Product Description

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

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9583 in DVD
• Brand: MGM HOME VIDEO (UNDER FOX)
• Released on: 2008-03-25
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 108 minutes

Features

• 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

Amazon.com
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

Customer Reviews

A lost gem of Epicus Americanus...
Here's an obscure, highly original adventure story that's better than APOCALYPTO and PATHFINDER put together! A United Artists release from the 60's, it's a macho field day for Brynner, who plays a native North American butting heads with the Mayas - particularly chieftan Chakiris. It's eccentric matinee fun, nicely staged, beautifully shot and filled with a pulsating, trademark score by the great Elmer Bernstein. An out-of-print, letterboxed DVD was available in Japan, but this MGM DVD is the first time this picture has been viewed in anamorphic Panavision since it's theatrical run. Terrifically enjoyable stuff!

Wonderfull movie !!!!
This is a such a wondefull movie!!. I can not believe is finally going to be available. I have been waiting years to get a copy. I have no idea it was projected to be release on DVD. What a nice surprice. Sorry I know I do not sound too profesional on my review. I just watched this movie once 35 years ago, and that was enough for me to love it for the rest of my life. 5 stars? 10 stars? ...you name it

FINALLY
I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO SAY "I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS MOVIE FOR SO LONG". THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS AND SAY EL CID ( WHICH IS ALSO "FINALLY" COMING TO DVD IN JAN ) WHICH WAS AVAILABLE ON OTHER FORMATS, I'VE NEVER SEEN KINGS OF THE SUN AVAILABLE ON VHS OR LASERDISC, AND REMEMBER IT WHEN I WAS YOUNGER AND WATCHED IT MANY TIMES ON TV. THIS IS A FINE ADVENTURE AND EVEN WITH ANY HISTORICAL COMPLAINTS IT IS WELL ACTED BY ALL ESPECIALLY MR. YUL BRYNER AND MR. GEORGE CHAKRIS. ALSO IN WIDESCREEN AT LAST. I'M NOT GIVING ANYTHING AWAY ABOUT THE STORY BECAUSE IT DOES HAVE IT ALL, ACTION, LOVE, EMOTIONS, MORAL REVELATIONS, EVERYTHING. I'M SURE SOMEONE WILL SOON ENOUGH, BECAUSE I JUST SAY, BUY IT. REALLY, FINALLY!