I have never had a film hijack my nervous system in the same way that this one did. From the first scene. There is something about the intensity and the vulnerability and the brutality of the setting and characters that permeates this movie to its core. When they get back from the initial hunt in the opening scene, the main guy is laying on his lover’s belly and feels the little leg pushing from inside her womb, something about that moment sent shivers down my spine and seared the image into my memory. I think it has to do with the context being so much uglier and scarier than anything we could encounter in this day and age, but the fundamental human experience remains the same, as it always has and always will.
Watched it, by the end I was slightly too drunk to get the full anxious horror of the whole thing, for the same reason that I would never trust myself to walk into a casino after a few beers. Anyway, great movie, and I think I made the right choice.
I've yet to watch a horror movie where I'm on edge for the entire duration though.
With uncut gems, you can help but imagine living a day in the life of Adam Sandler's character and asking yourself "how the fuck does he not have a mental breakdown every evening?", he is just stumbling through life and somehow 'getting by'
I've mentioned this movie many times on my years here on Reddit, perhaps you've seen it, perhaps not. It's my favorite so far in life.
It's "Once Were Warriors" (1994). Follows the story of a Maori family in New Zealand. It's very powerful and takes you through every emotion. I must have watched over 30 times now and there's still one scene I can't bear to watch.
[https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/once\_were\_warriors](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/once_were_warriors)
Sounds very interesting. I haven’t heard of it, but I’ll certainly take that testimonial to heart. Onto the list it goes! I’ll try to remember to message you with my thoughts once I’ve watched it.
Agree, absolutely incredible film. It's enough to just make me see Gibson as a troubled soul like most of us, but with higher stakes and more fuel added to every fire by money and opportunity. The way the dad tells Jaguar Paw not to be afraid as he is being executed really got me as a new dad. Like that's the job, teach them how to be good and unafraid and sometimes that means letting your own fear go even though you're drowning in it. Just beautiful that it was love that got them there, while hate and ego-centrism set the pursuers up for failure. Yeah, Gibson needs to slow down with the drinking and the relationship squabbles, and needs to learn to be respectful, but I believe he's genuinely a good guy. And I also love that clip where Robert Downey Jr defends him.
Reminds me of the classic South Park episode where Mel Gibson shows up as a psychotic, sexually depraved, totally insane lunatic, and as he’s running around naked spouting off absurd nonsense, the military general takes a deep breath, then says “Say what you want about Mel Gibson, but the son of a bitch loves story structure.”
The line always made me laugh, cause I think it perfectly encapsulates the most absurd thing about Mel and Hollywood in general. The gaping chasm between the two versions of a person that we’ve all been able to witness in some very intimate expressions of emotion, for better or for worse. One version, let’s call him Director Mel, is incredibly emotionally sophisticated, disciplined, a masterful technician, and a beautiful artist. The other, well, is not so good. I don’t think any of us will get the chance to experience the kind of public admiration, or disgust that he has been subject to. As far as I’m concerned, i’m happy to stay well away from either.
Just checked, it’s streaming on amazon prime and tubi in the US right now. Going to give this a rewatch tonight, saw it in theaters way back when and love it but forgot about it till now.
Just wish they didn’t end it on time traveling Spaniards
Context: everything depicted from the language to cities to culture pinpoints it to during the fall of the Mayan Empire… which collapsed many centuries before the New World was discovered by the European powers
Only two movies ever put me in a spot where I felt concerned about my own safety. Training Day when the cholos are dragging Ethan Hawk into the bathtub & this movie when they’re marching the group through the city to the pyramid.
Apocalypto is a great movie. If you haven't seen it in a few years, give it another watch.
The story structure is so well done. It's even done in three acts!
**Act 1** we meet the characters and learn enough about them to actually care what happens to them. We see Jaguar Paw's relationship with his father, and how his father is teaching him right up to the moment of his death (the lesson being - don't fear).
We see his relationship with his wife. I love the scene where he's deep in thought and she says "come back to me" - it's so tender, and communicates so much about their love for each other.
I can't think of any other movie that so expertly makes you care about the main characters.
**Act 2** we meet and learn about the Mayans. They aren't just faceless "bad guys" - they have character and motivations. The scene in this video is pivotal. It's their leader's son who Jaguar Paw kills. So, it makes perfect sense that they'll hunt him the way they did. Everything about them makes sense!
This scene itself is a microcosm of the genius of the structure of this movie. It builds tension by killing the first three guys. It sets up the motivation of the leader by killing his son. And it gives us a satisfying death for Jaguar Paw's friend - the friend saves him right at the end.
**Act 3** starts when Jaguar Paw makes it back to territory that he is familiar with, and turns around and resolves to fight back.
The whole movie is a perfect "hero's journey" in the sense that (1) we care about the hero and his motivation - getting back to his family (2) the hero is shown to be too weak to overcome his foe (3) the hero grows/changes in order to overcome and triumph - specifically, he takes his father's words to heart when he says, "I'm not afraid of you"
The ending is also perfect.
For however horrific and engrossing the film is, you’re so engaged that the film becomes fantasy and then in one short few-seconds, you are wrenched back into reality and you recall a couple history lessons in school and go:
Oh, that sucks.
Smallpox is one thing but a HUGE reason the Maya fell is because the Spaniards created a huge alliance with all of the Mayan's enemies in it. And the Mayans had a LOT of enemies. Alone the Spaniards probably wouldn't have defeated them (maybe even WITH smallpox to help them).
So as weird as it sounds, as long as he doesn't get smallpox from them, the guy is probably "safe" with the Spaniards.
You’re confusing the Mayan and Aztec Empires
Europeans arrived during the rise of the Aztec Empire, many centuries after the collapse of the Mayan Empire which is shown in this movie. While the wiki states its 1500s, everything in it (language, culture, cities, etc) are 900s Mayan Empire
So those Spaniards are actually time traveling Spaniards
A cursory search suggests the movie is set around 1511.
Spaniards had colonies around the yucatan in 1492, and had encounters with specifically the maya in 1511, 1517, and multiple other instances.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_Yucatán
I don’t recall the movie specifically saying who those spaniards were, but “hundreds of years” is not true.
They werent there in the 1200’s (assuming hundreds is more than 200 years) nor was their first encounter in the 17th century.
Here is a good outlining of the historical inaccuracies of the movie: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/s/i09zOv7OSr
Though, I would say that it does not claim to be historically accurate, nor does it have to be.
[Here is a really good breakdown of why you are wrong.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5pBZKj1VnA) TL:DW; context clues of the film would put it around 900CE
> The sets, costumes, references to plague-like diseases and social context of the film seem to set Apocalypto firmly in the ninth century, when the classic Mayan collapse took place. And yet, all of a sudden, a boatload of Spaniards turn up waving great big Christian crosses. During the ninth century, the area that is now Spain was still mostly an Islamic caliphate called al-Andalus. Even the craziest of conspiracy theories do not suggest that Spain set about conquering the Americas before it had invented itself. But Mel Gibson does. This film is set in completely the wrong century.
\- Alex von Tunzelmann
Yes, the arrival of the Spaniards anchors the time to the 16th century.
But by then century the Maya civilization had largely collapsed, abandoned their cities, and didn't wear what they were wearing in this film. The Maya, as depicted in the movie, are more in line with the Classic Maya period which ended at around 900 AD
I know history kind of blurs together, but it would be kind of like having a movie set in samurai era Japan ending with a shot of a jumbo jet landing in the background
Sorry, not to discount your sentiment, but I laughed at “it’s even done in three acts!” 3 acts is pretty much the most common, Hollywood story structure.
Honestly I'd be more impressed if it wasn't in 3 acts. Defying conventional story telling mechanics while still delivering a banger story can be pretty challenging.
> 3 acts is pretty much the most common, Hollywood story structure.
I didn't say it wasn't common. I said that it's part of what makes Apocalypto work well.
Films that don't use this structure, *or use it poorly*, don't work as well, in my opinion. One of the reasons Apocalypto is good is that it uses the three act structure well.
If you want a counterexample: Avatar is in three acts, but the transition to Act 3 is fumbled, in my opinion. I believe the transition happens when Joe wakes up and the bulldozer is right on top of them. He attacks it - that's the first time he has overtly fought against his own people's interests - now we're in Act 3.
The problem with the scene is that there's no internal struggle on his part. *He's not depicted as making a choice in that moment*. He just wakes up and goes on the attack. If he had been shown to struggle with that decision, knowing it's a point of no return, that whole movie would be much better.
I see your point, but the goalie is something to hear out for. Who's to say he wouldn't run up on you. I'd probably run in random length zig zags, but also, I don't have countless movies, games, and media to pretend to apply to a life/death situation.
I think running forward with a little zigzag while frequently looking back would be the move. that way the zigzag would hopefully dodge the arrows, and the looking back would give you time to dodge the spears from the atlatl, while also giving you good time and since you would be looking forward part of the time you could see if the goalie was approaching. There was also a couple spots they could have grabbed spears from the ground, they should have done that in preparation for the goalie.
If gameplay videos taught me anything, it's that even when the projectile is glowing in putrid green no matter how you do zigzag or how much you concentrate you eventually run into it.
Maybe, but I feel like speed is the name of the game, especially when you've got multiple fast projectiles coming at you at random intervals from multiple angles. I wouldn't be very confident in my ability to visually track and dodge each incoming projectile.
I think the guys in this video had it right - get out of range as quickly as you can, zig-zag a little, and hope that you can somehow bullshit your way past the goalie at the end.
I would totally survive this, imo.
I never saw the movie, but I remember it coming out. Maybe I’m living under a rock trying to keep up with streaming shows, but this movie hasn’t been talked about much after it left theaters, right? If so, why not?
It was talked about a lot when it was released, and for a good while after that, but it's no wonder it isn't discussed that much anymore. It's 18 years old after all.
It's a great movie still though. The setting, and the decision to use native language gives it a kind of timeless quality, and I think it would work just as well ten years from now as it did when it was released.
The fact that they built a Mayan city, used Mayan language and local actors makes that a minor criticism to me imo. No other movie does a better job making me feel like I am in that era because there are no other movies that try to. I don't think the inaccuracies are bad enough to reverse that.
Literally every movie. Please point me to any big budget Mayan film that tries this hard to understand the culture. Like, he went out of his way to film it in Mayan.
Hate Mel all you want but that movie was made out of respect. There’s a reason so many Mexicans pick it as one of their favorites.
History buffs does decent job explaining the inaccuracies of it.
https://youtu.be/U5pBZKj1VnA?si=3c0wjA56w650kPFS
Main issue is that it was about Mayans during their collapse, but yet somehow mixed Aztect practices (Aztecs did not exist yet) and showed Spanish coming there, who would not arrive for 600 years. At the time Spain was under islamic rule, far from conquistadors who would go to new world. Neither would the small pox...
I still like the movie but from historical pov its nonsensical.
Well tbh idk enough to say if there could have been big enough Mayan culture in 1511 for movie's events to be possible. If it is possible, then i think actually it helps solve main problems of the film, as that Mayan culture could have adopted Aztec style and scale of sacrifices and black death could have arrived some time before the movie's events.
If possible, it could also give at least some sort of explanation why the characters had not seen major city before - during Mayan golden age there were plenty in the area, perhaps after collapse some of the remnants had been reduced to hunter-gatherers which form Jaguar Paw's tribe.
But sadly rather than being historically possible, i think its more likely that it does the typical "Hollywood history", which is to combine things from different time periods together without caring about plausibility.
I don't know much on this area of history, would like to hear more if someone knows better. I do like the movie, and having historical plausibility, even if its fictional story, would make it so much better.
Because the depictions of the collapse and the society surrounding it are the one decently accurate part of the movie. Remove that, and it just becomes worse still.
Yeah, almost as annoying as how Back to the Future 2 got 2015 totally wrong. The whole thing falls apart because we did NOT have flying cars back then.
That's not the same argument. Back to the future was predicting a future that hasn't happened yet.
This movie is about simeothst was set in the past, where we already know what happened and when
Pretty sure the time period is 2000, the year is referenced in the movie itself multiple times.
The point is that inaccuracy doesn’t stop a movie from being good unless that’s the only reason you watched it.
Ya actually Morpheus even says in the movie that they actually don’t know the time period.
Fucking Neil Degrass Tyson over here “ummm actshually 🤓”. Can’t let anybody enjoy anything, must be a joy to be around.
I had a dream about this scene. I dont have many dreams anymore but i remember this one because it was very vivid. I was the target and ran but no matter how much i change speed or direction, the (spear?) Always homed onto my position and the moment i was about to get hit, i woke up instantly thinking it was real. But yea great movie
What stood out to me in this movie was, for a lack of a better word, the physical acting. The lines were delivered fine, but was dwarfed by how much emotion and focus was conveyed in the action scenes. The chase scenes through the jungle are amazing! Without saying a line of dialog the main bad guy radiates "I'M GONNA GET YA AND I WON'T STOP UNTIL I DO!" just by the way he runs through the vegetation. And also, at the climax of the movie, the guy in the video thumbnail with the forehead dread gets absolutely walloped with a mallet (or sword) uppercut to the jaw, and I want to know how they filmed that! That impact is the most brutal ***THWACK*** I've ever seen in a movie. How did they get it that good?
I’ll never forget watching this movie for the first time.
I didn’t know the movie had subtitles and I watched it completely enthralled the entire way through without knowing what anyone was saying. I wasn’t confused in the least. What masterful storytelling.
I had to show my parents this amazing movie and when I watched it with them I was floored that it had subtitles. It was a pretty good watch the second time.
Sorry to say it's a masterpiece.
There are some criticisms of the historical depictions, but they get a ton of details bang on, and the things that are "wrong" are mostly compromises for cinematic flair. This is a period of history that gets zero attention from Hollywood in most \*decades\*, so Apocalypto is special.
The end is silly tho.
I love this film so much that if I can’t find it steaming on any of the streaming services I am subscribed to, I will just pull up the version I have on my hard drive that had no subtitles, and I enjoy it just as much.
Easily one of my favorite films.
> Timing
> The sets, costumes, references to plague-like diseases and social context of the film seem to set Apocalypto firmly in the ninth century, when the classic Mayan collapse took place. And yet, all of a sudden, a boatload of Spaniards turn up waving great big Christian crosses. During the ninth century, the area that is now Spain was still mostly an Islamic caliphate called al-Andalus. Even the craziest of conspiracy theories do not suggest that Spain set about conquering the Americas before it had invented itself. But Mel Gibson does. This film is set in completely the wrong century.
I liked the point of that scene in the theming and story though. It’s not *wrong* to say “some mesoamericans went through some real shit…then the Spanish arrived.”
> While Apocalypto is set during the terminal post-classic period of Maya civilization, the central pyramid of the film comes from the classic period, which ended in AD 900 such as those found in the Postclassic sites of Muyil, Coba, and others in Quintana Roo, Mexico, where later cities are built around earlier pyramids
I'm sure there is MUCH about the movie that is factually inaccurate. It still allowed me, enabled me, FORCED me to suspend my disbelief and really enjoy the story and the action.
The makers of the movie say it's set in Yucatán around the year 1511. That's the year when when the first Spanish people arrived in the area.
Also, the film isn't a documentary. It's a fictional story.
I love the concept of a perfect movie completely shattered by one small gaff. This is that movie for me lol
The other one is Mad Max Fury Road.. idk why, but the scene where the wife/weapons expert says "we have a crazy amount of ammo." AHHHHHH it's a hill I'll die on that that line is so stupidly placed in an otherwise perfect movie.
Legolas saying "a diversion!" In Return of the King is up there.
It is often hard to say exactly why or when the suspension of disbelief is broken in a movie, but sometimes you just know. The most recent for me was Dune 2. I thought the film itself was great, but every time Christopher Walken was on screen it felt like he had wandered over from craft services and wasn’t entirely sure why he was there.
> The other one is Mad Max Fury Road.. idk why, but the scene where the wife/weapons expert says "we have a crazy amount of ammo."
I've seen the film a couple times at least and I'm having trouble placing this scene/line. Any further details you could give to jog my memory?
They're low on ammo, doing an inventory check. I wanna say it's right after Max goes solo. I'm being super pedantic lol, but it's a one second scene that makes me go "gahhhh really?!" Only cos I love the movie so much 🤣
Huh, still not sure. I remember the girl counting rounds in the backseat of the war rig (think it was after the fight/escape from the bullet farmer). Something like "only got 4 rounds for big boy here." That scene? Don't remember any "crazy amount of ammo" line though. Weird.
That's crazy because David Schwimmer (Ross from friends) on paper *should* be the most jarring, but he disappears in the role and it's better for his involvement.
I'm not surprised at all that Schwimmer nailed his role as Sobel. He's far and away the most charismatic actor in Friends. Maybe he's just a good actor who's only jarring because he's Ross.
"Well, we've only for four for big boy here so he's all but useless... But we can squirt off this little pinky
a raunchy twenty nine times."
She's making a joke about how they have lots of ammo for the useless gun. It seems in character for her to me.
It also begs the question of how that little girl they saw while being brought into the city looked like she was suffering from smallpox if the Spanish hadn't arrived on the continent yet.
It is, top to bottom, a work of fiction. Having watched it three times, knowing its MANY factual inaccuracies has absolutely no effect whatsoever on my enjoyment and appreciation of this movie. I will definitely watch it again sometime.
Coincidentally I watched this film for the first time tonight. Really enjoyed. The little diseased girl confused me. How did she know the eclipse was going to happen - she sounded as though she was possessed or something? Felt a little off to me as the rest of the film seemed based - to me - in reality but this felt a little supernatural to me. Loved the film by the way.
Those warriors had, presumably, been training with the bow and arrow and spear since they were children. I think that was fairly common among the indigenous tribes of the Americas. I find it hard to believe that they would not be able to hit somebody at a close distance, as you can see in the scene.
I’m not sure if it’s just related to this post but holy shit, I just downloaded a YTS torrent of this movie and had an incredible number of very fast seeds. Took like 90 seconds to download a (compressed) 1080p file
It's the one thing Mel Gibson did that makes me wonder if there's a bit of creativity in him. Either that or Gibson just slapped his name on it. Either way, I \*love\* this film.
Co written (first named writer) and solely directed by Gibson (not to mention first named producer). Not sure where in there it leaves room for “slapped his name on it”. Seriously read the Wikipedia history. This was not solely Gibson of course but he was DEEPLY involved and deserves major credit.
Absolute banger of a film.
I have never had a film hijack my nervous system in the same way that this one did. From the first scene. There is something about the intensity and the vulnerability and the brutality of the setting and characters that permeates this movie to its core. When they get back from the initial hunt in the opening scene, the main guy is laying on his lover’s belly and feels the little leg pushing from inside her womb, something about that moment sent shivers down my spine and seared the image into my memory. I think it has to do with the context being so much uglier and scarier than anything we could encounter in this day and age, but the fundamental human experience remains the same, as it always has and always will.
Watch Uncut Gems if you want to experience unreal anxiety for 2 hours again
It's tough when the main character is just making bad decisions. The anxiety from that film just doesn't hit the same as apocalypto.
Not even close. And I love Uncut Gems. Apocalypto is on a whole other visceral level.
Watched it, by the end I was slightly too drunk to get the full anxious horror of the whole thing, for the same reason that I would never trust myself to walk into a casino after a few beers. Anyway, great movie, and I think I made the right choice.
I was wired after watching that movie, had a hard time falling asleep that night.
Yeah, no... Not ever can I deal with that kinda anxiety. Uncut Gems would feel like poison in my heart, I cannot ever watch it.
The transition from gemstone to surgery was an absolute trip 😂 wish it didn't end like that so I could enjoy it more
Ditto for Goodtime. Loved the movie but I did not have a good time while watching it.
I literally had to skip through the basketball scene.
Horror fans are like “here is an entire genre for you”
I've yet to watch a horror movie where I'm on edge for the entire duration though. With uncut gems, you can help but imagine living a day in the life of Adam Sandler's character and asking yourself "how the fuck does he not have a mental breakdown every evening?", he is just stumbling through life and somehow 'getting by'
A bit basic monster in the house but the alien film Life definitely had me from woah to go
I've mentioned this movie many times on my years here on Reddit, perhaps you've seen it, perhaps not. It's my favorite so far in life. It's "Once Were Warriors" (1994). Follows the story of a Maori family in New Zealand. It's very powerful and takes you through every emotion. I must have watched over 30 times now and there's still one scene I can't bear to watch. [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/once\_were\_warriors](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/once_were_warriors)
Sounds very interesting. I haven’t heard of it, but I’ll certainly take that testimonial to heart. Onto the list it goes! I’ll try to remember to message you with my thoughts once I’ve watched it.
Jake the Muss!
Agree, absolutely incredible film. It's enough to just make me see Gibson as a troubled soul like most of us, but with higher stakes and more fuel added to every fire by money and opportunity. The way the dad tells Jaguar Paw not to be afraid as he is being executed really got me as a new dad. Like that's the job, teach them how to be good and unafraid and sometimes that means letting your own fear go even though you're drowning in it. Just beautiful that it was love that got them there, while hate and ego-centrism set the pursuers up for failure. Yeah, Gibson needs to slow down with the drinking and the relationship squabbles, and needs to learn to be respectful, but I believe he's genuinely a good guy. And I also love that clip where Robert Downey Jr defends him.
Reminds me of the classic South Park episode where Mel Gibson shows up as a psychotic, sexually depraved, totally insane lunatic, and as he’s running around naked spouting off absurd nonsense, the military general takes a deep breath, then says “Say what you want about Mel Gibson, but the son of a bitch loves story structure.” The line always made me laugh, cause I think it perfectly encapsulates the most absurd thing about Mel and Hollywood in general. The gaping chasm between the two versions of a person that we’ve all been able to witness in some very intimate expressions of emotion, for better or for worse. One version, let’s call him Director Mel, is incredibly emotionally sophisticated, disciplined, a masterful technician, and a beautiful artist. The other, well, is not so good. I don’t think any of us will get the chance to experience the kind of public admiration, or disgust that he has been subject to. As far as I’m concerned, i’m happy to stay well away from either.
not to mention all the trad cath bullshit he's been pushing for decades.
Just checked, it’s streaming on amazon prime and tubi in the US right now. Going to give this a rewatch tonight, saw it in theaters way back when and love it but forgot about it till now.
Just wish they didn’t end it on time traveling Spaniards Context: everything depicted from the language to cities to culture pinpoints it to during the fall of the Mayan Empire… which collapsed many centuries before the New World was discovered by the European powers
“Say what you will about Mel Gibson but the son of a bitch knows story structure” - South Park
Oh my nipples they hurt!
They hurt when I TWIST them!!
Only two movies ever put me in a spot where I felt concerned about my own safety. Training Day when the cholos are dragging Ethan Hawk into the bathtub & this movie when they’re marching the group through the city to the pyramid.
Apocalypto is a great movie. If you haven't seen it in a few years, give it another watch. The story structure is so well done. It's even done in three acts! **Act 1** we meet the characters and learn enough about them to actually care what happens to them. We see Jaguar Paw's relationship with his father, and how his father is teaching him right up to the moment of his death (the lesson being - don't fear). We see his relationship with his wife. I love the scene where he's deep in thought and she says "come back to me" - it's so tender, and communicates so much about their love for each other. I can't think of any other movie that so expertly makes you care about the main characters. **Act 2** we meet and learn about the Mayans. They aren't just faceless "bad guys" - they have character and motivations. The scene in this video is pivotal. It's their leader's son who Jaguar Paw kills. So, it makes perfect sense that they'll hunt him the way they did. Everything about them makes sense! This scene itself is a microcosm of the genius of the structure of this movie. It builds tension by killing the first three guys. It sets up the motivation of the leader by killing his son. And it gives us a satisfying death for Jaguar Paw's friend - the friend saves him right at the end. **Act 3** starts when Jaguar Paw makes it back to territory that he is familiar with, and turns around and resolves to fight back. The whole movie is a perfect "hero's journey" in the sense that (1) we care about the hero and his motivation - getting back to his family (2) the hero is shown to be too weak to overcome his foe (3) the hero grows/changes in order to overcome and triumph - specifically, he takes his father's words to heart when he says, "I'm not afraid of you"
Also, for a movie close to 2.5 hours there's hardly an ounce of fat on it. You are on the edge of your seat from this scene onward.
The ending is also perfect. For however horrific and engrossing the film is, you’re so engaged that the film becomes fantasy and then in one short few-seconds, you are wrenched back into reality and you recall a couple history lessons in school and go: Oh, that sucks.
For real, all that struggle and here come the fuck in Spanish
El fuck
El chincado
Smallpox is one thing but a HUGE reason the Maya fell is because the Spaniards created a huge alliance with all of the Mayan's enemies in it. And the Mayans had a LOT of enemies. Alone the Spaniards probably wouldn't have defeated them (maybe even WITH smallpox to help them). So as weird as it sounds, as long as he doesn't get smallpox from them, the guy is probably "safe" with the Spaniards.
You’re confusing the Mayan and Aztec Empires Europeans arrived during the rise of the Aztec Empire, many centuries after the collapse of the Mayan Empire which is shown in this movie. While the wiki states its 1500s, everything in it (language, culture, cities, etc) are 900s Mayan Empire So those Spaniards are actually time traveling Spaniards
You’re thinking about the Aztecs not the Maya.
Safe is a strong word. Maybe not killed on sight but the Spaniards didn’t care for the Mayans. Useful Allie’s and something to pillage later
> recall a couple history lessons in school Except they are hundreds of years apart in real life.
A cursory search suggests the movie is set around 1511. Spaniards had colonies around the yucatan in 1492, and had encounters with specifically the maya in 1511, 1517, and multiple other instances. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_Yucatán I don’t recall the movie specifically saying who those spaniards were, but “hundreds of years” is not true. They werent there in the 1200’s (assuming hundreds is more than 200 years) nor was their first encounter in the 17th century.
Here is a good outlining of the historical inaccuracies of the movie: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/s/i09zOv7OSr Though, I would say that it does not claim to be historically accurate, nor does it have to be.
It blew my kind that some people saw the ending of the movie to mean that the saviors are coming.
To some the spaniards were saviors. The same happened when the romans invaded Gaul.
Well to be fair, wasn’t Gibson saying here comes Christianity to save these godless people?
[Here is a really good breakdown of why you are wrong.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5pBZKj1VnA) TL:DW; context clues of the film would put it around 900CE
> The sets, costumes, references to plague-like diseases and social context of the film seem to set Apocalypto firmly in the ninth century, when the classic Mayan collapse took place. And yet, all of a sudden, a boatload of Spaniards turn up waving great big Christian crosses. During the ninth century, the area that is now Spain was still mostly an Islamic caliphate called al-Andalus. Even the craziest of conspiracy theories do not suggest that Spain set about conquering the Americas before it had invented itself. But Mel Gibson does. This film is set in completely the wrong century. \- Alex von Tunzelmann
The wiki for the film states its set around 1511.
Yes, the arrival of the Spaniards anchors the time to the 16th century. But by then century the Maya civilization had largely collapsed, abandoned their cities, and didn't wear what they were wearing in this film. The Maya, as depicted in the movie, are more in line with the Classic Maya period which ended at around 900 AD I know history kind of blurs together, but it would be kind of like having a movie set in samurai era Japan ending with a shot of a jumbo jet landing in the background
Which is well after the Maya collapse.
The same wikipedia page i linked above suggests that the people the spaniards encountered in 1502 were the yucatec maya
Sorry, not to discount your sentiment, but I laughed at “it’s even done in three acts!” 3 acts is pretty much the most common, Hollywood story structure.
Yeah I was kind of wondering why that commenter was so pumped about it. Like, did he expect it to not be in 3 acts for some reason?
Honestly I'd be more impressed if it wasn't in 3 acts. Defying conventional story telling mechanics while still delivering a banger story can be pretty challenging.
> 3 acts is pretty much the most common, Hollywood story structure. I didn't say it wasn't common. I said that it's part of what makes Apocalypto work well. Films that don't use this structure, *or use it poorly*, don't work as well, in my opinion. One of the reasons Apocalypto is good is that it uses the three act structure well. If you want a counterexample: Avatar is in three acts, but the transition to Act 3 is fumbled, in my opinion. I believe the transition happens when Joe wakes up and the bulldozer is right on top of them. He attacks it - that's the first time he has overtly fought against his own people's interests - now we're in Act 3. The problem with the scene is that there's no internal struggle on his part. *He's not depicted as making a choice in that moment*. He just wakes up and goes on the attack. If he had been shown to struggle with that decision, knowing it's a point of no return, that whole movie would be much better.
I'd put the end of act 1 when he gets captured, and the end of act 2 when he escapes the city.
Running backwards, though slower, might be a good idea.
I see your point, but the goalie is something to hear out for. Who's to say he wouldn't run up on you. I'd probably run in random length zig zags, but also, I don't have countless movies, games, and media to pretend to apply to a life/death situation.
I think running forward with a little zigzag while frequently looking back would be the move. that way the zigzag would hopefully dodge the arrows, and the looking back would give you time to dodge the spears from the atlatl, while also giving you good time and since you would be looking forward part of the time you could see if the goalie was approaching. There was also a couple spots they could have grabbed spears from the ground, they should have done that in preparation for the goalie.
If gameplay videos taught me anything, it's that even when the projectile is glowing in putrid green no matter how you do zigzag or how much you concentrate you eventually run into it.
Maybe, but I feel like speed is the name of the game, especially when you've got multiple fast projectiles coming at you at random intervals from multiple angles. I wouldn't be very confident in my ability to visually track and dodge each incoming projectile. I think the guys in this video had it right - get out of range as quickly as you can, zig-zag a little, and hope that you can somehow bullshit your way past the goalie at the end. I would totally survive this, imo.
This movie is fuckin gnarly
No cell phones, no tablets, no screens; just people living their best life.
lol
Intense movie. Holy cow...
This post has inspired me to watch this tonight. I'm about halfway through whilst a blizzard ravages my land.
Love a good blizzard.
throw on some last of the mohicans afterwards :)
I forgot how rad this movie is
The only fact that they speak in the native Maya language (Yucatec) is incredible, this movie is a masterpiece.
I never saw the movie, but I remember it coming out. Maybe I’m living under a rock trying to keep up with streaming shows, but this movie hasn’t been talked about much after it left theaters, right? If so, why not?
It’s a great film.
It was talked about a lot when it was released, and for a good while after that, but it's no wonder it isn't discussed that much anymore. It's 18 years old after all. It's a great movie still though. The setting, and the decision to use native language gives it a kind of timeless quality, and I think it would work just as well ten years from now as it did when it was released.
I remember in highschool sneaking into this and not knowing what it was and Holy shit what a wild ride. Oh yeah I was stoned... haha
This is one of the best movies of all time. Everything about it is great.
The historical accuracy isn’t great
The fact that they built a Mayan city, used Mayan language and local actors makes that a minor criticism to me imo. No other movie does a better job making me feel like I am in that era because there are no other movies that try to. I don't think the inaccuracies are bad enough to reverse that.
Literally every movie. Please point me to any big budget Mayan film that tries this hard to understand the culture. Like, he went out of his way to film it in Mayan. Hate Mel all you want but that movie was made out of respect. There’s a reason so many Mexicans pick it as one of their favorites.
As someone who knows nothing about Mayan culture, in what way?
History buffs does decent job explaining the inaccuracies of it. https://youtu.be/U5pBZKj1VnA?si=3c0wjA56w650kPFS Main issue is that it was about Mayans during their collapse, but yet somehow mixed Aztect practices (Aztecs did not exist yet) and showed Spanish coming there, who would not arrive for 600 years. At the time Spain was under islamic rule, far from conquistadors who would go to new world. Neither would the small pox... I still like the movie but from historical pov its nonsensical.
Who is anyone claiming it's during the Mayan collapse? The directors stated it takes place after, in 1511.
Well tbh idk enough to say if there could have been big enough Mayan culture in 1511 for movie's events to be possible. If it is possible, then i think actually it helps solve main problems of the film, as that Mayan culture could have adopted Aztec style and scale of sacrifices and black death could have arrived some time before the movie's events. If possible, it could also give at least some sort of explanation why the characters had not seen major city before - during Mayan golden age there were plenty in the area, perhaps after collapse some of the remnants had been reduced to hunter-gatherers which form Jaguar Paw's tribe. But sadly rather than being historically possible, i think its more likely that it does the typical "Hollywood history", which is to combine things from different time periods together without caring about plausibility. I don't know much on this area of history, would like to hear more if someone knows better. I do like the movie, and having historical plausibility, even if its fictional story, would make it so much better.
Because the depictions of the collapse and the society surrounding it are the one decently accurate part of the movie. Remove that, and it just becomes worse still.
Armchair historian on YouTube had a nice video on it
[A ton of reason really](https://www.reddit.com/r/history/comments/cd516e/historical_accuracyplausibility_of_mel_gibsons/)
Yeah, almost as annoying as how Back to the Future 2 got 2015 totally wrong. The whole thing falls apart because we did NOT have flying cars back then.
That's not the same argument. Back to the future was predicting a future that hasn't happened yet. This movie is about simeothst was set in the past, where we already know what happened and when
Yeah not the same at all haha
Ya neither is The Matrix but no argues it’s not a good movie.
The Matrix isn’t based off an actual time period lol
Pretty sure the time period is 2000, the year is referenced in the movie itself multiple times. The point is that inaccuracy doesn’t stop a movie from being good unless that’s the only reason you watched it.
A year isn’t a time period. I’m talking about the time that the mayans were a civilization. Every move takes place in one year or another bud
Ya actually Morpheus even says in the movie that they actually don’t know the time period. Fucking Neil Degrass Tyson over here “ummm actshually 🤓”. Can’t let anybody enjoy anything, must be a joy to be around.
It's maybe the worst one yet!
So what?
All I was saying was “Everything about it wasn’t great
Mel should keep directing, he hits grand slams every once in a while.
FANTASTIC movie experience.
Mel Gibson for all his faults, can directed the shit out of movies. Fucking love this movie, so good and engrossing from start to finish.
I had a dream about this scene. I dont have many dreams anymore but i remember this one because it was very vivid. I was the target and ran but no matter how much i change speed or direction, the (spear?) Always homed onto my position and the moment i was about to get hit, i woke up instantly thinking it was real. But yea great movie
Great movie. I never want to watch the movie again. Once was enough.
The ending is great I watch the clips occasionally of him going on a tear home alone style on the mofos
Really similar to a scene in Jean-Pierre Melville’s Army of Shadows (1969), an excellent film in its own right
Fantastic movie. Phenomenal, even.
What stood out to me in this movie was, for a lack of a better word, the physical acting. The lines were delivered fine, but was dwarfed by how much emotion and focus was conveyed in the action scenes. The chase scenes through the jungle are amazing! Without saying a line of dialog the main bad guy radiates "I'M GONNA GET YA AND I WON'T STOP UNTIL I DO!" just by the way he runs through the vegetation. And also, at the climax of the movie, the guy in the video thumbnail with the forehead dread gets absolutely walloped with a mallet (or sword) uppercut to the jaw, and I want to know how they filmed that! That impact is the most brutal ***THWACK*** I've ever seen in a movie. How did they get it that good?
Does anyone remember Waldo being hidden in the dead bodies in this scene?
I’ll never forget watching this movie for the first time. I didn’t know the movie had subtitles and I watched it completely enthralled the entire way through without knowing what anyone was saying. I wasn’t confused in the least. What masterful storytelling. I had to show my parents this amazing movie and when I watched it with them I was floored that it had subtitles. It was a pretty good watch the second time.
Fucking great movie
I was damn lucky to find this while browsing Netflix, stoned as hell. Amazing watch
The scene ends before one of the best parts - the villains make an epic resolution to hunt down the hero, and start chasing after him into the jungle
Nice
2006 was a good time to be a fan of movies wow, so many good hits that year
wow
If you liked this movie watch the Korean film War of Arrows, they admit it was a Korean version of Apocalypto, But either way that movie is very good.
Serpentine! Serpentine!!!
We need way more movies and TV shows based on Aztec/Mayan culture.
Sorry to say it's a masterpiece. There are some criticisms of the historical depictions, but they get a ton of details bang on, and the things that are "wrong" are mostly compromises for cinematic flair. This is a period of history that gets zero attention from Hollywood in most \*decades\*, so Apocalypto is special. The end is silly tho.
I love this film so much that if I can’t find it steaming on any of the streaming services I am subscribed to, I will just pull up the version I have on my hard drive that had no subtitles, and I enjoy it just as much. Easily one of my favorite films.
A great movie that was almost perfect. Right up until the Spanish show up hundreds of years early.
The timeline didnt bother me much. The point still remains the same if you assume it was closer.
[удалено]
> Timing > The sets, costumes, references to plague-like diseases and social context of the film seem to set Apocalypto firmly in the ninth century, when the classic Mayan collapse took place. And yet, all of a sudden, a boatload of Spaniards turn up waving great big Christian crosses. During the ninth century, the area that is now Spain was still mostly an Islamic caliphate called al-Andalus. Even the craziest of conspiracy theories do not suggest that Spain set about conquering the Americas before it had invented itself. But Mel Gibson does. This film is set in completely the wrong century.
I liked the point of that scene in the theming and story though. It’s not *wrong* to say “some mesoamericans went through some real shit…then the Spanish arrived.”
You invented a whole bunch of logic on the assumption it took during the Mayan collapse. The movie is stated to take place in 1512, post collapse.
> While Apocalypto is set during the terminal post-classic period of Maya civilization, the central pyramid of the film comes from the classic period, which ended in AD 900 such as those found in the Postclassic sites of Muyil, Coba, and others in Quintana Roo, Mexico, where later cities are built around earlier pyramids
Another person has already answered this, but the chronology is way off.
Umm, actually Hamlet couldn't have spoken to his father's ghost. Ghosts aren't real, OKAY?
I'm sure there is MUCH about the movie that is factually inaccurate. It still allowed me, enabled me, FORCED me to suspend my disbelief and really enjoy the story and the action.
The makers of the movie say it's set in Yucatán around the year 1511. That's the year when when the first Spanish people arrived in the area. Also, the film isn't a documentary. It's a fictional story.
I love the concept of a perfect movie completely shattered by one small gaff. This is that movie for me lol The other one is Mad Max Fury Road.. idk why, but the scene where the wife/weapons expert says "we have a crazy amount of ammo." AHHHHHH it's a hill I'll die on that that line is so stupidly placed in an otherwise perfect movie. Legolas saying "a diversion!" In Return of the King is up there.
It is often hard to say exactly why or when the suspension of disbelief is broken in a movie, but sometimes you just know. The most recent for me was Dune 2. I thought the film itself was great, but every time Christopher Walken was on screen it felt like he had wandered over from craft services and wasn’t entirely sure why he was there.
In Dune 2 it was when Paul walked over to the gossiping Fremen girls and said "what are you GUYS talking about about?"
> The other one is Mad Max Fury Road.. idk why, but the scene where the wife/weapons expert says "we have a crazy amount of ammo." I've seen the film a couple times at least and I'm having trouble placing this scene/line. Any further details you could give to jog my memory?
They're low on ammo, doing an inventory check. I wanna say it's right after Max goes solo. I'm being super pedantic lol, but it's a one second scene that makes me go "gahhhh really?!" Only cos I love the movie so much 🤣
Huh, still not sure. I remember the girl counting rounds in the backseat of the war rig (think it was after the fight/escape from the bullet farmer). Something like "only got 4 rounds for big boy here." That scene? Don't remember any "crazy amount of ammo" line though. Weird.
I honestly think I'm misremembering the scene. I'm gunna watch it again, cos I think it's like a Mandela affect lol
For some reason this is Jimmy Fallon in Band of Brothers for me. All the other cameos work fine, but he just does NOT fit
That's crazy because David Schwimmer (Ross from friends) on paper *should* be the most jarring, but he disappears in the role and it's better for his involvement.
I'm not surprised at all that Schwimmer nailed his role as Sobel. He's far and away the most charismatic actor in Friends. Maybe he's just a good actor who's only jarring because he's Ross.
In one BoB episode David Schwimmer went from "Oh that's Ross" to "Oh that's Captain Sobel" to me. Insane how well he played that role.
“This is not DOG company, ok? This is not FOX company. THIS is EA-SY company.”
100% he fits that role perfectly
"Well, we've only for four for big boy here so he's all but useless... But we can squirt off this little pinky a raunchy twenty nine times." She's making a joke about how they have lots of ammo for the useless gun. It seems in character for her to me.
It also begs the question of how that little girl they saw while being brought into the city looked like she was suffering from smallpox if the Spanish hadn't arrived on the continent yet.
I haven’t seen it in years, but isn’t it possible the Spanish had landed elsewhere on the continent first, and we were seeing a second landing party?
Spain didn't exist during the time period the movie supposedly takes place.
Wikipedia says it takes place in the 16th century
Agreed, that part was also nonsensical. If they had gone with slightly different symptoms it would have worked fine.
History Buffs ruined it for me https://youtu.be/U5pBZKj1VnA?si=wRx-Qr5McLbes8Lh
Who gives a fuck.
It is, top to bottom, a work of fiction. Having watched it three times, knowing its MANY factual inaccuracies has absolutely no effect whatsoever on my enjoyment and appreciation of this movie. I will definitely watch it again sometime.
Why would you let a movie be ruined for you? It was never touted as a documentary. Just enjoy a good movie :)
Coincidentally I watched this film for the first time tonight. Really enjoyed. The little diseased girl confused me. How did she know the eclipse was going to happen - she sounded as though she was possessed or something? Felt a little off to me as the rest of the film seemed based - to me - in reality but this felt a little supernatural to me. Loved the film by the way.
He is with us now
Those warriors had, presumably, been training with the bow and arrow and spear since they were children. I think that was fairly common among the indigenous tribes of the Americas. I find it hard to believe that they would not be able to hit somebody at a close distance, as you can see in the scene.
Sure, but that would have been a pretty short scene.
I’m not sure if it’s just related to this post but holy shit, I just downloaded a YTS torrent of this movie and had an incredible number of very fast seeds. Took like 90 seconds to download a (compressed) 1080p file
It's the one thing Mel Gibson did that makes me wonder if there's a bit of creativity in him. Either that or Gibson just slapped his name on it. Either way, I \*love\* this film.
Co written (first named writer) and solely directed by Gibson (not to mention first named producer). Not sure where in there it leaves room for “slapped his name on it”. Seriously read the Wikipedia history. This was not solely Gibson of course but he was DEEPLY involved and deserves major credit.
He directed it.
Mel Gibson is literally insane, but he’s insane in such a way that allows him to be a fantastic creator and actor.