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The Royal Hunt of the Sun

Play trailer Poster for The Royal Hunt of the Sun G 1969 1h 58m History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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50% Tomatometer 6 Reviews 50% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
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.

Critics Reviews

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Pauline Kael The 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 Full Review Variety Staff Variety Shaw powerfully portrays the conquistador and his varying and complicated moods of violence, sadness, despair, anger and puzzlement. Mar 26, 2009 Full Review 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 Full Review Richard Schickel LIFE A turgid thing based on a play of a few years back. Nov 1, 2021 Full Review Penelope Houston The Spectator A respectable misfire. Jul 10, 2018 Full Review 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 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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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 Full Review 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 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 Full Review Audience Member Beautiful, tragic, catholic brutality at its worse and most corrupt. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Royal Hunt of the Sun

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The Royal Hunt of the Sun

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Movie Info

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