I have this baby on DVD. I ordered it when I was working at Borders. The print is s**t and though letterboxed, is not centered properly(!?!).
Even more amazing(or, honestly, irritating!) is that the area around the letterboxed image, which is traditionally black, is an
unctious sky-blue. What on earth were they friggin thinking?
I rather like this film and it hurts to see it handled so glibly on disc. Plummer's performance as you said is certainly unique. I believe I read somewhere that Plummer was keen for the role of Pizarro, which he done on stage, and was pushing the envelope as Atahualpa on purpose. I certainly can't speak to the veracity of that theory, but I've always seen Plummer as an actor not really afraid to try something different. While a bit spacy, his performance does enhance the extreme differences in the cultures the story involves.
This film makes a good double-feature with
CABEZA DE VACA, Nicolas Echevarria's poignant telling of one of the most intriguing episodes of the Conquista. I recommend
this film highly. And note who "... Presents..." this film. Who'd a thunk it?