Kings of the Sun

"Now a lost world becomes a new world of adventure!"

1963 1h 48m EN

😐

6.0

MID

★6.0TMDB · 50

HistoryAdventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“Now a lost world becomes a new world of adventure!”

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Cast

Yul Brynner
Chief Black Eagle
George Chakiris
Balam
Shirley Anne Field
Ixchel
Richard Basehart
Ah Min
Brad Dexter
Ah Haleb
Barry Morse
Ah Zok
Armando Silvestre
Isatai
Leo Gordon
Hunac Ceel

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: J. Lee Thompson
Writers: James R. Webb, Elliott Arnold, Elliott Arnold
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $4.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

63 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by J. Lee Thompson, shot by Joseph MacDonald. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Elmer Bernstein. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Editor William Reynolds shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Yul Brynner and George Chakiris and Shirley Anne Field carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Now a lost world becomes a new world of adventure!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0057225 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

J. Lee Thompson directs. Joseph MacDonald behind the camera. Elmer Bernstein scores. William Reynolds cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $4.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
263 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by J. Lee Thompson, shot by Joseph MacDonald. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Elmer Bernstein. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor William Reynolds shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Yul Brynner and George Chakiris and Shirley Anne Field carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Now a lost world becomes a new world of adventure!".
8IMDB entry: tt0057225 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 50 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Joseph MacDonald
Original score: Elmer Bernstein
Editing: William Reynolds
Costume design: Norma Koch
Makeup / hair: Emile LaVigne
Runtime: 108 min · 1h 48m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $4,000,000
Original language: EN
IMDB: Kings of the Sun (1963)

Also by

J. Lee Thompson

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-08-12
★ 6/10
The oddest of casting here as Yul Brynner, George Chakiris and Shirley Anne Field star in a story of a Mayan population driven from their city by invaders. They take refuge in what they hope will be a safe haven far away and rebuild their temple. Brynner plays "Black Eagle" the chief of the local tribe already in-situ and after a few skirmishes, he gets captured and falls in love with Chakiris' betrothed - "Ixchel" (Field) before the invaders catch up with them... It is rare for meso-American history to be the focus of a plot and it makes for quite an interesting cultural backdrop. Sadly, it's not really capitalised upon and the writing and performances are just too stilted to make this anything much more than a typical sword-and-sandal effort set on a different continent.

Production companies