'Apocalypto' now on DVD

Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto" paid a terrible price at the Oscars for its creator's big drunken mouth. No other explanation works. This is, at all technical and crafts levels, an astounding, state-of-the-art movie. The snubs in the nominations and at the awards said as much about the Oscars -- Hollywood's annual pratfall before a TV audience of gazillions -- as they did about Gibson's DUI rant.

Too bad Gibson's ballistic movie couldn't have had one more brief run in theaters, as a last call for fools like me who missed it last year. The film should seen on a big screen. Nonetheless, Buena Vista's single-disc presentation hits all the marks technically. The extras feel pretty skimpy here considering the wild tales about the production down in the jungles of Mexico and the historical potency of its subject matter. No doubt the DVD double-dip is straight ahead via some kind of multidisc collectors set. (Consider a rental for now if you're a big fan.)

Gibson's commentary, done with and co-writer Farhad Safinia, has its moments but it's obvious little or no prep time went into that recording. Mostly they gossip about the native actors (some of whom had never seen a movie) and chat about what happened when they filmed this or that scene.

The adventure, about Mayan villagers taken into slavery by city-dwellers, has taken heat for one of its historically inaccurate elements. More troubling for casual viewers could be the ridiculous deus ex machina devices that keep things moving along. But nothing waits for logic once the film's great chase gets under way, with a band of warriors in hot pursuit of a resourceful young villager. The movie feels like half of its 139 minute running time.

The DVD provided for review repeatedly refused to access the first chapter. "Apocalypto" also is available on Blu-ray.

DVD blog sidebar: This is the second top-notch film I've seen this week from Gibson's Icon Productions. The other was "Seraphim Falls," a western tale of vengeance with Liam Neeson and Pierce Brosnan just released on DVD by Sony.