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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: MGM (Video & DVD)
Salesrank: 10218
Released: March 25, 2008 |
| Our Price: $7.08 |
| Used Price: $32.41 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
When his father is killed in battle Balam (George Chakiris) succeeds his father as King and leads his followers out of Mexico to a coastal region. The Mayan's new home however is already the province of a hostile Indian tribe led by Black Eagle (Yul Brynner) who leads a raid against the Mayan's camp. Balam is severely injured but Black Eagle's wife Ixchel (Shirley Ann Field) tends to his wounds and eventually the two leaders agree to settle their differences and coexist in peace. Hunac Ceel (Leo Gordon) Balam's old nemesis is not so forgiving. He has followed the Mayans to their new home where he and his troops mount a furious attack with the Indians and the Mayans leading a united front against the invaders.System Requirements:Running Time: 108 minutes Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/CLASSICS Rating: NR UPC: 883904103011 Manufacturer No: M110301
Description of Kings of the Sun:
Fans of Mel Gibson's Apocalypto may well enjoy J. Lee Thompson's 1963 Kings of the Sun, an exotic, widescreen adventure about the ancient Mayan civilization and its rocky relationship with a nomadic tribe. George Chakiris plays Balam, a young and inexperienced Mayan king who must lead his people from one part of Mexico to another via ships. Arriving at a seemingly uninhabited coast, Balam oversees the construction of a new kingdom, complete with a tall temple upon which an altar for human sacrifice rests. The problem for Balam is that he doesn't believe in the need for sacrificing people, creating a conflict when his own high priest (Richard Basehart) demands that Black Eagle (Yul Brynner), wounded chief of a local Indian tribe, be offered up to the Mayan gods. Complicating Balam's life even more is that his love interest, Ixchel (Shirley Anne Field), falls for Black Eagle while nursing him back to health. Everything leads to a kind of social experiment in coexistence that gets shaky whenever the subject of Ixchel comes up. Screenwriter Elliott Arnold (Broken Arrow) does a fine job of alternating the big picture of conflicting traditions and peoples with intimate moments of passion and disappointment. Thompson wraps the story in a fever-dream intensity, underscored by the undeniable sexuality of Brynner (who moves like a bronze cat) and Chakiris (who looks like a haughty demigod). The characters' lurches toward a more modern view of sacrifice and cooperation are fascinating and make Kings of the Sun as thoughtful as it is bigger-than-life. --Tom Keogh
Kings of the Sun Reviews:
Liked it - especially because of S.A.F 
2009-11-27 - I've complained about movies like "Brave Heart" blatantly distorting actual, recorded historic events, but Kings of the Sun us not guilty of such rubbish. Instead, this is a movie - a story on film - of the "Once upon a time" variety that just happens to utilize Indian tribes with pyramids instead of knights and damsels in castles. The casting is wonderful - couldn't have been better, in fact. Good old Yul is a perfect savage chieftain leading a primitive tribal group of AmerIndians. George Chakiris was a wise choice for a young, inexperienced, unsure and untried, but head strong Mayan prince who suddenly finds himself king of a besieged empire. Richard Basehart shines as the level-headed, foward-looking high priest who is the young king's closest advisor. Barry Morse has a minor role as a second, scheming priest who wants to unseat the king from his thrown, but in spite of its secondary status, Morse does a good job with his role. Then there's Brad Dexter who plays the part of the ever-loyal Mayan war leader to Chakiris's King Ballam. But for me, the really captivating presence in this movie is provided by the devistatingly lovely English actress, Shirley Anne Field, who plays the part of the young, tender-hearted, Mayan aristocrat, Ixchel. She made the whole show worth watching in my view!!
The costuming is great, except it would have been a good idea to have had Yul and his warriors with their faces decorated with war paint during the battle scenes. The story is entertaining enough too, with Chakiris and his last surviving soldiers and priests escaping from his father's capital city while its being attacked by hostile invaders from somewhere in the West. The survivors move across country to a coastal village where they encounter the beautiful Ixchel and her aging father, who are the local nobility of the peaceful place. The stubborn Ballam reluctantly agrees to make Ixchel his queen if his little ruling class group and the villagers can successfully escape the invaders and make an ocean journey across the sea to as yet unknown lands somewhere in the north. Once they finally reach the shores of the new land ( narrowly averting mutiny in the process ), Ixchel refuses Ballam's wedding vow and thus drives a serious emotional wedge between herself and the young king. Of course, they are both deeply in love with one another, but neither will give in and openly let the other know it. Both George Chakiris and Shirley Anne Field do a great job in their roles at this point. He manages to portray a young man who relies on a surface persona of indifference and haughty disregard toward Ixchel, while realistically indicating that underneath he desires her so much he becomes nervous, hesitant, and tongue tied whenever they are alone. She comes up with an equally compelling performance in which her character quietly yearns for some significant indication from the young king that he actually cares for her, only to be put off and disappointed in a series of "almosts" which transpire between the two of them. To compound this melodramatic situation, Yul enters the picture as a captive who is slated to serve as a sacrificial offering to the Mayan gods in order to secure a bright future for Ballam and his people in their new home.
I won't spoil this show for you by revealing what happens after this point, but there's plenty of romance; heart-rending tension between the main stars; and spectacular battle scenes to enjoy. For overall entertainment ( and considering both the time this movie was made and how studios handled such offerings ) KINGS OF THE SUN offers the audience everything they could want and then some. And remember, pay attention to the captivating Shirley Anne Field! She's the perfect foil and love interest for both George Chakris and Yul combined.
Five stars for this one - no doubt about it.
A Disappointment 
2009-10-29 - I saw "Kings of the Sun" as a kid and became fascinated by Mayans. I recently watched it for the first time in 40 years, and I must confess it did not live up to my childhood memory. The story follows a tribe of Mayans who flee their homeland to North America, where they encounter a tribe of Native Americans. The two groups start out as adversaries, with the two leaders pursuing the same woman, but they ultimately come together to fight an invading army.
A big problem with the film is the casting. Most of the main actors don't look remotely like Central American Indians. The female lead, Shirley Anne Field, is paler than the sands they build their village on. She is a wooden mannequin with limited emotional range. Richard Basehart, as a Mayan priest, looks out of place in his swept up hairdo and fancy headdresses. Playing the Mayan ruler, George Chakiris is effectively chiseled, but comes across more like a fashion model. Mostly he stands around glowering. Only Yul Brynner looks the part, as Native American chief Black Eagle. Brynner has a dynamic physical presence, striding around with sinewy grace.
The direction is slow and ponderous, and the story gives only a surface look at the Mayan culture. The love story isn't convincing since the actress is so bland you can't believe two chieftains would battle for her affection. The musical score, by Elmer Bernstein, is bombastic but repetitive. The climactic battle has some good moments, but it's too little too late.
I wanted to like this movie, but found it a dull disappointment. Without Yul Brynner, it would have been a total dud.
classic, but not heard much of
2009-10-19 - I've always liked this movie but could never find it. Course Amazon was happy to oblige me. It's a different sort of movie. One that talks and shows life in america's before columbus. The acting was fine for the movie, the blood and gore was not up to mordern standards but what do you expect from an older period movie. I thought it was great. The best part was no bad language or foul words that didn't exist in those days. It's kinda nice not having to listen to 4 letter words that do not inprove a movie. If Mel Gibson directed this film it would be filled with such language. History buffs might like this movie. Yul B. still has his favorite stride in this movie. LOL
One Of My Favorite Films.
2009-10-11 - A really good action adventure film based in Central America. If you like stories about the Inca, etc, you should like this one.
Matinee splendor
2009-07-12 - It is so wonderful for MGM/United Artist to bring this matinee adventure to dvd. Some of us at the age of 10, remember seeing previews on television on a movie that looks so cool to see. Well this was one of them. I remember cutting grass to get the 75 cents to go to the Roxy Theatre to see this film. I was not disapointed. Again, with this new DVD, I am not disapointed. The Elmer Bernstien music opens up and a great smile comes on my face. The DVD transfer is spectacular and the colors vibrant. Yul Brynner strolls across the screen with tough and gentle masculinity. The action of the film is epic and contained perfectly within it's 2:35 wideescreen lens. This movie was played with Steve Reeves film "The Slave" aka "Son of Spartacus". We must have stayed all day at the Roxy...it was 9:00pm when we walked home. A day well spent and a day to remember. So will you...if you can remember.
