Apocalypto [Blu-ray]

I first saw Apocalypto when it was released on DVD about a year and a half ago. I found the film to be original and impressive; a breath of fresh air in a historical genre that had become predictable and stale.Whatever you think of Mel Gibson as a person, it's hard to deny that he's a good director. Apocalypto was a huge financial risk on his part, considering he'd taken a very obscure part of history and put his own inventive, original twist on the story. It took a lot of guts to cast unknown Native American actors and have them speak in the Maya language; a risk that most conventional directors would have never taken as it would have beeen box office suicide (especially when you consider the 18 rating).The result is one of the most breathtaking, exciting and vibrant historical epics of the last few years. Gibson took a story that most Hollywood film executives wouldn't touch, and made it into a heart pounding and exhilirating action-adventure.Although the film might sound like your typical art film (subtitles, unknown actors, elaborate costumes, 138 minute running time) Gibson manages to make the film easily understandable without sacrificing its substance. The film although set in the past, is hardly a history lesson. If anything, the film has been widely criticised for its numerous historical inaccuracies, perhaps the largest being that the film is set during the 16th century, but Classical Maya Civilisation had already collapsed between the late 9th and early 10th centuries.With that in mind, it's worth covering the story which is simplistic but displayed with a lot of verve. It revolves around a young hunter named Jaguar Paw who lives in a isolated village, deep in the Yucatan Jungle. Soon enough, the idyll is disrupted when vicious Holcane Warriors descend on the village to slaughter and enslave its people. Jaguar Paw sends his pregnant wife and young son to the relative safety of an abandoned water well, but is himself captured.He is led off on a trail that takes him to the decadent Maya city to be sacrificed to the gods. Making his escape, he must find a way back home to save his family, a journey fraught with danger, where the Holcane Warriors are never far behind.The film is more action adventure than historical drama, and it works very well in that regard. The chase scenes are heart poundingly intense, while the fights are great, although considering its a Mel Gibson film, they are predictably gory - which is not to mention the scenes of human sacrifice - which Gibson portrays with disturbing relish.This is the first Blu-ray film I've purchased and I chose it because I knew that the film was visually stunning: from the colourful costumes and sets, to the scenes of the natural world. I wasn't disappointed with the image quality, as it is displayed with crystal clear clarity on my 1080i screen. I had a copy of the Apocalypto DVD at hand to compare the two, and I can confirm that there is an obvious rise in quality, as the DVD version seems muddy and unclear in comparison.The sound is also brilliant, as you can hear every leaf rustling in the background, and would no doubt be even more impressive on a good quality sound system (I only have small speakers).In terms of special features, the Blu-ray is no different from the DVD. It contains a Backstage director's commentary from Mel Gibson and writer Farhad Safinia, as well as a short and rather pointless delted scene (in very poor quality) complete with its own commentary. There's also a 'Making of' documentary called Becoming Mayan, which explains the backstory for the film. The only original material is a section called 'Movie Showcase' which displays some of the best scenes from the film to showcase you "The Ultimate in High Defintion Picture and Sound".This section is rather pointless considering you'll see these scenes anyway if you watch the film.Overall this is a great film on a brilliant Blu-ray. It could have had more special features, but that aside it's a worthy purchase for anyone with a Blu-ray player.Blu-Ray Features:No of disks: 1.Rating: 18 (contains Strong Bloody Violence and Gore).Running Time 138 Mins (2 hours 20 mins approx).Image: 1080p High Definition/ 1.85:1 plus bonus 1080i & 1080p Definition.Audio: Mayan 5.1 Uncompressed (48khz/24-bit)/English 5.1 Dolby digital.Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish. Bonus English SDH.

Apocalypto [Blu-ray]This is easily one of my all time favourite movies, and I've seen it many times now. It wasn't until recently though that I was updating my Blu Ray collection and I made sure this was one of the first to be purchased. After stumbling across this movie one night on T.V, it quickly became a firm favourite, I hired the DVD soon after that first viewing to take it all in again. After initially watching it I was suprised I hadn't heard about it before, so I guess there will be lots of people who have seen this movie, yet plenty who haven't. If your one of the people who are thinking of making a blind purchase on this film, then just do it. It may not be a movie thats packed with huge stars, and yes it is subtitled, but its a superb production and top notch Blu ray that will blow you away with its visuals and sound.Apocalypto is a movie with relationships, friendships, family and survival at its core, all glimpsed through the ancient Mayan culture. As such, this is not a film that tries to portray the civilisation through historical fact, but uses this period to tell its tale. The settings of the movie are simple stunning, we have lush green leafy jungle, which is the home of our hero and his tribe, who live a peaceful hunter gatherers existence by respecting their jungle home and gods. The movie is also set in the more 'sophisticated' and developed city with its looming temples, markets and sacrificial sites. Without spoiling the movie, it is when our hero Jaguar Paw, arrives at the temple that we are treated to what I feel is one of the greatest blu ray reference sequences that can be viewed, the colours, clarity, definition and depth are purely breathtaking and I defy anyone to not be impressed.I would recommend that your T.V is calibrated, even using the simplest method as this can make a huge difference, I first watched this movie on my friends T.V in HD, then watched it on my calibrated set, the contrast of the chalk covered bodies compared to the painted blue ones was amazing and I noticed this more because my set is calibrated, this is a good example for calibration. If you are looking for a movie to show off your home theatre kit, then just pop this chapter in on the disc and blow anyone away with the experience. This is a movie that Blu ray was made for. As stated, I have seen this movie many times, but I honestly could not believe the difference in the picture quality. Close up camera work reveals levels of detail in objects that I had previously not noticed, these include the tribal tattoos, jewelry and weapons, once again creating a new viewing experience for me. I've already watched this movie twice since purchase and there's so much detail to take in, my eyes were darting around the screen trying to observe every little detail, and I'm sure I'll be watching it again really soon.On par with the picture quality, the audio is fantastically matched on this disc, dialogue is crystal clear, the rustling of leaves during chase sequences is great, the chants of shamans on temples, rhythmic and hypnotic drumming all come alive and help to immerse you in the experience, thankfully as closely as you would like to be in some scenes, for this is not a movie for children as it is extremely graphic in parts, and the level of violence, although not gratuitous, is very realistic and clear. Natural tribal nudity is also on show, and is in no way offensive. To offset this violence there are scenes of joy & happiness that will have you laughing along, and they will endear you to the jungle tribe, but this can quickly take a turn of events, and your emotions will dip and raise like your riding a roller coaster.The extras on this disc are also in HD and feature some good in-depth features, so another notch for the production work done.Finally, all I can say is that I picked this movie up as a used purchase and its probably the best money I've ever spent. For just over the price of a pint of beer, I've got something that I can watch again & again, impress my non blu ray believer friends who can't tell the difference between DVD/ Blu ray, and I can treasure a great piece of film making.