6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The Japanese ambassador is traveling through the Wild West by train, when gangsters hold up the train to rob a gold shipment. They also carry an ancient Japanese sword the ambassador was carrying as a present for the US president. The ambassador's bodyguard (Toshiro Mifune) will go after them, with the aid of one of the gang's leaders betrayed by his pals.
Starring: Charles Bronson, Toshirô Mifune, Alain Delon, Ursula Andress, Capucine (I)Western | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: LPCM 2.0
English SDH, French, French SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region B (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
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".
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).
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 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.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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