The Royal Hunt of the Sun

G

1969

1h 58m

History

Drama

List

50%

6 Reviews

Tomatometer

50%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Famed Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro (Robert Shaw) returns to Peru for one final mission -- to conquer the Inca Empire, convert its people to Christianity and capture a supposedly massive cache of gold. Upon arriving in the Incan capital, Pizarro and his men secure the palace of the new Incan king, Atahualpa (Christopher Plummer). As the assault on the natives continues, the typically ruthless leader and his doomed hostage begin to respect -- and even admire -- each other.

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Pauline Kael

New Yorker

This adaptation of Peter Shaffer’s play treats it like Shakespeare: people stand on rocks and make speeches. The script, officially blamed on Philip Yordan, has lines that a first-year screenwriting student should know enough to cross out.

Feb 5, 2024

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Variety Staff

Variety

Shaw powerfully portrays the conquistador and his varying and complicated moods of violence, sadness, despair, anger and puzzlement.

Mar 26, 2009

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Geoff Andrew

Time Out

It unwisely ignores the material's potential for the combined spectacle of landscape and material wealth. That said, it's still quite watchable, thanks largely to the intelligence of Shaffer's original, and to strong if idiosyncratic performances.

Jun 24, 2006

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Richard Schickel

LIFE

A turgid thing based on a play of a few years back.

Nov 1, 2021

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Penelope Houston

The Spectator

A respectable misfire.

Jul 10, 2018

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Inaccurate but nevertheless visually enticing historical drama about the Spanish conquistadors in South America.

Rated: B+

Jan 13, 2015

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Celtic R

Adventure stories (movies especially) that involve the Incas are usually mediocre at best. "Royal Hunt" is no exception to the rule. Maybe the 21st century will improve the situation. For the moment, "Aguirre" and "The Emperor's New Groove" are as good as it gets for fiction. Yes, there are some good documentaries, but that's another review for another day.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/08/24

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Audience Member

I am fascinated by the ancient cultures and civilisations of South America and just wish that they were better represented in the movies. This attempt to show the terrible slaughter of the Inca by Pizarro when the Spanish invaded has a glittering cast but is, at best, patchy to say the least. It has a truly bizarre performance from Christopher Plummer who's 'helium-pitched' accent is at first laughable and then, just jaw dropping. Accompanied by Robert Shaw, Andrew Keir, Michael Craig and Nigel Davenport, this lavish production really hasn't aged at all well and it is something of a slog to get through. All this is despite being based on the play by the renowned and lauded Peter Shaffer. This could and should have been so much better.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

One of the more racist movies I have seen.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

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Audience Member

Christopher Plummer and Robert Shaw: the perfect combination for a wonderful movie--Innocence (Purity) gone, bloody gold!!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

An okay adapation- not a great one. A lot of dialogue is cut from the play. Robert shaw is good, but the real amazing performance is be Christopher Plummer. His Incan prince is so far removed from Captain Von Trap from The Sound of Music that it's difficult to believe he's the same person. He includes bird-like mannerims into his character, probably because his people believe him to be a bird/god. He gives a trial dance that he looks like he's known his whole life. David Carradine - or Kung Fu, did the role on Broadway. My DVD was of very poor quality. Had to turn up my TV's volume up all the way just for it to be audible.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

Full Review

Audience Member

worst casting in history? maybe. robert shaw as pizarro and christopher plummer as the inca emporer atahualpa! am i the only one who saw this bizarre picture?

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

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Irving Lerner

Director

Robert Shaw

Francisco Pizarro

Christopher Plummer

Atahualpa

Nigel Davenport

Hernando de Soto

Michael Craig

Estete

Leonard Whiting

Young Martin

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Synopsis

Famed Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro (Robert Shaw) returns to Peru for one final mission -- to conquer the Inca Empire, convert its people to Christianity and capture a supposedly massive cache of gold. Upon arriving in the Incan capital, Pizarro and his men secure the palace of the new Incan king, Atahualpa (Christopher Plummer). As the assault on the natives continues, the typically ruthless leader and his doomed hostage begin to respect -- and even admire -- each other.

Director: Irving Lerner
Rating: G
Genre: History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 2, 2019
Runtime: 1h 58m

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