Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		2.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		2.5

Red Sonja 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 12, 2022

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

A young woman, Red Sonja (Brigitte Nielsen, Beverly Hills Cop II), becomes a fearless warrior after her family is brutally murdered by the army of the evil Queen Gedren (Sandahl Bergman, Conan the Barbarian). She vows to avenge her family and embarks on a quest for justice. Meanwhile, Queen Gerden kills the keepers of a sacred talisman that can be used to create powerful storms and earthquakes.

Along the way, Red Sonja encounters the arrogant Prince Tarn (Ernie Reyes Jr.) and his protector Falkon (Paul L. Smith, Crossing the Line) and decides to join forces with them. At the same time, Queen Gerden’s men chase and seriously wound Red Sonja's sister, Varna (Janet Agren). She is saved by Kalidor (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a mysterious warrior, who is on a mission to destroy the sacred talisman Queen Gerden has stolen.

Kalidor meets Red Sonja and immediately falls in love with her. When he attempts to kiss her, however, she announces that no man can have her -- unless he has defeated her with his sword. Kalidor instantly challenges Red Sonja but much to his surprise fails to defeat her.

Eventually, Red Sonja, Kalidor, Prince Tarn, and Falkon end up at Queen Gerden’s palace. With a bit of luck, they manage to destroy the sacred talisman, defeat Queen Gerden’s army, and save the world. Somewhere along the way, Prince Tarn also manages to lose his attitude.

Some bad adventure films are so ridiculous they can actually be quite entertaining. Roger Vadim’s Barbarella (1968) is one such film. Duccio Tessari’s Zorro (1975) is another. J. Lee Thompson’s King Solomon’s Mines (1985) works this way as well. These are films with many different flaws but with plenty of memorable atmosphere and heart.

Richard Fleischer’s Red Sonja is a bad film that just does not work. It was produced in 1985, only a year after its main star had appeared in James Cameron’s Terminator. It shocked a lot of people including, I believe, its producers, who could not figure out what to make of it and how to sell it to different distributors around the world.

Instead of trying to describe how terrible the acting in Red Sonja is, I would like to mention the names of a few people that worked on it. I have a feeling you would be quite surprised to read them:

Cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno, for example, worked with Luchino Visconti (The Leopard), Vittorio De Sicca (Sunflower), and Federico Fellini (Fellini’s Roma, Amarcord) on many of their greatest films. He even earned an Oscar nomination for his contribution to Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz (1979).

Production and costume designer Danilo Donati worked together with Pierre Paolo Pasolini on the famous Trilogy of Life -- The Decameron (1971), The Canterbury Tales (1972), and Arabian Nights (1974) -- and more recently with Roberto Benigni on the award-winning Life is Beautiful (1979).

Film editor Frank J. Urioste worked with John McTiernan onDie Hard (1988) and Paul Verhoeven on Basic Instinct (1992).

Legendary composer Ennio Morricone (Once Upon A Time in America, Cinema Paradiso) also contributed to Red Sonja.

Red Sonja 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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).

Red Sonja 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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).

Red Sonja 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Original Theatrical Trailer - presented here is a vintage theatrical trailer for Red Sonja. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a new trailer for the recent 4K restoration of Red Sonja. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Arnold Schwarzenegger - The Man Who Raised Hollywood - this archival documentary feature focuses on Arnold Schwarzenegger's transformation from a famous bodybuilder into a movie star. Several different directors discuss his work ethic and the type of films he appeared in over the years. In English and French, with English subtitles where necessary. (17 min).

• Making of: Red Sonja vs. Kalidor - in this archival featurette, assistant director Michel Ferry discusses the controversial production history of Red Sonja. In French, with English subtitles. (13 min).

• The Last Movie Painter (2020) - presented here is Walter Bencini's outstanding documentary about the life and incredible legacy of Renato Casaro, one of the all-time greatest film poster artists. Mr. Casaro created some of the original promotional materials for Red Sonja. In Italian, with English subtitles.(98 min).

• Renato Casaro - Artwork Gallery - presented here are a few stills with Mr. Casaro working on the original poster art for Red Sonja. Silent. 2 min).

Red Sonja 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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.