An extremely flawed movie but consistently fascinating because it's the only time Hollywood has really tried to make a movie about the Mayan civilisation. The concept of this movie - which, surprisingly for something that's so different, wasn't based on a best selling book or play but was an original for the screen - is that the Mayans get kicked out of their kingdom, sailed over to modern day Texas, and mixed it with the local Indians.
Apparently the original writer was inspired by the weird Indian mounds and thought the Mayans could be the one responsible. Now that's actually a great idea, only it didn't wind up in the final film - it would have been a great way to start it, with the mounds, then going back in time to tell the story of how they were created. It's one of several bad decisions that hurt this movie.
It actually starts very interestingly. George Chakiris is the Mayan prince, whose people come under attack from Leo Gordon; Gordon chases him out of his kingdom so they have to force some fisherpeople to transport them across the sea to safety. Okay yes the actors look a little silly most of the time spouting dialogue, but there's plenty of action and pace, Chakiris is as well cast as any name Hollywood actor from this time, the characters are clearly drawn (Shirley Ann Field is the leader of the fisherpeople whose dad forces Chakiris is marry her as a condition for using their boats, which sets up solid conflict).
Then Chakiris arrives in America (well, soon to be America) and local Indian chief Yul Brynner worries about him, and winds up captured by Chakiris. I bought Brynner as an Indian but its at this point the film became muddy - Brynner sort of falls in love with Field who would rather be with Chakiris but he isn't showing any love so she's open to Brynner; Chakiris is going to sacrifice Brynner in a Mayan ceremony but gets talked out of it, in part because he kind of falls in love with Brynner, which annoys his head priest. Then, least convincingly of all, Leo Gordon and his men turn up to attack Chakiris. Like, why bother? The real reason is for Brynner and Chakiris and their mean to team up - I guess dramatically they had to but it didn't seem real. (Maybe it would have been better to reduce Gordon's part and instead have the baddies be a fringe hard-right group of Mayans).
Director J. Lee Thompson ensures there is plenty of blood and thunder but too often things get silly. Shirley Ann Field is cute as hell, but not terribly convincing, and she's got an awful character - she starts off spirited but then becomes this passive trophy to be fought over. Would the Mayans really build a large stone pyramid almost as soon as they arrive? Would Indians and Mayans really fight battles this way?
Dramatically, the movie suffers from us never really getting to know any Indian characters well apart from Brynner and his offsider - this needed to be fleshed out. Chakiris' character was muddy - maybe they were trying to make him enigmatic but I think it was just bad writing.
Still, it is about Mayans and so it's always interesting - props, costumes, and so on. There really is/was no other Hollywood epic like it.
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