El Condor

1970 "You can get killed trying to break through the walls of El Condor...but it's one helluva way to die!"
6| 1h42m| R| en| More Info
Released: 19 June 1970 Released
Producted By: National General Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

Luke, an escaped convict, and Jaroo, a loner gold prospector, team up with a band of Apache Indians in 19th century Mexico to capture a large, heavily armed fortress for the millions -- or billions -- of dollars in gold that are rumored to be stored within. Written by Brian C. Madsen

Genre

Action, Western

Watch Online

El Condor (1970) is currently not available on any services.

Director

John Guillermin

Production Companies

National General Pictures

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

All Prime Video Movies and TV Shows. Cancel anytime.
Watch Now
El Condor Videos and Images
View All

El Condor Audience Reviews

Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.
Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
Josephina Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.
Leofwine_draca Here's a wonderfully old-fashioned western movie, overlooked by many but perhaps deserving new status as a minor classic of the genre. The film works admirably well thanks to the solid direction of John Guillermin – who turns material we've seen a hundred times before into something new and refreshing – and a more than adequate budget, which led to the building of a whole fort in the middle of the desert which would go on to serve many movies for decades to come. The film is literally action packed and, whilst not particularly bloody, serves up enough death and destruction to satisfy the most ardent lover of excitement and battle. The script is witty and the plot takes many twists and turns, keeping the audience on their toes by throwing in a number of genuinely surprising twists to keep you guessing as to the outcome.The casting works in the film's favour; as the heroic lead, Jim Brown (THE DIRTY DOZEN) is subdued and his is a performance that works – imagine a black Clint Eastwood and you have the general idea. There is a sense of calmness and coolness about the actor that serves him well and he is also believable in the action stakes. Despite Brown's solid prowess, the film is still nonetheless stolen by the appearance of Van Cleef, in a cast-against-type role as a drunken prospector out for his own ends, complete with a low set of morals and even worse personal hygiene habits. Despite his unsavoury character, Van Cleef still evokes sympathy and respect from the audience plus a large helping of successful comic relief. Towards the end of the film he adds layers of pathos and torment rounding out his character as a whole. Patrick O'Neal is splendidly suave and sophisticated, as well as tongue-in-cheek, as the honourable villain, whilst Marianna Hill shows off her beauty by performing a striptease for the army.What I liked most about this film was the combination of humour and suspense in the action scenes. Many are played for laughs but there is also always an element of real danger at hand. Take for example the stealthy climbing of the wall, made amusing through the stupid soldiers in the army, too obsessed with spying on Hill to care about any imminent invasion; you still find yourself holding your breath during this sequence. Other great moments include the hilarious moment when Brown must battle with an Indian warrior to show his supremacy, and the full-on onslaught of the battle which concludes the picture. Western fans take note: this is one epic (but fun) film you won't want to miss.
Scarecrow-88 "What am I doin' here?" Those are the last dying words of someone who expected a whole bunch of gold bars in the bleak conclusion of this entertaining, if really simple-plotted (but with a funny, if tragic, considering all the lives lost because it, twist) and rather forgettable (if not for the casting of Lee Van Cleef, I imagine this film would probably remain buried even further in obscurity than it already is) spaghetti western, set in Mexico (but shot in Spain). Jim Brown—AKA the greatest running back to ever step on a football field—convinces Lee Van Cleef (filthy, poor, and desperate, with his background and strife in the old west, it wouldn't take much to talk him into going after gold), to talk an Apache leader, Iron Eyes Cody (yes, he had the iconic portrayal of a Native American who shed a tear because of pollution, the ad famous in the 70s) into getting his braves to help potentially raid a general's (Patrick O'Neal, not really convincing as a Mexican, to tell you the truth) fortress, heavily guarded by Mexican soldiers. It is believed that the general, Chavez, has millions of gold bars hidden somewhere in the fortress, spurning quite a bloody battle for them (the Apache just expect fancy horses and some rifles, as Van Cleef doesn't tell Cody of the gold bars, which leads to an unfortunate murder because if the Native Americans know of the cache, they'd slit the white/black men's throats). Marianna Hill is the gorgeous lover of Chavez, who becomes enamored with Brown, enough to assist them towards the end when they perform a nighttime raid (this help comes in the form of a striptease! It certainly gets the solders' attention, and rightfully so). The whole plot revolves around taking the Mexican fortress, and the bloodshed that occurs in order to do so. The chemistry of Van Cleef and Brown is a strength of this western which makes the final reel all the sadder. The surprise regarding the gold is quite a whopper that Brown doesn't see coming and it is exasperating because of all the death that results. The film's main appeal, besides the chemistry and action, is the strategizing between Brown and O'Neal over breaking into/defending the Mexican fortress. Poor Van Cleef goes through every kind of ordeal for Brown, sustaining his share of misery in the pursuit of a dream, which could turn out to just be fantasy. Most know Hill from Clint Eastwood's "High Plains Drifter", and she is just as sexy here, if not more so. There's a great siege upon naked Mexican soldiers, who had descended on a little Mexican town to rape/molest the women, by Brown, Van Cleef, and company, but the main raid on the fortress at the end delivers the real goods (there's another attack, quite clever on Brown and Van Cleef's part, where they are able to get inside the fortress, detonating a water tank that floods the grounds and soldiers!). This isn't the usual Van Cleef western (anti)hero role, his character not a force of nature or a feared, crafty, wise gunslinger--he's a pitiable wreck who so badly needs a break, because life hasn't ever dealt him one good hand.
FightingWesterner Lee Van Cleef steals the show from a more subdued Jim Brown in El Condor, an American produced film with a British director, shot in Spain.An old favorite of mine, this was aired frequently on local television when I was growing up, though not much seen nowadays. It's a fast, funny, and violent action/adventure, that is overdue for rediscovery!In this, Brown and Van Cleef scheme to take the impregnable Spanish fort of El Condor with a little help from a virtual army of Apache warriors in order to steal billions in gold.There's so many great scenes it's hard to say which is the best, the nude massacre, the attempted execution of Brown and Van Cleef by exposure, or the final rousing battle for El Condor. It's all good!Unfortunately, the fun is undercut by a downbeat ending pitting the two allies against each other. How disappointing!
Bob-45 Abandoned and nearly forgotten, "El Condor" is a frequently profound, near great western, easily in my 25 all time best westerns. If so, WHY is it abandoned and nearly forgotten? "El Condor" has many strikes against it, arriving just after the peak of the "Spaghetti Western," lost among the "A Cast" Westerns, owned by a then nearly defunct movie company and Jim Brown. By "El Condor," Jim Brown was pretty well wearing out his welcome as an actor. Brown, who received fine notices in "Rio Conchos" and great ones for "The Dirty Dozen" substituted ego for acting, first in "100 Rifles," then here. Even now, it's hard for a black male lead to appeal to the much larger white audience; and as the "blaxploitation" era wound down, worthy films such as "El Condor" was sucked down with them.Brown plays a convict who escapes from a work detail to reclaim his stolen loot and finance an assault on "El Condor," a fortress contains millions in Aztec gold confiscated by the Spainish and held by the Mexican federalizes. Brown enlists Lee Van Cleef (funnier than one would ever expect), a "Commanchero," to convince an Indian chief to siege El Condor with his braves and take it from Patrick O'Neal, commandant of El Condor. O'Neal, a cultured, intellectual, nonetheless, keeps Marianna Hill, his mistress as a virtual sex slave. Hill knows will Happen to her if O'Neal's attentions wane. Neal will give Hill to his men for their "amusement." In other words, to be gang raped."El Condor" contains so many gamy elements, it's no wonder even the "Spaghetti Western" crowd doesn't embrace it. However, "El Condor" also has many surprisingly profound visual and plot twists, it's hard to dismiss it. However, explaining those requires spoilers.WARNING: SPOILERSHere is Patrick O'Neal, a cultured intellectual man keeping a sex slave, and willing to sacrifice himself and all his men to defend The secret of EL CONDOR, which there is NO gold, in order to save his country's economy and his own prestige. Here is Van Cleef, entertaining as Eli Wallich (Tuco in "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly"), easily more likable than the "hero," Jim Brown, throwing Everything he's acquired in his life (the loyalty and friendship of the Indian tribe) because he's unwilling to share TONS of "gold," more than one man could spend in a lifetime. Here's Marianna Hill, seeing Jim Brown as a "savior" from her her situation, exposing herself, full frontal, to distract the guards from Brown, Van Cleef and the braves scaling the walls. Hill's action is a visual testimony to the repeated rape she has suffered at the hands of O'Neal exposed "for all the world to see."Jim Brown and Marianna Hill are the only ones who survive to end of "El Condor" because they are willing to accept the truth both of the world and inside themselves. This isn't the kind of thematic splendor one often sees even in serious dramatic films. It's even more rare in a movie as multigenred (western, action, comedy) as "El Condor"I love the small touches of "El Condor." O'Neal gives his federale garrison permission to leave the fort and go into the peaceful village nearby. The federalizes enter the village and separate the most desirable women from their families at gunpoint to be raped repeatedly at their leisure. One federale standing behind one of the women, reaches around her and closes his hand over her full right breast. Her head turns toward him, revealing the face of a girl about twelve. Later, an attack by Brown, Van Cleef and the Indians on the federalizes in the village, exposes two of the federale officers in bed together. I've already discussed the full frontal display by the well-endowed Ms. Hill, having a higher purpose of social commentary. However, there's also two pieces of dialog that provide great but humorous social commentary:" Village woman to son,who's running off: "Get back here, you little bastard!" Van Cleef to woman: "You shouldn't call him that." Village woman: "You want to marry me?" Van Cleef: "Well, no." Village whore: "Then YOU adopt him!" Van Cleef to Brown as Van Cleef is welcomed with open arms by the chief and surrounded by adoring squaws: "I sell them guns that don't work; liquor'd make a WHITE man go blind; I violate their women; and, they STILL love me. The latter piece of dialog is the most I've ever heard in ANY motion picture, and could be about ANYONE who's popular in the public mind.END OF SPOILERS"El Condor" needs to be seen. At worst, it's an entertaining, if adult movie. At best, it's profound and a near-great, if not great film. I give "El Condor" an "8".