''The Royal Hunt of the Sun'' is a 1969 British-American

epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements Epic or EPIC may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and medi ...

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

based on the

play of the same name Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

by Peter Shaffer. It stars Robert Shaw as Francisco Pizarro and Christopher Plummer as the Inca leader

Atahualpa Atahualpa (), also Atawallpa (Quechua), Atabalica, Atahuallpa, Atabalipa (c. 1502 – 26-29 July 1533) was the last Inca Emperor. After defeating his brother, Atahualpa became very briefly the last Sapa Inca (sovereign emperor) of the Inca Empir ...

. Plummer appeared in stage versions of the play before appearing in the film, which was shot in South America and Spain. The film and play are based on the Spanish conquest of Peru by Pizarro in 1530.

Plot

With a small rag-tag band of soldiers, Francisco Pizarro enters the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

and captures its leader,

. Pizarro promises to free him in return for a golden ransom, but later finds himself conflicted between his desire to conquer and his friendship for his captive.

Cast

* Robert Shaw as Francisco Pizarro * Christopher Plummer as

* Nigel Davenport as

Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1500 – 21 May, 1542) was a Spanish explorer and '' conquistador'' who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire ...

* Leonard Whiting as Young Martin * Michael Craig as Estete *

Andrew Keir Andrew Keir (né Buggy, 3 April 19265 October 1997) was a Scottish actor who appeared in a number of films made by Hammer Film Productions in the 1960s. He was also active in television, and especially in the theatre, in a professional career t ...

as Valverde *

William Marlowe William Marlowe (25 July 1930 – 31 January 2003) was a British theatre, television and film actor. He served in the Fleet Air Arm and hoped for a career as a writer before training as an actor at RADA. He was cast in '' A Family at War'' (1970 ...

as Candia *

James Donald James Donald (18 May 1917 – 3 August 1993) was a Scottish actor. Tall and thin, he specialised in playing authority figures, particularly military doctors. Early life Donald was born in Aberdeen, the fourth son of a Scottish Presbyterian m ...

as King Carlos *

Alexander Davion Alexander Davion, (March 31, 1929 - September 28, 2019) French-born British actor. He was perhaps best known in the UK for his starring role in ''Gideon's Way'' as Detective Chief Inspector David Keen. He was born in Paris, France. He died in Lond ...

as De Nizza *

Shmulik Kraus Shmuel "Shmulik" Kraus ( he, שמוליק קראוס; July 1, 1935 – February 17, 2013) was an Israeli pop-rock singer, composer, and actor. Kraus, one of the pioneers of Israeli music, underwent various personal crises in the course of his care ...

as Felipillo * Percy Herbert as Diego * David Bauer as Villac Umu * Robert Rietti as Atahualpa (voice)

Reception

The film has a rating of 56% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

Home media

''The Royal Hunt of the Sun'' was released to DVD by CBS Home Entertainment on November 25, 2014 via its CBS MOD DVD-on-demand service.

References

External links