Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Red Sun Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 13, 2024

Terence Young's "Red Sun" (1971) arrives on 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-B "locked".

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 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Red Sun arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.

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. The 4K restoration is also available on 4K Blu-ray. You can see our listing and review of this release here.

I viewed the 4K restoration in native 4K and spent plenty of time with the 1080p presentation on the Blu-ray. I compared the native 4K presentation and the 1080p presentation and the 1080p presentation from the first Blu-ray release of Red Sun that StudioCanal produced in 2015.

The new 4K restoration produces visuals that boast superior delineation, clarity, sharpness, and depth, which I do not think will surprise anyone considering that the original camera negative was accessed. On a large screen, despite some minor fluctuations, these improvements are easy to appreciate. However, the 4K restoration introduces a new color grade as well. I hoped that it would because the old master that was used to prepare the first Blu-ray release had limitations, and some of the most obvious ones affected saturation levels. Unfortunately, while saturation levels are improved, some primaries and supporting nuances are now much colder. The changes should have been in the opposite direction, making blues appear bluer and richer, yellows and reds lusher too. 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. Image stability is excellent. The entire film looks immaculate as well. (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 Sun Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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

I viewed Red Sun in its entirety on 4K Blu-ray and then spent time with the 1080p presentation on the Blu-ray. The comments below are from our review of the 4K Blu-ray release.

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 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• 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).

• Art Cards - four collectible art cards.

Red Sun 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 Blu-ray release 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. A 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack is available as well.