5.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Arnold Schwarzenegger, who muscled his way into screen action lore as Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer, returns to the sword-and-sorcery realm as Kalidor in Red Sonja, based on stories by Conan creator Robert E. Howard. Brigitte Nielson is the flame-haired heroine Sonja, leading a glorious quest in a mystical land where fortress wall have faces, dinosaur bones form a bridge, a lethal mechanical serpent writhes, swarming minions follow a vile queen (Sandahl Bergman)...and where heroes lay claim to legend.
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brigitte Nielsen, Sandahl Bergman, Paul L. Smith, Ernie Reyes, Jr.Action | 100% |
Comic book | 15% |
Fantasy | 14% |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: LPCM 2.0
German: LPCM 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH, French, German
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region B (locked)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 2.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Richard Fleischer's "Red Sonja" (1985) arrives on 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the release include Walter Bencini's documentary "The Last Movie Painter"; archival documentary and featurette; vintage trailer; and more. In English, with optional English SDH, French, and German subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
Kalidor
StudioCanal's release of Red Sonja is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack.
The release is sourced from an exclusive new 4K 16-bit restoration. The original 35mm camera negative was scanned by Picture Shop LLC - USA. Color grading and restoration work were completed at Hiventy in France.
Please note that some of the screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and are downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.
Screencaptures #1-17 are from Red Sonja Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #22-39 are from Red Sonja 4K Blu-ray.
4K BLU-RAY DISC
The 4K makeover is incredibly frustrating. You can probably easily tell from the screencaptures we have included with this article that the scanning and restoration work was excellent. On my system, the entire film looked immaculate, as if it was finished a few weeks ago. Also, there are no traces of problematic digital corrections -- such as degraining and sharpening -- so the visuals routinely produced rather striking detail and depth. Density and fluidity were superb as well. Unfortunately, when the new 4K master was graded at Hiventy, someone decided to replace the native color scheme of the film with what is essentially a bizarre video grade, so instead of looking like a film from the early 1980s, Red Sonja now looks like a video game from the 2020s. For example, there are entire primaries, like blue and white, that are either partially replaced or destroyed. As a result, pretty big portions of the film have very awkward neon-esque colors that give it a garish digital appearance (you can see screencapture #1). Other primaries, like brown and red, are compromised as well. In darker areas, supporting nuances are destabilized too, which is why there are numerous flat spots with digital grays. To be honest, in some areas the shifts were so strange that HDR probably exacerbates the anomalies, causing weak areas to appear even weaker (you can see a good example at 0:43.24). In other words, the problematic color grade compromises the entire 4K makeover, which easily could have been quite brilliant. (Note: This is a Region-Free 4K Blu-ray release).
BLU-RAY DISC
I did not view the entire film in 1080p. I tested various areas that I thought were problematic in native 4K and then tried to see how HDR affects smaller sections. Everything that I saw confirmed my conclusion that the awkward color grade is the source of all issues on the new 4K makeover. Why? Because in 1080p the strengths of the excellent scan and restoration work are undeniable as well. All visuals look extremely healthy but are very badly graded. What a shame. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There are four standard audio tracks on this release: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French: LPCM 2.0, and
German: LPCM 2.0 Mono. Optional English SDH, French, and German subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.
I was surprised how good the lossless track was because I don't remember the other lossless track from this release having so much oomph. For example, the big fight with the dragon in the cave has quite the dynamic potency. Clarity and sharpness were really good as well. However, I think that some viewers will rightfully argue that the release should have had an original Mono track as well. There wasn't one on the previous release either. (The old release did not have any optional subtitles, while on this release there are English SDH subtitles).
It is pretty easy to understand why some of StudioCanal's 4K projects look incredible and some are massive misfires. If the 4K projects are graded in the United Kingdom, usually there are no issues. Flash Gordon, Dr. Who and the Daleks, Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D., Don't Look Now, and Angel Heart were finalized in the United Kingdom. Le Cercle Rouge, Purple Noon, and Belle de Jour were finalized in France. We can add the new 4K makeover of Red Sonja to the latter group. I think that this film is quite bad, but I would have loved to see it sparkle on 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray because it has a rather large fan base. Unfortunately, the bulk of Red Sonja now looks like a modern video game because it was very poorly graded at Hiventy. I still think that the release we have reviewed is worth a look because it features Walter Bencini's excellent recent documentary The Last Movie Painter about the life and legacy of the great Italian film poster artist Renato Casaro, but I cannot recommend that you consider a purchase with its current price tag.
Extended UK Cut
1982
2010
2014
Uncut
1984
Cut Version
2011
2012
2020
Double Play
2011
2017
2016
2019
2011
Double Play
2010
Extended Edition
2016
30th Anniversary Edition
1986
Extended Edition
2012
2015
2002
2022
2011