Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Red Sun 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 13, 2024

Terence Young's "Red Sun" (1971) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the release include new program with documentary filmmaker Steven Okazaki; excerpt from the French TV program Pour le cinema; and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH, French, and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Not so fast.

The late 1860s. Somewhere in the Wild West, a large gang of robbers led by Gauche Kink (Alain Delon, Le Samouraï) stop a train transporting gold. They steal the gold and an extremely valuable ancient sword from Japan’s first ambassador (Tetsu Nakamura), who is on his way to Washington to meet the President. During the attack, Gauche attempts to eliminate his biggest rival in the gang, Link Stuart (Charles Bronson, Once Upon a Time in the West), but he survives and later reluctantly agrees to help Kuroda (Toshiro Mifune, Seven Samurai), the ambassador’s bodyguard, recover the sword.

A few days later, Link and Kuroda visit a popular brothel and kidnap Gauche’s beautiful mistress, Cristina (Ursula Andress, Perfect Friday). When word reaches Gauche that Cristina is with Link, he gathers a few of his best men, and they begin looking for them. Meanwhile, Link and Kuroda kill a few Comanche warriors after they torture Cristina, but more of them appear, and they are forced to fight for their lives.

Terence Young’s western Red Sun is based on a pretty good story by Laird Koenig, but without the impressive cast its reputation almost certainly would have been different. The cast was probably the main reason why the great French cinematographer Henri Alekan (Beauty and the Beast) agreed to lense it as well.

Once they become partners, Bronson and Mifune frequently begin to look quite awkward together. However, Red Sun does not take their characters too seriously. This makes a big difference because their lines and reactions are often far from impressive.

Delon and Andress share a better chemistry, but their characters also lack depth. This is unfortunate because there are plenty of good opportunities for interesting surprises that could have strengthened these characters, especially during the second half, where they are expected to match Bronson and Mifune.

Still, Red Sun is an enjoyable film. Seeing Mifune’s fearless samurai in oddly compromising situations and gradually learning that in the Wild West any rule can be broken, for instance, effectively negates many of the screenplay's shortcomings. Also, even though plenty of the humor can be quite silly, it does not transform Red Sun into a dreary parody.

Alekan was a genuine master, but in Red Sun there are only a couple of sequences where the camerawork feels inspired. The best ones are during the grand finale and have the best action.

Red Sun was scored by the great French composer Maurice Jarre, who worked with some of the most influential directors of the last century. His credits include such classic films as Doctor Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia, The Damned, and Judex.

Red Sun 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

StudioCanal's release of Red Sun is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray is Region-B "locked".

The release introduces a new 4K restoration of Red Sun sourced from its original camera negative and completed at TransPerfect Media in France on behalf of StudioCanal. In native 4K, the 4K makeover can be viewed with HDR and Dolby Vision grades. I chose to view it with HDR. Also, I spent time with the 1080p presentation on the Blu-ray.

Please note that some of the screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and 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 #1-29 are from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #35-38 are from the 4K Blu-ray.

Currently, I have two other home video releases of Red Sun in my library. The first is this Region-B release that StudioCanal produced in 2015. The second is this R2 DVD release that StudioCanal produced in 2010. As far as I can tell, both are sourced from the same old master and share very similar limitations.

The 4K makeover produces visuals with superior delineation, sharpness, clarity, and depth. The large panoramic shots reveal the biggest improvements, but there are plenty of close-ups that look notably better as well. Density levels are superior too, so the larger your screen is, the easier it becomes to appreciate the strength of the 4K makeover. After comparing various areas on the 4K makeover and the older 1080p presentation, I would say that stability is better on the former as well. The difference is not big. However, with the improved fluidity of the visuals, the minor improvements are quite easy to spot. Colors are stable. Unfortunately, there are alterations that are problematic. What do I mean? The previous Blu-ray release was sourced from an older master with obvious limitations, and some of the most obvious limitations were in the area of color saturation. For example, blues were not sufficiently lush and in some areas were missing hues. Pretty much the same can be said about yellow and brown, in some areas even gray. On the 4K makeover, there are some improvements in terms of saturation, but at the same time there are changes that push primaries and supporting nuances away from where they need to be. For example, blues are replaced with teal, while yellows are desaturated and pushed toward pale gray. You can see how instead of improving the saturation level on primary blue, the 4K makeover replaces it with teal if you compare this screencapture from the previous Blu-ray release and this screencapture from the combo pack. In some areas the changes are more subtle, but in many areas they have an undeniable effect on the overall color temperature of the visuals, which now tend to look significantly cooler than they need to be. The old master has odd fluctuations and also isn't convincing. However, instead of improving saturation while moving in the right direction, the 4K makeover moves further away. Consider this: at one point, Ursula Andress is left to suffer under the scorching sun, but the entire segment looks very cool. (See here). Also, the red sun should have vastly improved, well, red in it, but it has more of a pale brown now. (See here). All this is very frustrating because it is essentially one big tradeoff -- you get superior detail and healthier visuals, but color balance is shifted further away from where it needs to be.

The HDR grade is quite good. On my system, darker areas did not reveal distracting flatness or crush. On the contrary, background information was almost rather impressive. Highlights look good too as well. However, because of the cooling of select primaries and supporting nuances, I could easily tell that a lot of different sequences should have looked much more impressive in native 4K.

The 1080p presentation on the Blu-ray felt similarly frustrating. In many areas, the superiority of the visuals was undeniable. Delineation, clarity, sharpness, and depth are more satisfying. However, The color shifts are again very obvious, with the blue to teal being the most prominent one.

Red Sun 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this release: English LPCM 2.0 and French LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH, French, and French SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The original English track is very nice. It has a wonderful fullness that I think is not always present on the previous lossless track from the first Blu-ray release of Red Sun. Also, even when the volume is turned up quite a bit, the upper register remains very solid, very healthy. However, there are still some small yet noticeable unevenness that is inherited from the original soundtrack. The first Blu-ray release did not have optional English SDH subtitles, but on this release they are included.

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

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Red Sun. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Setting Sun - in this new program, documentary filmmaker Steven Okazaki discusses admiration for Toshiro Mifune and his work (especially with Akira Kurosawa), the actor's work ethic, and the identity and style of Red Sun. In English. (21 min).

• On the Set of Red Sun - presented here is an excerpt from an archival episode of the French TV program Pour le cinema with short interviews and footage from the shooting of Red Sun. With English subtitles where necessary. (9 min).

BLU-RAY DISC

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Red Sun. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Setting Sun - in this new program, documentary filmmaker Steven Okazaki discusses admiration for Toshiro Mifune and his work (especially with Akira Kurosawa), the actor's work ethic, and the identity and style of Red Sun. In English. (21 min).

• On the Set of Red Sun - presented here is an excerpt from an archival episode of the French TV program Pour le cinema with short interviews and footage from the shooting of Red Sun. With English subtitles where necessary. (9 min).

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

Red Sun is a lot like the various westerns Bud Spencer and Terence Hill made, which means that it does not take itself seriously and has leads that enjoy themselves as much as they could. It is a different western because its leads are four very big international stars. It could have been much better, but I like it and frequently revisit it, usually during Christmas season. StudioCanal's combo pack introduces a new 4K restoration of Red Sun that can best be described as a mixed bag. It offers improvements in some areas, but elsewhere it introduces issues that should have been avoided.