Pardinas, wrote that "this historical interpretation bears some resemblances with reality […]. Since then, Pardinas has been ostracized by the Mexican and Central Amerian intelligencia. Mel Gibson's characters are more similar to the Mayas of the Bonampak
Bonampak

Bonampak is an ancient Maya civilization archaeological site in the Mexico Political divisions of Mexico of Chiapas. The site is approximately 30km south of the larger site of Yaxchilan, under which Bonampak was a dependency, and the border with Guatemala....
's murals than the ones that appear in the Mexican school textbooks". "The first researchers tried to make a distinction between the 'peaceful' Maya and the 'brutal' cultures of central Mexico", David Stuart wrote in a 2003 article. "They even tried to say human sacrifice was rare among the Maya." But in carvings and mural paintings, Stuart said: "we have now found more and greater similarities between the Aztecs and Mayas – including a Maya ceremony in which a grotesquely costumed priest is shown pulling the entrails from a bound and apparently living sacrificial victim." Stuart also noted evidence of child sacrifices.

Historical consultant Richard D. Hansen
Richard D. Hansen

Dr. Richard D. Hansen, Ph.D, is an eminent American archaeologist and currently Senior Scientist in the Institute for Mesoamerican Research in in the Department of Anthropology at Idaho State University....
 states that the impact the film will have on Maya archaeology will be beneficial: "It is a wonderful opportunity to focus world attention on the ancient Maya and to realize the role they played in world history."

Gibson stated several times that the main point of the storyline was the love story and not the documentation of a specific Mayan time line.

Human Sacrifice

Apocalypto has been criticized for portraying a type of human sacrifice which was more typical of the Aztecs than of the Maya. Archaeologist Lisa Lucero said, "the classic Maya really didn't go in for mass sacrifice. That was the Aztecs." Anthropology
Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of humans and humanity in its totality. Anthropology has origins in the natural sciences, and the humanities. In Great Britain it was originally divided into physical anthropology and cultural anthropology, which itself was divided into archaeology, technology, ethnology and sociology ....
 professor Karl Taube
Karl Taube

Karl Andreas Taube   is an American Mesoamericanist, archaeologist, epigrapher and ethnohistory, known for his publications and research into the pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica and the American Southwest....
 argued that, "We know the Aztecs did that level of killing. Their accounts speak of 20,000." According to the film’s technical advisor, the film was meant to describe the post-classic period of the Maya when fiercer influences like the Toltecs and Aztecs arrived. According to Hansen, "We know warfare was going on. The Postclassic center of Tulum
Tulum

Tulum is the site of a Pre-Columbian Maya civilization Defensive wall serving as a major port for Cob?.The ruins are located on 39-foot cliffs, along the east coast of the Yucat?n Peninsula on the Caribbean Sea in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico....
 is a walled city; these sites had to be in defensive positions. There was tremendous Aztec influence by this time. The Aztecs were clearly ruthless in their conquest and pursuit of sacrificial victims, a practice that spilled over into some of the Maya areas."

Anthropology
Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of humans and humanity in its totality. Anthropology has origins in the natural sciences, and the humanities. In Great Britain it was originally divided into physical anthropology and cultural anthropology, which itself was divided into archaeology, technology, ethnology and sociology ....
 professor Stephen Houston made the criticism that sacrifice victims were more likely to be royalty and elites rather than common forest dwellers, as shown in Apocalypto. Regardless, the sacrifices happened and likely included commoners. The attempt to mitigate the use of human sacrifice has, since, been shown an attempt to rewrite the true and savage nature of the Maya and even Aztec people. To this day, ancestors of both insist that the two cultures only killed "certain" humans. In contrast, Associate Professor William R. Fowler states that for major favors, worshippers “offered the gods human sacrifice, usually children, slaves, or prisoners of war.” Anthropology
Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of humans and humanity in its totality. Anthropology has origins in the natural sciences, and the humanities. In Great Britain it was originally divided into physical anthropology and cultural anthropology, which itself was divided into archaeology, technology, ethnology and sociology ....
 professor Karl Taube
Karl Taube

Karl Andreas Taube   is an American Mesoamericanist, archaeologist, epigrapher and ethnohistory, known for his publications and research into the pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica and the American Southwest....
 criticized the film’s apparent depiction of widespread slavery
Slavery

Slavery is a form of forced labor where a person is compelled to Labor for another . Slaves are held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase, or birth, and are deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to receive Remuneration in return for their labor....
, saying, “We have no evidence of large numbers of slaves.” Another disputed scene, when Jaguar Paw and the rest of captives are used as target practice, was acknowledged by the filmmakers to be invented as a plot device for igniting the chase sequence. Some anthropologists objected to the presence of a huge pit filled with rotting corpses near their fields of the Maya. Richard D. Hansen
Richard D. Hansen

Dr. Richard D. Hansen, Ph.D, is an eminent American archaeologist and currently Senior Scientist in the Institute for Mesoamerican Research in in the Department of Anthropology at Idaho State University....
 acknowledges that this is "conjecture", saying that "all [Gibson was] trying to do there is express the horror of it."

Arrival of the Spaniards

According to the DVD
DVD

DVD, also known as "Digital Versatile Disc" or "Digital Video Disc,"is a popular optical disc data storage device media format. Its main uses are video and data storage....
 commentary track by Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson

Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, Officer of the Order of Australia is an Australian-American actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter....
 and Farhad Safinia
Farhad Safinia

Farhad Safinia is a screenwriter and film producer....
, the ending of the film was meant to depict the first contact between the Spaniards and Mayas that took place in 1502 during the fourth voyage of Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was a Republic of Genoa navigator, colonialist and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean?funded by Queen Isabella of Spain?led to general European awareness of the America in the Western Hemisphere....
.

Anthropologist Traci Ardren criticized the presence of the Spanish expedition in the last five minutes of the story, claiming that "the Spaniards arrived 300 years after the last Maya city was abandoned." However, despite the end of construction at many famous postclassic centers, such as Chichen Itza
Chichen Itza

Chichen Itza is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site built by the Maya civilization located in the northern center of the Yucat?n Peninsula, in the Yucat?n state, present-day Mexico....
 and Uxmal
Uxmal

Uxmal is a large pre-Columbian ruined city of the Maya civilization in the state of Yucat?n, Mexico. It is 78 km south of M?rida, Yucat?n, or 110 km from that city on Highway 261 towards Campeche, Campeche), 15 km south-southeast of the town of Muna ....
, they had not been abandoned at the time of the Spanish arrival, and there were still many comparatively smaller Maya cities such as Mayapan, Tiho
Tiho

Tiho is the self-tiled album of the Croatian musician Tiho Orlic of the band Thompson . It was released in 2004, during an extended break between Thompson's albums E, moj narode and Bilo jednom u Hrvatskoj....
, Coba
Coba

Coba is a large ruined city of the Pre-Columbian Maya civilization, located in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. It is located about 90 km east of the Maya site of Chichen Itza, about 40 km west of the Caribbean Sea, and 44 km northwest of the site of Tulum, with which it is connected by a modern road....
, Chetumal
Chetumal

Chetumal is a city on the east coast of the Yucat?n Peninsula in Mexico. It is the capital of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo and the municipal seat of the Oth?n P....
, Nito
NITO

The Norwegian Society of Engineers and Technologists is the largest trade union in engineering in Norway with approximately 60,000 members. NITO has 21 regional branches covering the country and over 2,000 local clubs and shop stewards....
, and Tayasal
Tayasal

Tayasal is a pre-Columbian Maya civilization archaeological site that dates to the Mesoamerican chronology period. The site is located in the Geography of Mesoamerica#Maya Region on a small island in Lake Pet?n Itz?, now part of the Pet?n in northern Guatemala....
, also known as Petzen Itza, survived until 1697 before being conquered by the Spaniards.

The thematic meaning of the arrival of the Europeans is a subject of disagreement. Traci Ardren wrote that the Spanish arrivals were Christian
Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism#Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament....
 missionaries and that the film had a "blatantly colonial
Colonialism

Colonialism is the extension of a nation's sovereignty over Territory beyond its borders by the establishment of either settler or exploitation colony in which Indigenous people populations are direct rule, Population transfers, or Genocide....
 message that the Mayas needed saving because they were rotten at the core." According to Arden, the Gibson film "replays, in glorious big-budget technicolor, an offensive and racist notion that Maya people were brutal to one another long before the arrival of Europeans and thus they deserved, in fact they needed, rescue. This same idea was used for 500 years to justify the subjugation of Maya people". Others disagreed with Ardren’s view that the Spaniards were portrayed as saviors of the Mayas, citing an equivocal or ominous depiction instead. They point out that the hero Jaguar Paw chose to avoid the new arrivals at the close of the film rather than joining them and that the Oracle Girl had prophesied about the coming of those who would "Scratch out the earth. Scratch you out. And end your world."

Awards

Apocalypto has been recognized with numerous awards and nominations. For his role as producer and director of the film, Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson

Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, Officer of the Order of Australia is an Australian-American actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter....
 was given the Trustee Award by the First Americans in the Arts
First Americans in the Arts

First Americans in the Arts is a non-profit organization based in Beverly Hills, California. According to its website, the organization was created "to recognize, honor and promote Native Americans in the United States participation in the powerful arena of the entertainment industry, incorporating the areas of film, television, music and...
 organization. Gibson was also awarded the Latino Business Association's Chairman's Visionary Award for his work on Apocalypto on November 2, 2006, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles

Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile....
, California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
. At the ceremony, Gibson had said that the film was a "badge of honor for the Latino community." Gibson also stated that Apocalypto would help dismiss the notion that "history only began with Europeans.”

Won

  • Central Ohio Film Critics Association- COFCA Award for Best Cinematography (2007) - Dean Semler
    Dean Semler

    Dean Semler, A.C.S., A.S.C. is an Australian cinematographer. Over his career, he has worked as a cinematographer, camera operator, director, second unit director, and assistant director....
  • Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards - DFWFCA Award for Best Cinematography (2006) - Dean Semler
    Dean Semler

    Dean Semler, A.C.S., A.S.C. is an Australian cinematographer. Over his career, he has worked as a cinematographer, camera operator, director, second unit director, and assistant director....
  • First Americans in the Arts
    First Americans in the Arts

    First Americans in the Arts is a non-profit organization based in Beverly Hills, California. According to its website, the organization was created "to recognize, honor and promote Native Americans in the United States participation in the powerful arena of the entertainment industry, incorporating the areas of film, television, music and...
     - FAITA Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor (2007) - Rudy Youngblood
    Rudy Youngblood

    Rudy Youngblood is an American Hollywood, California actor, musician, dancer and artist....
  • First Americans in the Arts
    First Americans in the Arts

    First Americans in the Arts is a non-profit organization based in Beverly Hills, California. According to its website, the organization was created "to recognize, honor and promote Native Americans in the United States participation in the powerful arena of the entertainment industry, incorporating the areas of film, television, music and...
     - FAITA Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor (Supporting) (2007) - Morris Birdyellowhead
    Morris Birdyellowhead

    Morris Birdyellowhead is an actor best known for his portrayal of Flint Sky in the 2006 epic film Apocalypto, directed by Mel Gibson. He is 6'3 and is an avid Darts player....
  • Imagen Foundation
    Imagen Foundation

    The Imagen Foundation is dedicated to "encouraging and recognizing the positive portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment industry".In 1983, founder Helen Hernandez met with prolific television writer and Television producer Norman Lear....
     - Imagen Award for Best Supporting Actor (2007) - Gerardo Taracena
    Gerardo Taracena

    Gerardo Taracena is a Mexico film actor, theatre actor and dancer. He is known for his roles in Apocalypto, Man on Fire, American Family and The Mexican....
  • Imagen Foundation - Imagen Award for Best Supporting Actress (2007) - Dalia Hernandez
    Dalia Hernández

    Dalia Hern?ndez Armenta is a Mexico actress who made her acting debut in the 2006 epic film Apocalypto, which chronicles the declining years of the Maya civilization....
  • Motion Picture Sound Editors
    Motion Picture Sound Editors

    Founded in 1953, Motion Picture Sound Editors is an honorary society of motion picture sound editors. The society's goals are to educate others about and increase the recognition of the sound editors, show the artistic merit of the Soundtrack, and improve the professional relationship of its members....
    , USA
    United States

    The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
     - Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing for Music in a Feature Film (2007) - Dick Bernstein (music editor), Jim Henrikson (music editor)
  • Phoenix Film Critics Society
    Phoenix Film Critics Society

    The Phoenix Film Critics Society is an organization of film reviewers from Phoenix, Arizona-based publications.In December of each year, the PFCS meets to vote on their Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards for films released in the same calendar year....
     - PFCS Award for Best Cinematography (2006) - Dean Semler


Nominated

  • Academy Awards
    Academy Awards

    The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers....
    , USA - Oscar for Best Achievement in Makeup (2007) - Aldo Signoretti
    Aldo Signoretti

    Aldo Signoretti is an Italians make-up artist. He was nominated twice for the Academy Award for Makeup, the first time for his work in Moulin Rouge! , the second time for his work in Apocalypto ....
    , Vittorio Sodano
    Vittorio Sodano

    Vittorio Sodano is an Italians make-up artist. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Makeup for his work in Apocalypto ....
  • Academy Awards, USA - Oscar for Best Achievement in Sound Editing (2007) - Sean McCormack, Kami Asgar
    Kami Asgar

    Kami Asgar is an Iranian-American Supervising Sound Editor. Asgar is an industry professional and has over 60 credits as sound producer/editor in both film and television....
  • Academy Awards, USA - Oscar for Best Achievement in Sound Mixing (2007) - Kevin O'Connell
    Kevin O'Connell (sound re-recording mixer)

    Kevin O'Connell is an Academy Award nominated sound re-recording mixer. He holds the record for most Academy Award nominations without a win at 20, having originally set the record in 2006 with his 18th nomination and loss, making him the "unluckiest nominee in the history of the Academy Awards"....
    , Greg P. Russell, Fernando Cámara
  • Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA - Saturn Award for Best Direction (2007) - Mel Gibson
    Mel Gibson

    Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, Officer of the Order of Australia is an Australian-American actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter....
  • Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA - Saturn Award for Best International Film (2007)
  • American Society of Cinematographers
    American Society of Cinematographers

    The American Society of Cinematographers is an educational, cultural, and professional organization. It is not a labor union, and it is not a guild....
    , USA - ASC Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases (2007) - Dean Semler
    Dean Semler

    Dean Semler, A.C.S., A.S.C. is an Australian cinematographer. Over his career, he has worked as a cinematographer, camera operator, director, second unit director, and assistant director....
  • BAFTA Awards- BAFTA Film Award for Best Film not in the English Language (2007) - Mel Gibson, Bruce Davey
    Bruce Davey

    Bruce Davey is an Academy Award-winning Australian film producer.A partner in Icon Entertainment alongside Mel Gibson, Sydney, Australia-born Davey has produced many films including Apocalypto, The Passion of the Christ, and Braveheart, for which he won an Academy Award....
  • Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
    Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards

    The Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards, commonly called the Critics' Choice Awards, are bestowed annually by the Broadcast Film Critics Association to honor the finest in cinematic achievement....
     - BFCA Award for Best Foreign Language Film (2007)
  • Chicago Film Critics Association Awards - CFCA Award for Best Foreign Language Film (2006)
  • Golden Globes, USA - Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film (2007)
  • Hollywood Reporter Key Art Awards - Key Art Award for Best Action-Adventure Poster (2006)
  • Imagen Foundation
    Imagen Foundation

    The Imagen Foundation is dedicated to "encouraging and recognizing the positive portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment industry".In 1983, founder Helen Hernandez met with prolific television writer and Television producer Norman Lear....
     - Imagen Award for Best Picture (2007)
  • Motion Picture Sound Editors
    Motion Picture Sound Editors

    Founded in 1953, Motion Picture Sound Editors is an honorary society of motion picture sound editors. The society's goals are to educate others about and increase the recognition of the sound editors, show the artistic merit of the Soundtrack, and improve the professional relationship of its members....
    , USA - Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing in a Feature Film: Dialogue and Automated Dialogue Replacement (2007) - Sean McCormack (supervising sound editor), Kami Asgar
    Kami Asgar

    Kami Asgar is an Iranian-American Supervising Sound Editor. Asgar is an industry professional and has over 60 credits as sound producer/editor in both film and television....
     (supervising sound editor), Scott G.G. Haller (supervising dialogue editor), Jessica Gallavan (supervising ADR editor
    Dubbing (filmmaking)

    In film production, dubbing or looping is the process of recording or replacing voices for a motion picture. The term most commonly refers to voices recorded that do not belong to the original actors and speak in a different language from the one in which the actor is speaking....
    ), Lisa J. Levine (supervising ADR editor
    Dubbing (filmmaking)

    In film production, dubbing or looping is the process of recording or replacing voices for a motion picture. The term most commonly refers to voices recorded that do not belong to the original actors and speak in a different language from the one in which the actor is speaking....
    ), Linda Folk (supervising ADR editor
    Dubbing (filmmaking)

    In film production, dubbing or looping is the process of recording or replacing voices for a motion picture. The term most commonly refers to voices recorded that do not belong to the original actors and speak in a different language from the one in which the actor is speaking....
    )
  • Online Film Critics Society Awards - OFCS Award for Best Cinematography (2007) - Dean Semler
    Dean Semler

    Dean Semler, A.C.S., A.S.C. is an Australian cinematographer. Over his career, he has worked as a cinematographer, camera operator, director, second unit director, and assistant director....
  • Satellite Awards
    Satellite Awards

    The Satellite Awards are an annual award given by the International Press Academy. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards....
     - Satellite Award for Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language (2006)
  • St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards - Award for Best Foreign Language Film (2006)


Cast

  • Rudy Youngblood
    Rudy Youngblood

    Rudy Youngblood is an American Hollywood, California actor, musician, dancer and artist....
     - Jaguar Paw
  • Dalia Hernández
    Dalia Hernández

    Dalia Hern?ndez Armenta is a Mexico actress who made her acting debut in the 2006 epic film Apocalypto, which chronicles the declining years of the Maya civilization....
     - Seven
  • Jonathan Brewer - Blunted
  • Morris Birdyellowhead
    Morris Birdyellowhead

    Morris Birdyellowhead is an actor best known for his portrayal of Flint Sky in the 2006 epic film Apocalypto, directed by Mel Gibson. He is 6'3 and is an avid Darts player....
     - Flint Sky
  • Carlos Emilio Báez - Turtles Run
  • Amílcar Ramírez - Curl Nose
  • Israel Contreras
    Israel Contreras

    Israel Contreras is a former Venezuelan Boxing who won the World Boxing Association bantamweight title. He had a supporting role in the Mel Gibson film Apocalypto....
     - Smoke Frog
  • Israel Ríos - Cocoa Leaf
  • María Isabel Díaz - Mother-in-Law
  • Iazúa Laríos - Sky Flower
  • Raoul Trujillo
    Raoul Trujillo

    Raoul Trujillo is a Native Americans in the United States actor, dancer, and former soloist with the Alwin Nikolais Dance Theatre and the original choreographer and co-director for the American Indian Dance Theatre....
     - Zero Wolf
  • Gerardo Taracena
    Gerardo Taracena

    Gerardo Taracena is a Mexico film actor, theatre actor and dancer. He is known for his roles in Apocalypto, Man on Fire, American Family and The Mexican....
     - Middle Eye
  • Rodolfo Palacios - Snake Ink
  • Ariel Galván - Hanging Moss
  • Bernardo Ruiz - Drunkards Four
  • Ricardo Díaz Mendoza - Cut Rock
  • Richard Can - Ten Peccary
  • Carlos Ramos - Monkey Jaw
  • Ammel Rodrigo Mendoza - Buzzard Hook
  • Marco Antonio Argueta - Speaking Wind
  • Aquetzali García - Oracle Girl
  • María Isidra Hoil - Oracle Girl
  • Abel Woolrich
    Abel Woolrich

    Abel Woolrich was a Mexican character actor. His career spanned over thirty years of Mexican cinema, including films such as Mujeres salvajes and El callej?n de los milagros; in addition, he had small parts in a few Hollywood movies such as Solo , The Mask of Zorro, Ravenous and My Family ....
     - Laughing man


Soundtrack album


The soundtrack
Soundtrack

The term soundtrack refers to three related concepts: recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; and the physical area of a film that contains the synchronized recorded so...
 to Apocalypto was composed by James Horner
James Horner

James Roy Horner is an United States composer of orchestral and film music. He is noted for the integration of choral and electronic elements in many of his film scores, and for frequent use of Celtic music....
 in his third collaboration with director Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson

Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, Officer of the Order of Australia is an Australian-American actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter....
. The soundtrack lacks a traditional orchestral score and instead features large array of exotic instruments and vocals by Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is a musician, and primarily, a singer of Qawwali, a devotional music of the Sufis. He is the nephew of the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan....
.

See also

  • Kings of the Sun
    Kings of the Sun

    Kings of the Sun is a 1963 in film film directed by J. Lee Thompson set in Mesoamerica at the time of the conquest of Chichen Itza by Hunac Ceel....
    , a 1963 Hollywood treatment of the Mayas.


External links

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