APOCALYPTO --- Mel Gibson's Latest (1 Viewer)

[Chris]

Mel Gibson is not a right-wing crazy and that brandish has always befuddled me. Gibson is basically a person who has strong beliefs, but it's hard to quantify those with a political policy.

I haven't seen Apocolypto, but I spoke to a few people who did in Oklahoma last week. And they were stunned. One referred to it as one of the greatest films he had ever seen. And considering who this person is I took it very seriously. The heart of the story is t hat a big reason why the indian nations collapsed when the europeans came was because they could not stay unified.. that they used fear, etc. to rule their people and when a real threat came, their people were more afraid of their own leaders then the outsiders and the collapse began internal.

This made the screening in front of Native Americans brilliant. It is the story of many indian nations that they could not unify in the face of an intruder and found themselves on the short end of the stick. It's about unity; about action.. etc.

If this film is as it reads, it could be a hell of a film. Maybe not a box office blockbuster, but I think it will do better then some expect.

 

[Terry St]

Hopefully that's not actually what the film argues, since Mayan civilization collapsed centuries before European contact. The decendants of the Maya who lived in cities were around at the time of contact though, and they were actually one of the more resiliant native groups in their response to Europeans.

Pre-contact Mayan culture is about as totally alien as any culture could be to the modern world. It's far more alien than anything ever portrayed on Star Trek, that's for sure. It will be interesting to see if Gibson tries to get his audience into the mindset of the Maya or if he just settles for a plot driven purely by modern western values along the lines of, for instance, "Simple family man GOOD, human sacrifice and mayan priests/nobles BAAAD".

I don't think there's any other major director, with the sort of freedom Gibson has, who has a sado-masochistic streak nearly wide enough to commit certain aspects of Mayan culture to film. There is almost certainly going to be some human sacrifice in this film and probably other rituals that are grotesque by modern standards. Still, I'll be shocked if he has the balls to go as far as ritual blood-letting of the foreskin, as was practiced by Mayan nobles. A scene with that in it would stir up a boat load of controversy all on its own! Still, will Gibson just use these elements as a freak-show or actually try to get his audience into the mind-set of a culture where these things were practically mundane, and not horrific at all?

I also wonder if Gibson will attempt to convey any of the more admirable aspects of the Maya, such as their written language, astronomical observations, or complex calendar and number system. (There is a fair bit of evidence indicating the Mayan number system was the first positional number system with a zero place holder, much like the hindu/arabic number system we use, although the Mayan system was vigecimal...) There's no shortage of completely unique and untapped (by hollywood at least) material for a film here. Even if Gibson fails at just about everything, this film will still be unlike anything that's ever come out of hollywood.

 

[Chris]

I do know the native american community was happy with the outcome, so I can't believe it'd be some film that would present them in a terrible light

 

[David Brown Eyes]

I am looking forward to this film. As far as authenticity is concerned, hell I would have no idea. I am Native but not Mayan. Native Americans in Oklahoma may not have any idea either unless they were Mayan. Understand that the Mayan civilisation is just as foriegn and strange to my people as it is to yours. You would equate the Italians with the Irish, or Egyptians with the Greeks, probably not. Cherokees had and have a different language, social structure, foods, religion, even manner of being, than my Lakota people.

I finaly got a look at the full trailer and was absolutely stunned. If Mel took as much care with the Mayans as he apparently took with Jesus then I trust I will see a good film. If I see balanced human characters with faults and greatness I will be pleased, it is the cardboard cutout Natives that hollywood still constantly vomits out that irritate me.

 

[Paul Case]

This is pretty much my most anticipated film of the season. It looks to be a singular artistic vision, regardless of its ultimate quality.

 

[Abby_B]

I just saw the full theatrical trailer for this that was just released. This movie looks visually amazing. So intense!

So, it's going to be all about big stuff like why civilations rise and fall? I think that is going to be so interesting to watch. I've seen some good reviews from early screenings of the unfinished version.

 

[Justin Bauer]

Looks amazing...I can't wait. This, FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS, and CASINO ROYALE will hopefully make up for a bland year.

 

[Nick Martin]

I've been following the progress of the music with musician Tony Hinnigan by reading the postings on his website. He is playing on the score (currently being recorded in London). Every kind of primitive instrument around, from a 'Tromba Marina' (a trumpet-sounding string instrument) to a wide array of drums, 'serpent horns', 'zournas', to tall wind instruments called 'Fujaras', to vocals...everything but the kitchen sink. No orchestra of any kind.

It's going to be a more-or-less improvised score, with the composer likely directing the musicians to play something appropriate that fits the picture.

 

[Abby_B]

That is really interesting to hear about the music stuff. Has anyone ever done anything like that to score a movie before? (I can't think of any!) I like how they are really trying to make it as authentic as possible, it seems like.

New behind the scenes featurette:
http://media.filmforce.ign.com/media...68/vids_1.html

 

[KieranO'C]

Coppola did it for Apocalypse Now, but only some of the result was used.

Just watched the Complete Dossier DVD!

 

[Tim Glover]

We saw this trailer (longer version) before The Prestige. I love ole Mel....but this was intriguing awhile back but now just looks kind of weird, bizarre, and out there. I hope I'm wrong. I'll be there but you got to admit this is a strange trailer.

 

[BrettGallman]

Not any stranger than the teaser where Mel himself showed up for a split second in a pretty creepy shot.

 

[Rakesh.S]

Looks like another outlet for Mel's violence fetish....keep 'em coming Mel.

 

[Abby_B]

I think it's just different, rather than strange. In the sense of, the trailer got my attention and made me want to see more, you know? I think it will definitely be different from anything that's out right now, and in a good way.

 

[Abby_B]

Bumping to ad a pretty insightful interview with Mel where he talks about filming in the jungle and filming the movie in Mayan and all kinds of stuff. It's pretty insightful: http://comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=17262

I like that it seems like he really respects the history of Mayan culture and stuff and tried to convey that. I have to hand it to him, he does make really good historical movies. They feel really authentic.

 

[Nathan V]

Two excellent articles have surfaced. The first is from Variety, with Peter Bart pontificating on possible reactions by Hollywood's very insular community toward what is, from all appearances, another intense cinematic experience. Here are a few excerpts, from www.oscarwatch.com -


Full article: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/enter...l-calmoviestop

Regards,
Nathan

 

[Tim Glover]

Interesting....

 

[David Brown Eyes]

Maybe Mel will get it right.

hope and pray, hope and pray, hope and pray.

 

[Abby_B]

Thanks for posting those articles - the more I read about this the better it sounds. It sounds like Mel really stuck to his vision while making this, and the good press about it keeps coming - it really is going to be good. And if Captain Adama likes it, I'm satisfied

Also, there's a new teaser/tv spot out that I found on iFilm - it's short but there's a few brief new scene flashes and Mel talking about what "apocalypto" means. It's here: http://www.ifilm.com/video/2797436/channel/movies

 

[Nathan V]

Excerpt from an LA Times Article:


EDIT: Confirmed running time is 137 minutes. Interestingly, the tv spot is in 1.85:1; does anyone know what the film's aspect ratio is?

Regards,
Nathan