Here at Nerdly, we love a game with a lot of table presence. Usually, our preference is for the kind of gothic and horror inspired miniatures you might see in a game like Dark Souls, or perhaps the kind of art you’ll see in Big Book of Madness. Occasionally though, we need a break from the macabre, and what better way to achieve that than by celebrating the unique culture of the Rapa Nui people – famous for building the giant moai heads on what us Western folk call Easter Island. With the usual high standards of other Matagot games, Rapa Nui is the subject of today’s board game review.
Rapa Nui is a re-implementation of a 2008 game called Giants, which took the same theme of building giant heads on Easter Island and offered a very similar experience. Effectively, because both games are from the same designer and publisher...
Rapa Nui is a re-implementation of a 2008 game called Giants, which took the same theme of building giant heads on Easter Island and offered a very similar experience. Effectively, because both games are from the same designer and publisher...
- 7/13/2021
- by Matthew Smail
- Nerdly
In this week’s International TV Newswire the English Premier League TV schedules are announced – including a first-ever broadcast on the BBC, Secuoya teams with Tiki Group on the first fiction program to be shot on the Easter Islands in 22 years, Keshet’s “Singletown” gets a Danish remake, De Mensen launches a new format in Belgium and Nent commissions “Suck it Up” from “Lillyhammer” actress Henriette Steenstrup.
BBC to Broadcast Epl for the First Time Ever
The English Premier League, the U.K.’s top soccer competition, has reached agreements over which games will air on which networks from the League’s June 17 restart date through July 2. Aston Villa and Sheffield United will kick off the post-Covid portion of the 2019-20 season followed by Manchester City vs. Arsenal on Sky Sports, which will also broadcast Friday night’s headline match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United. June 20, the BBC will broadcast,...
BBC to Broadcast Epl for the First Time Ever
The English Premier League, the U.K.’s top soccer competition, has reached agreements over which games will air on which networks from the League’s June 17 restart date through July 2. Aston Villa and Sheffield United will kick off the post-Covid portion of the 2019-20 season followed by Manchester City vs. Arsenal on Sky Sports, which will also broadcast Friday night’s headline match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United. June 20, the BBC will broadcast,...
- 6/5/2020
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
The Titans just made a killer cast addition: Esai Morales will portray Deathstroke, the fan-favorite assassin and archenemy of Teen Titans leader Dick Grayson.
The Titans, the first original programming franchise for the DC Universe subscription steaming site, launched in September and finished its first season in December. The weekly show follows the superhero squad that’s led by Batman’s former sidekick, Robin, aka Dick Grayson (Brenton Thwaites), and includes the hot-tempered alien princess Starfire (Anna Diop), the mysterious empath Raven (Teagan Croft), and the green-skinned shape-shifter Beast Boy (Ryan Potter).
That Titans line-up of characters was introduced with much fanfare in the pages of DC Comics back in 1980. The team, created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, didn’t have to wait long to find their signature antagonist: Deathstroke the Terminator was introduced in issue No. 2 of The New Teen Titans in December 1980.
The character bio from the...
The Titans, the first original programming franchise for the DC Universe subscription steaming site, launched in September and finished its first season in December. The weekly show follows the superhero squad that’s led by Batman’s former sidekick, Robin, aka Dick Grayson (Brenton Thwaites), and includes the hot-tempered alien princess Starfire (Anna Diop), the mysterious empath Raven (Teagan Croft), and the green-skinned shape-shifter Beast Boy (Ryan Potter).
That Titans line-up of characters was introduced with much fanfare in the pages of DC Comics back in 1980. The team, created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, didn’t have to wait long to find their signature antagonist: Deathstroke the Terminator was introduced in issue No. 2 of The New Teen Titans in December 1980.
The character bio from the...
- 3/13/2019
- by Geoff Boucher
- Deadline Film + TV
Jason Scott Lee has joined the cast of Disney's live-action Mulan. He will be playing a villainous role, according to THR. Let's recap all we know about the upcoming action-adventure.
What's the latest news?
Jason Scott Lee broke out when he starred in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story back in 1993. He followed that up with lead roles in Rapa Nui and The Jungle Book. More recently, he appeared in Seventh Son and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny.
What's the latest news?
Jason Scott Lee broke out when he starred in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story back in 1993. He followed that up with lead roles in Rapa Nui and The Jungle Book. More recently, he appeared in Seventh Son and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny.
- 7/26/2018
- by Peter Martin
- Movies.com
Jason Scott Lee has joined the cast of Disney's live-action Mulan. He will be playing a villainous role, according to THR. Let's recap all we know about the upcoming action-adventure. What's the latest news? Jason Scott Lee broke out when he starred in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (above) back in 1993. He followed that up with lead roles in Rapa Nui and The Jungle Book. More recently, he appeared in Seventh Son and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny. Who is...
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- 7/26/2018
- by affiliates@fandango.com
- Fandango
This week Josh Gates and the Expedition Unknown: Hunt For ExtraTerrestrials team head to Easter Island which some ancient alien theorists think aliens could have visited in the distant past. Easter Island or Rapa Nui (in Polynesian) lies in the southeastern part of the Pacific Ocean and is most famous for the 887 statues that gaze out across the landscape. Known as moai, they were created by the Rapa Nui civilization over hundreds of years, with initial settlement of the world’s most remote island taking place between 700 and 1100 Ce. However, as the population increased and invasive species like...read more...
- 10/11/2017
- by James Wray
- Monsters and Critics
Moana is the story of a young Polynesian heir ineffably drawn to the one thing that her community opposes: venturing out into the ocean, like the little mermaid was so drawn to land, like a monster to Boo, and like an ambitious rat was to the culinary arts.
Moana Head of Animation Hyrum Osmand (Zootopia, Frozen, Wreck It Ralph, Tangled) and Story Artist David Derrick Jr. (How To Train Your Dragon, Flushed Away, Bee Movie) talked with the press in a roundtable before speaking to the visual arts students at the University of Denver. Tucked away in a corner of the university, David tapped into what made Moana so personal to him, allowing him to segue easily into the film’s themes of Polynesian ancestry and culture while Hyrum explored the unique challenges this particular film offered Disney’s elite animators.
Q.Michael J. Casey [Boulder Weekly]: On the Oceanic Story Trust.
Moana Head of Animation Hyrum Osmand (Zootopia, Frozen, Wreck It Ralph, Tangled) and Story Artist David Derrick Jr. (How To Train Your Dragon, Flushed Away, Bee Movie) talked with the press in a roundtable before speaking to the visual arts students at the University of Denver. Tucked away in a corner of the university, David tapped into what made Moana so personal to him, allowing him to segue easily into the film’s themes of Polynesian ancestry and culture while Hyrum explored the unique challenges this particular film offered Disney’s elite animators.
Q.Michael J. Casey [Boulder Weekly]: On the Oceanic Story Trust.
- 11/24/2016
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Aaron Hunt)
- Cinelinx
Jason Scott Lee in Rapa Nui (1994)A very happy 50th birthday to one of our favorite 90s stars Jason Scott Lee. The Chinese-Hawaiian actor burst onto the scene in May of 1993 with major leading man charisma playing Bruce Lee in the mainstream biopic Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story and co-starring in the arthouse romance Map of the Human Heart. He chased that double with another the following year with Disney's live-action Jungle Book and the Easter Island tribe movie Rapa Nui. Only the last of those films was a flop but then he vanished, only popping up occassionally in supporting roles in action films. The roles just weren't there despite three early consecutive successes...
- 11/19/2016
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
This week on Off The Shelf, Ryan is joined by Brian Saur to take a look at the new DVD and Blu-ray releases for the week of October 29th, 2015, and chat about some follow-up and home video news.
Subscribe in iTunes or RSS.
Episode Links & Notes Follow-up Iron Giant on iTunes Apple TV Wireless Headphones (recommended by Rebecca Wright at Movie Gazette Online) link John Carpenter’s Vampires low-quantity Army Of Darkness correction News Scream Factory October Sale Twilight Time January / February 2016 titles Ralph Bakshi’s Last Days Of Coney Island on Vimeo on October 29th Aladdin II & III 2-Movie Collection Blu-ray Synapse: Triumph Of The Will New Releases
October 13th
Aladdin: Diamond Edition Bates Motel: Season 3 The Brood Call Me Lucky Company Business Cry of the Hunted Dope Edward Scissorhands Escape from Alcatraz Flaxy Martin The Land Before Time Mad Men: The Final Season, Part 2 Malone (1987) Manos: The Hands of Fate...
Subscribe in iTunes or RSS.
Episode Links & Notes Follow-up Iron Giant on iTunes Apple TV Wireless Headphones (recommended by Rebecca Wright at Movie Gazette Online) link John Carpenter’s Vampires low-quantity Army Of Darkness correction News Scream Factory October Sale Twilight Time January / February 2016 titles Ralph Bakshi’s Last Days Of Coney Island on Vimeo on October 29th Aladdin II & III 2-Movie Collection Blu-ray Synapse: Triumph Of The Will New Releases
October 13th
Aladdin: Diamond Edition Bates Motel: Season 3 The Brood Call Me Lucky Company Business Cry of the Hunted Dope Edward Scissorhands Escape from Alcatraz Flaxy Martin The Land Before Time Mad Men: The Final Season, Part 2 Malone (1987) Manos: The Hands of Fate...
- 10/21/2015
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
In 1974, the world's imagination was captured by the unthinkably bold, beautifully thrilling feat of a French tightrope walker when, unauthorized and without nets, he suddenly appeared strolling on a wire between the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center. 40 years later, Philippe Petit's feat remains one of the singular breathtaking leaps of modern times, on a par with the Apollo missions. His story was the subject of a celebrated documentary "Man on Wire" and now forms the basis of a new film from director Robert Zemeckis, "The Walk" starring Joseph Gordon Levitt as Petit. We spoke to Petit by phone about the new film, why his hour long stroll remains such a potent ideal, the loss of the towers and advice for the vertigo-ridden everywhere. Hitfix: What was your feeling seeing your story on the screen for the first time? The first time was a strange feeling because...
- 10/9/2015
- Hitfix
Humanity has almost disappeared. A biologic weapon has gone viral and wiped out almost all human life on the planet. Somehow a handful of intelligent, educated people are kept in suspended animation, far underground. Tended to by a couple of engineers who are also in suspended animation, at 6 month intervals the two engineers are awakened, make sure the sleeping people are kept alive, and then go back to sleep. During their time awake they have only one hour and 40 minutes of time to check all the systems, tend to the sleepers, take care of their own needs, and then go back to sleep.
But something goes wrong, doesn’t it always in science fiction? Especially post apocalypse science fiction, of which Air is just about the most grim and depressing vision of a post collapse landscape I can imagine.
The two engineers are Norman Reedus as Bauer and Djimon Hounsou as Cartwright.
But something goes wrong, doesn’t it always in science fiction? Especially post apocalypse science fiction, of which Air is just about the most grim and depressing vision of a post collapse landscape I can imagine.
The two engineers are Norman Reedus as Bauer and Djimon Hounsou as Cartwright.
- 8/11/2015
- by Sam Moffitt
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
It's been two decades, and still, the waves from the tsunami that was "Waterworld" have not receded.
Released 20 years ago this week (on July 28, 1995), the post-apocalyptic epic about the survivors of a drowned Earth became known as one of the most bloated flops of all time. That reputation wasn't really fair (the movie eventually broke even), but it was the then-most expensive movie ever made.
For a year before the film's release, stories leaked out about the waterlogged production's near-disastrous setbacks and its ego clashes between star Kevin Costner and his hand-picked director, Kevin Reynolds. Punsters were calling the movie "Fishtar" and "Kevin's Gate." By the time "Waterworld" finally came out, its underwhelming reception was a self-fulfilling prophecy. Costner's career as a bankable leading man has never really recovered.
In honor of the film turning 20 years old today, here are 20 facts you may not know about "Waterworld."
1. Initially, "Waterworld" was...
Released 20 years ago this week (on July 28, 1995), the post-apocalyptic epic about the survivors of a drowned Earth became known as one of the most bloated flops of all time. That reputation wasn't really fair (the movie eventually broke even), but it was the then-most expensive movie ever made.
For a year before the film's release, stories leaked out about the waterlogged production's near-disastrous setbacks and its ego clashes between star Kevin Costner and his hand-picked director, Kevin Reynolds. Punsters were calling the movie "Fishtar" and "Kevin's Gate." By the time "Waterworld" finally came out, its underwhelming reception was a self-fulfilling prophecy. Costner's career as a bankable leading man has never really recovered.
In honor of the film turning 20 years old today, here are 20 facts you may not know about "Waterworld."
1. Initially, "Waterworld" was...
- 7/28/2015
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
Toa Fraser's Maori thriller The Dead Lands is a solid entry in the loose subgenre we might call the "ethnographic action film" — earlier examples of which include Mel Gibson's Apocalypto or Zacarias Kunuk's Atanarjuat; The Fast Runner or Kevin Reynolds's Rapa Nui. In these movies, which vary dramatically in tone and quality, basic action tropes are recycled, and in some cases revitalized, as we're immersed in remote, sometimes extinct, native cultures. Primal tales of vengeance or pursuit or loyalty gain mythic power through the sheer novelty of context. That's the idea, anyway. Sometimes, the setting is just a crutch. You won't necessarily learn all that much about Maori culture while watching The Dead Lands, which is set in a pre-colonial stretch of wilderness thick with forests, mountains, and caves — all beautifully shot by Leon Narbey. Fraser himself is a half-Fijian director who works out of New Zealand,...
- 4/17/2015
- by Bilge Ebiri
- Vulture
David Hasselhoff and Bo Derek are braving the storm with Ian Ziering and Tara Reid in The Asylum and Syfy's Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! Featured in our latest round-up, the third installment in the tongue-in-cheek franchise has received a summer release date. We also have a casting update for the second season of Robert Rodriguez's From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, as well as a Friday the 13th 35th Anniversary T-shirt from Fright Rags.
Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!: The third Sharknado film will splash onto the Syfy channel on Wednesday, July 22nd at 9:00pm Est:
Press Release (via TV by the Numbers) - New York – March 18, 2015 – Syfy and The Asylum today announced that the official title of the latest installment in the global pop culture sensation is Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! The two-hour original movie will devour the planet on Wednesday,...
Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!: The third Sharknado film will splash onto the Syfy channel on Wednesday, July 22nd at 9:00pm Est:
Press Release (via TV by the Numbers) - New York – March 18, 2015 – Syfy and The Asylum today announced that the official title of the latest installment in the global pop culture sensation is Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! The two-hour original movie will devour the planet on Wednesday,...
- 3/18/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
A new scientific study suggests that the native inhabitants of Easter Island might have vacated the area after agriculture production slowed. What Happened To The Rapa Nui? A native Polynesian culture known as Rapa Nui, builders of the historic statues on Easter Island, were discovered by Europeans in 1722. In 1770, Europeans estimated the native […]
The post New Study Unlocks Easter Island Mystery appeared first on uInterview.
The post New Study Unlocks Easter Island Mystery appeared first on uInterview.
- 1/29/2015
- by Olivia Truffaut
- Uinterview
The Dead Lands
Written by Glenn Standring
Directed by Toa Fraser
New Zealand, 2014
Cinema rarely looks to events of a pre-biblical vintage, but a mini-genre of pre-civilisation survival pictures does exist for those who pray to the old ones. The first instance of this primitive return to our roots which spears our interest was Clan of the Cave Bear, mysteriously directed by frequent Scorsese cinematographer Michael Chapman. More recently Kevin Reynolds took us on a adventure to Easter Island with Rapa Nui, and Roland Emmerich’s credibility was crushed with 10,000 BC, whilst the more seriously minded Nicolas Winding Refn added his brooding masculinity to the genre with his monosyllabic Valhalla Rising. Perhaps the highest profile film in the prehistoric swaps of survival is Mel Gibson’s brutal Apocalypto, which seemed to have been culled from the video game techniques of peril and boss fights rather than the historical archive of the local Natural History museum,...
Written by Glenn Standring
Directed by Toa Fraser
New Zealand, 2014
Cinema rarely looks to events of a pre-biblical vintage, but a mini-genre of pre-civilisation survival pictures does exist for those who pray to the old ones. The first instance of this primitive return to our roots which spears our interest was Clan of the Cave Bear, mysteriously directed by frequent Scorsese cinematographer Michael Chapman. More recently Kevin Reynolds took us on a adventure to Easter Island with Rapa Nui, and Roland Emmerich’s credibility was crushed with 10,000 BC, whilst the more seriously minded Nicolas Winding Refn added his brooding masculinity to the genre with his monosyllabic Valhalla Rising. Perhaps the highest profile film in the prehistoric swaps of survival is Mel Gibson’s brutal Apocalypto, which seemed to have been culled from the video game techniques of peril and boss fights rather than the historical archive of the local Natural History museum,...
- 10/8/2014
- by John
- SoundOnSight
When I was a boy in New York City I remember being enthralled by a book published then by a young Norwegian 'Explorer' called Thor Heyerdahl about his travels into the vast Pacific. The book told of an impossible dream of Heyerdahl to drift by raft from off Peru, not really navigating but being carried by natural currents into the depths of the Pacific vastness to 'discover', as did thousands of years before by the ancient Tiki people of Peru, islands in the Pacific where they settled and populated. Heyerdahl was derided and discouraged in his plans to 're-enact' the ancient voyages and prove his crazy theory. Of course he was right and he did completely prove his outlandish theories to be correct. But what a trip!! And that is the tale this wonderful new film tells.... Of a group of 'mad' (or eccentric) young Norwegian men who want to sail into fate and make their mark on the world. And they are led by the biggest madman of all - Heyerdahl - who is proven to be a visionary hero. It was interesting to me to see this hero of my childhood seen in another - and darker - light. He was a genius and more than a little insane. What a revelation to me after all these years!!! I spoke to the Directors of 'Kon Tiki' Joachim Roenning and Espen Sandberg in La recently where we met after being initially introduced at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. They are Oslo residents and lifelong friends who started making films when they were 10 years old. They began in the '80's to make music videos. From the beginning they were influenced by Us films which they always liked. In the early 90's when out of film school they made TV commercials. They now own Motion Blur which is the biggest Norwegian production house for commercials. In 2008 they made their first Directed feature, 'Max Manus' which was a WW2 feature. It had a Us$10 million budget and sold 5 million theater tickets and 1.2 million bought non theatrical access for a gross of Us$20 million. Big success. Kon Tiki has had the 2nd biggest Norwegian theatrical run at $14.2 million box office receipts. Internationally The Weinstein Company has bought North America and the UK all rights. Hanway the excellent UK International Sales Company is handling 50 territories for sales. Today the Directors are stretching their legs a bit and touring the states with their families. They are considering work in the Us and consider themselves 'entrepreneurs'. They are currently taking meetings and reviewing new projects. I wish them well, they are very talented and told this tough story with great flair and honesty. The following text I have edited down from Wikipedia but nerds like me who want more can look him Heyerdahl up there. This below is Not about the film but reflects the background story a bit, history and fuss that Heyerdahl evoked, a really remarkable man. from Wikipedia - Thor Heyerdahl (October 6, 1914, Larvik, Norway – April 18, 2002, Colla Micheri, Italy) was a Norwegian ethnographer and adventurer with a background in zoology and geography. He became notable for his Kon-Tiki expedition, in which he sailed 8,000 km (5,000 mi) across the Pacific Ocean in a self-built raft from South America to the Tuamotu Islands in 1947. The expedition was designed to demonstrate that ancient people could have made long sea voyages, creating contacts between apparently separate cultures. This was linked to a diffusionist model of cultural development. Heyerdahl was born in Larvik, the son of master brewer Thor Heyerdahl and his wife Alison Lyng. As a young child, Heyerdahl showed a strong interest in zoology. He created a small museum in his childhood home, with a Vipera berus as the main attraction. He studied zoology and geography at the University of Oslo. At the same time, he privately studied Polynesian culture and history, consulting what was then the world's largest private collection of books and papers on Polynesia, owned by Bjarne Kropelien, a wealthy wine merchant in Oslo. This collection was later purchased by the University of Oslo Library from Kropelien's heirs and was attached to the Kon-Tiki Museum research department. After seven terms and consultations with experts in Berlin, a project was developed and sponsored by Heyerdahl's zoology professors, Kristine Bonnevie and Hjalmar Broch. He was to visit some isolated Pacific island groups and study how the local animals had found their way there. In the Kon-Tiki expedition, Heyerdahl and five fellow adventurers went to Peru, they constructed a pae-pae raft from balsa wood and other native materials, a raft that they called the Kon-Tiki. The Kon-Tiki expedition was inspired by old reports and drawings made by the Spanish Conquistadors of Inca rafts, and by native legends and archaeological evidence suggesting contact between South America and Polynesia. After a 101-day, 4,300 nautical mile (4,948 miles or 7,964 km)[6] journey across the Pacific Ocean, Kon-Tiki smashed into the reef at Raroia in the Tuamotu Islands on August 7, 1947. Heyerdahl, who had nearly drowned at least twice in childhood, did not take easily to water, and said later that there were times in each of his raft voyages when he feared for his life. Kon-Tiki demonstrated that it was possible for a primitive raft to sail the Pacific with relative ease and safety, especially to the west (with the wind). The raft proved to be highly maneuverable, and fish congregated between the nine balsa logs in such numbers that ancient sailors could have possibly relied on fish for hydration in the absence of other sources of fresh water. Inspired by Kon-Tiki, other rafts have repeated the voyage. Heyerdahl's book about the expedition, The Kon-Tiki Expedition: By Raft Across the South Seas, has been translated into over 67 languages. The documentary film of the expedition, itself entitled Kon-Tiki, won an Academy Award in 1951. Anthropologists continue to believe, based on linguistic, physical, and genetic evidence, that Polynesia was settled from west to east, migration having begun from the Asian mainland. There are controversial indications, though, of some sort of South American/Polynesian contact, most notably in the fact that the South American sweet potato is served as a dietary staple throughout much of Polynesia. Blood samples taken in 1971 and 2008 from Easter Islanders without any European or other external descent were analysed in a 2011 study, which concluded that the evidence supported some aspects of Heyerdahl's hypothesis. Heyerdahl attempted to counter the linguistic argument with the analogy that, guessing the origin of African-Americans, he would prefer to believe that they came from Africa, judging from their skin colour, and not from England, judging from their speech. Heyerdahl claimed that in Incan legend there was a sun-god named Con-Tici Viracocha who was the supreme head of the mythical fair-skinned people in Peru. The original name for Viracocha was Kon-Tiki or Illa-Tiki, which means Sun-Tiki or Fire-Tiki. Kon-Tiki was high priest and sun-king of these legendary "white men" who left enormous ruins on the shores of Lake Titicaca. The legend continues with the mysterious bearded white men being attacked by a chief named Cari who came from the Coquimbo Valley. They had a battle on an island in Lake Titicaca, and the fair race was massacred. However, Kon-Tiki and his closest companions managed to escape and later arrived on the Pacific coast. The legend ends with Kon-Tiki and his companions disappearing westward out to sea. When the Spaniards came to Peru, Heyerdahl asserted, the Incas told them that the colossal monuments that stood deserted about the landscape were erected by a race of white gods who had lived there before the Incas themselves became rulers. The Incas described these "white gods" as wise, peaceful instructors who had originally come from the north in the "morning of time" and taught the Incas' primitive forefathers architecture as well as manners and customs. They were unlike other Native Americans in that they had "white skins and long beards" and were taller than the Incas. The Incas said that the "white gods" had then left as suddenly as they had come and fled westward across the Pacific. After they had left, the Incas themselves took over power in the country. Heyerdahl said that when the Europeans first came to the Pacific islands, they were astonished that they found some of the natives to have relatively light skins and beards. There were whole families that had pale skin, hair varying in color from reddish to blonde. In contrast, most of the Polynesians had golden-brown skin, raven-black hair, and rather flat noses. Heyerdahl claimed that when Jakob Roggeveen first discovered Easter Island in 1722, he supposedly noticed that many of the natives were white-skinned. Heyerdahl claimed that these people could count their ancestors who were "white-skinned" right back to the time of Tiki and Hotu Matua, when they first came sailing across the sea "from a mountainous land in the east which was scorched by the sun." The ethnographic evidence for these claims is outlined in Heyerdahl's book Aku Aku: The Secret of Easter Island. Heyerdahl proposed that Tiki's neolithic people colonized the then-uninhabited Polynesian islands as far north as Hawaii, as far south as New Zealand, as far east as Easter Island, and as far west as Samoa and Tonga around 500 Ad. They supposedly sailed from Peru to the Polynesian islands on pae-paes—large rafts built from balsa logs, complete with sails and each with a small cottage. They built enormous stone statues carved in the image of human beings on Pitcairn, the Marquesas, and Easter Island that resembled those in Peru. They also built huge pyramids on Tahiti and Samoa with steps like those in Peru. But all over Polynesia, Heyerdahl found indications that Tiki's peaceable race had not been able to hold the islands alone for long. He found evidence that suggested that seagoing war canoes as large as Viking ships and lashed together two and two had brought Stone Age Northwest American Indians to Polynesia around 1100 Ad, and they mingled with Tiki's people. The oral history of the people of Easter Island, at least as it was documented by Heyerdahl, is completely consistent with this theory, as is the archaeological record he examined (Heyerdahl 1958). In particular, Heyerdahl obtained a radiocarbon date of 400 Ad for a charcoal fire located in the pit that was held by the people of Easter Island to have been used as an "oven" by the "Long Ears," which Heyerdahl's Rapa Nui sources, reciting oral tradition, identified as a white race which had ruled the island in the past (Heyerdahl 1958). Heyerdahl further argued in his book American Indians in the Pacific that the current inhabitants of Polynesia migrated from an Asian source, but via an alternate route. He proposes that Polynesians traveled with the wind along the North Pacific current. These migrants then arrived in British Columbia. Heyerdahl called contemporary tribes of British Columbia, such as the Tlingit and Haida, descendants of these migrants. Heyerdahl claimed that cultural and physical similarities existed between these British Columbian tribes, Polynesians, and the Old World source. Heyerdahl's claims aside, however, there is no evidence that the Tlingit, Haida or other British Columbian tribes have an affinity with Polynesians. Heyerdahl's theory of Polynesian origins never gained acceptance among anthropologists. Physical and cultural evidence had long suggested that Polynesia was settled from west to east, migration having begun from the Asian mainland, not South America. In the late 1990s, genetic testing found that the mitochondrial DNA of the Polynesians is more similar to people from southeast Asia than to people from South America, showing that their ancestors most likely came from Asia.[12] Easter Islanders are of Polynesian descent. Anthropologist Robert Carl Suggs included a chapter titled "The Kon-Tiki Myth" in his book on Polynesia, concluding that "The Kon-Tiki theory is about as plausible as the tales of Atlantis, Mu, and 'Children of the Sun.' Like most such theories it makes exciting light reading, but as an example of scientific method it fares quite poorly." Anthropologist and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Wade Davis also criticised Heyerdahl's theory in his book The Wayfinders, which explores the history of Polynesia. Davis says that Heyerdahl "ignored the overwhelming body of linguistic, ethnographic, and ethnobotanical evidence, augmented today by genetic and archaeological data, indicating that he was patently wrong."...
- 1/16/2013
- by Peter Belsito
- Sydney's Buzz
For most people, myself included, the “mystery” of Easter Island (aka Rapa Nui) has more to do with the rationale behind the hundreds of statues still standing and spread throughout the island. I would suspect that most people don’t question the “how” of the statues coming to arrive at each of the altars on which they rest. It’s not that the question isn’t potentially interesting, it’s just more technical a piece of trivia than most people care to dive into, and Nova’s special on that topic proves that true. Though “Mystery of Easter Island” has lots of historical background information to offer on the giant statues and the people who made them, the bulk of the special’s time is devoted to two archaeologists’ struggles to recreate just how the natives managed to move the statues from where they were carved to where they rest today.
- 1/7/2013
- by Lex Walker
- JustPressPlay.net
Is there a greater film than "Lawrence of Arabia?" Perhaps. There are certainly few longer ones, or few that are more epic and sweeping in their scope (thanks to the timeless Panavision 70 photography by Freddie Young). But even if the film isn't your absolute favorite, it is the number one of many, including Steven Spielberg, who credits the picture with making him want to be a filmmaker.
David Lean's tale of T.E. Lawrence's adventures in Arabia in World War I is fifty years old this year, and ahead of a brand-spanking-new Blu-ray release next month, a glorious new 4K restoration of the film is screening at Cannes tomorrow night. To mark the occasion, as well as the anniversary of the death of Lawrence himself, who died 77 years ago tomorrow, we've assembled five things you might not know about Lean's unassailable classic.
1. David Lean nearly directed a biopic of...
David Lean's tale of T.E. Lawrence's adventures in Arabia in World War I is fifty years old this year, and ahead of a brand-spanking-new Blu-ray release next month, a glorious new 4K restoration of the film is screening at Cannes tomorrow night. To mark the occasion, as well as the anniversary of the death of Lawrence himself, who died 77 years ago tomorrow, we've assembled five things you might not know about Lean's unassailable classic.
1. David Lean nearly directed a biopic of...
- 5/18/2012
- by Oliver Lyttelton
- The Playlist
For years the cotton-tailed bringer of colored eggs and candy languished as a second-rate legend, far behind the red-clad bringer of holiday toys, Santa. No more! The family film Hop — which seamlessly blends animation with live action — changes all that, giving the Easter Bunny a workshop, a charming mythology and a host of helpers covered with fur and feathers. The film explains that off the coast of South America, on the island of Rapa Nui — fondly known as Easter Island — the most magnificent candy factory in the world can be found under the giant stone heads. [...]...
- 3/30/2012
- by Elaine Bergstrom
- ChannelGuideMag
Script rewrites. Exacting directors. Terrible twists of fate. We look back through the ages to bring you 20 nightmarish film shoots…
The lavish lifestyles of Hollywood’s more famous actors and filmmakers may hint at a world of glamour and cash, but as this list proves, the process of actually putting a movie together is rarely a dignified process. What follows is a lengthy catalogue of ill-advised location choices, tantrums, dreadful acts of God, spiked bowls of soup, ruined studios, bruised egos, broken bones and shattered dreams.
For the prospective filmmaker, this article could be read as a cautionary tale of just how badly wrong a production can go – though in order to keep the tone relatively light, we’ve excised those film productions that ended in tragedy (you’ll have to look elsewhere to discover the sad stories behind Twilight Zone: The Movie and The Crow).
Nevertheless, we suggest you...
The lavish lifestyles of Hollywood’s more famous actors and filmmakers may hint at a world of glamour and cash, but as this list proves, the process of actually putting a movie together is rarely a dignified process. What follows is a lengthy catalogue of ill-advised location choices, tantrums, dreadful acts of God, spiked bowls of soup, ruined studios, bruised egos, broken bones and shattered dreams.
For the prospective filmmaker, this article could be read as a cautionary tale of just how badly wrong a production can go – though in order to keep the tone relatively light, we’ve excised those film productions that ended in tragedy (you’ll have to look elsewhere to discover the sad stories behind Twilight Zone: The Movie and The Crow).
Nevertheless, we suggest you...
- 1/19/2012
- Den of Geek
180° South
Starring Jeff Johnson, Yvon Chouinard, and Doug Tompkins
Directed by Chris Malloy
Rated PG
No disrespect meant, but 180° South might be better off as a coffee table book. The new documentary about one man's journey of self-discovery through central America all the way down to Patagonia at the southernmost tip of South America is a little too sprawling for a film narrative, even though it only clocks in at about 90 minutes.
That could be the problem: Jeff Johnson's story might be more interesting if it had more time to stew, but fitting in hundreds of days on the same quest in less than an hour and a half speeds up a very meditative process.
Johnson retraces a similar famous trek from the 1960s, one that launched modern conservationism in that part of the world and eventually was the seedling for the Patagonia clothing company, one of the largest outdoor outfitters in the world.
Starring Jeff Johnson, Yvon Chouinard, and Doug Tompkins
Directed by Chris Malloy
Rated PG
No disrespect meant, but 180° South might be better off as a coffee table book. The new documentary about one man's journey of self-discovery through central America all the way down to Patagonia at the southernmost tip of South America is a little too sprawling for a film narrative, even though it only clocks in at about 90 minutes.
That could be the problem: Jeff Johnson's story might be more interesting if it had more time to stew, but fitting in hundreds of days on the same quest in less than an hour and a half speeds up a very meditative process.
Johnson retraces a similar famous trek from the 1960s, one that launched modern conservationism in that part of the world and eventually was the seedling for the Patagonia clothing company, one of the largest outdoor outfitters in the world.
- 5/21/2010
- by Colin Boyd
- GetTheBigPicture.net
It’s been a while since Jason Scott Lee showed up out of nowhere to play Bruce Lee in 1993’s “Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story”. Since then, he’s been in a couple of high-profile projects, including “Map of the Human Heart” and “Rapa Nui”, but in recent years he’s mostly done low-profile films like the direct-to-dvd sequel “Time Cop: The Berlin Decision” (which I thought was vastly superior to the first one with Jean-Claude Van Damme) and the “Dracula” franchise. His latest is the 2008 Singapore movie “Dance of the Dragon” from writers/directors Max Mannix and John Radel. It’s… not exactly what I would expect from Lee, and from what I can tell, he plays the big bad villain trying to keep the poor country kid from true love. Bah. Still, it’s nice to see Lee back in the mix again, hopefully we’ll see more of him.
- 3/5/2010
- by Nix
- Beyond Hollywood
You better watch out You better not cry You better have clout I'm telling you why Two Thumbs Down are comin' to town He's making a list,
Checking it twice;
Gonna find out whose
movie was scheiss.
Sandy Claws is comin' to town.
He sees you when you're (bleeping),
He knows when you're a fake
He knows if you've been bad or good
So be good for cinema's sake!
With little but scorn
and pounding of drums,
Rooty toot hoots
and rummy tum thumbs
Sandy Jaws is comin' to town
As I dream back over many happy years of movie going, some of my favorite lines from old reviews dance in my head like visions of sugarplums. Good movies, bad movies, doesn't matter, just so the line dances. I thought I'd share them in the holiday spirit. Curiously, most of the lines come from movies so bad I didn't want a refund,...
Checking it twice;
Gonna find out whose
movie was scheiss.
Sandy Claws is comin' to town.
He sees you when you're (bleeping),
He knows when you're a fake
He knows if you've been bad or good
So be good for cinema's sake!
With little but scorn
and pounding of drums,
Rooty toot hoots
and rummy tum thumbs
Sandy Jaws is comin' to town
As I dream back over many happy years of movie going, some of my favorite lines from old reviews dance in my head like visions of sugarplums. Good movies, bad movies, doesn't matter, just so the line dances. I thought I'd share them in the holiday spirit. Curiously, most of the lines come from movies so bad I didn't want a refund,...
- 12/24/2008
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
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