7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
In order to flee from powerful enemies, young Mayan king Balam leads his people north across the Gulf of Mexico to the coast of what will become the United States. They build a home in the new land but come into conflict with a tribe of Native Americans led by their chief, Black Eagle, while both Balam and Black Eagle fall in love the beautiful Mayan princess Ixchel.
Starring: Yul Brynner, George Chakiris, Shirley Anne Field, Richard Basehart, Brad DexterDrama | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
History | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Continuing their professional relationship after competing “Taras Bulba,” director J. Lee Thompson and star Yul Brynner reteamed for 1963’s “Kings of the Sun,” marketed as one of the few major motion pictures to examine ancient Mayan culture, doing so as an epic production with blockbuster intentions. It’s the size that’s most impressive about “Kings of the Sun,” which offers hundreds of extras, towering sets, and frame-filling war scenes. Less inviting is the melodrama at the core of the screenplay, which works diligently but fruitlessly to build an intimate tale of doomed attraction and pained leadership as the populations of Central America and North America collide.
Source material isn't fresh for the AVC encoded image (2.35:1 aspect ratio) presentation. Woes emerge from the opening of the movie, with the upper third of the frame warped, pushed into blurriness for the main titles. Trouble pops up periodically throughout the viewing experience, with flicker common, along with vertical scratches, points of damage, and speckling. Some degree of softness is to be expected with period cinematography, but print woes disturb fine detail, making sequences look out of focus. When the elements line up, "Kings of the Sun" does offer some HD punch, with colors lacking excessive fade, while exaggerated skintones register as intended. Delineation isn't crisp, but it's manageable, preserving fire-lit interiors.
The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix doesn't carry precise musical definition, but scoring efforts are pleasingly broad, sustaining the mood when necessary. Dialogue exchanges are adequate, remaining intelligible but never extraordinary, delivering some crispy extremes when emotions run hot. Atmospherics are generally calm, and group activity is understood, giving a feeling of size when the hordes are called into battle.
Thompson has quite the sandbox here, with impressive technical achievements and sheer craftsmanship on display, and battle sequences are filled with swarming extras, delivering comforting Classic Hollywood style, even as the screenplay runs out of gas early on. "Kings of the Sun" deserves credit for its willingness to stage mammoth moments of unrest and the specificity of its subject, but as a whole, it doesn't wind up the viewer as it should. The spectacle often overpowers the drama, leaving the feature hollow but certainly diverting.
2014
2017
Warner Archive Collection
1955
Limited Edition to 3000
1965
1935
2017
1962
1953
Limited Edition to 3000
1956
Black Gold
2011
1997
2016
2016
Limited Edition to 3000
1972
Choice Collection
2006
2017
Warner Archive Collection
1973
1939
1966
1994