Reviews (9)

A DVD zone DISCOVERY
If Imdb is right, THE ROYAL HUNT OF THE SUN should last 118 minutes but the Similar DVD I own runs only 95 minutes. I have to assume that the missing 20 minutes of the copy have been buried somewhere in an anonymous warehouse. Too bad.

Too bad because what it's left of this film is really good. The english cast is superb with a special mention to Christopher Plummer whose performance as the Inca Atahualpa is really haunting. The slow motion technique used for the battle isn't gratuitous at all and is not only used to hide the fact that more than 2000 extras should have been hired in order to respect history.

As for the quality of the DVD, I can't but agree with the other reviewers. Shameful.

I MUST'VE SEEN A DIFFERENT DVD!
The quality of the DVD I saw was no worse than many films not fully restored that have a video quality about them. Sometimes it was very clear and the colors were very nice. But what about the FILM ITSELF? CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER IS BRILLIANT as the Inca. He is such an underrated actor. He is one of the finest actors it has been my pleasure to watch during my life - up there with Olivier. Robert Shaw gives a good performance, and the film is one of the most moving and challenging works I have ever seen. If you want to see a brilliant performance from Christopher Plummer and be highly moved, buy this DVD. If you want perfect picture quality, stay away and miss out on a classic film. Hopefully this film will be remastered in the future - until then, I'm quite satisfied with this.

Same world, different video?
Unless the previous reviewers were too harsh and I too lenient, Simitar may have revised their DVD release of THE ROYAL HUNT OF THE SUN. The version I saw was part of a two-pack featuring it and THE FIFTH DAY OF PEACE in Amaray-type keep cases. Anyhow, the picture is letterboxed, but crops off a bit of the right, evidenced early on by the title reading "Christoph(er) Plumme(r)" and Robert Shaw being cut off when he stands too far to the right. Yes, the print shows damage in the form of scratches, artifacts, and bad splices, along with faded colors and a picture lacking sharpness. The audio is in unexceptional Linear PCM. But get this: the bars are honest to goodness BLACK! In my opinion, it's staill quite watchable, not at all the horrid and incomprehensible mess described by others. The outstanding cast, scenic Spanish locations, energetic score, and resouceful production designing by Eugene Lourie elevate this film far beyond its low budget roots as well as the deficiencies of this video presentation. THE ROYAL HUNT OF THE SUN is a fine movie that certainly deserves better, much better. But as it stands, the DVD is okay...for now. A final note, the DVD clocks in at 95 minutes, not the 88 printed on the cover.

The Royal Hunt of the Sun
I saw the other reviews of the quality of this video, too late. I put it in my VCR and it is true, the worst video transfer ever. What a shame. You get a tape brand new and it looks on the screen like a 25 years old flea market ex-rental.

Magnificent movie, extremely poor DVD quality
I classify this title among the two or three greatest movies ever made, but Simitar has given us absolutely the worst quality DVD I have yet experienced from among the 100+ DVDs I have purchased thus far. Two other Simitar DVD titles ("Sports Blooper Encyclopedia" and "The Titanic") have caused me to conclude that I will never purchase another Simitar DVD. I emailed Simitar suggesting they should recall the DVD, redo it and re-release it using a much better film print. I also suggested they should apologize to their customers. They did not respond. ... Read more