Red Sun

Fun spaghetti westerns featuring an odd combination Tashiro Mafuni and Charles Bronson.

I am amazed that I have lived so much of my life without even knowing this flick existed. This is the sort of thing I should have seen years ago, and watched over and over again. Think about it. A Western staring Charles Bronson ( The Magnificent Seven ) and Mifune Toshiro ( Seven Samurai ), facing off against Alain Delon ( Le Samourai ). As a little icing we get Ursula Andress ( Dr. No ). Bliss. Getting these four international actors together in the same plot isn't as strange as you think. Mifune is Kuroda Jubie, a guard for the Ambassador from Japan who is currently en-route to Washington D.C. where he is to deliver a magnificent sword as a present from the Emperor of Japan to the President of the US. Their train is robbed by Bronson, playing outlaw Link Stuart, but he is betrayed mid-robbery by his partner Gauche (Alain Delon) who takes the gold-encrusted sword. Joining together in a wary truce, Mifune and Bronson hunt Delon to recover their lost honor and stolen treasures. Andress is Delon's woman, but someone who can easily be convinced to switch her loyalties if the price is right. What is so amazing about this film is that, aside from its impressive international cast, is that is just a really good movie. What could have been played for laughs, as happened in the much later Shanghai Noon , is instead treated entirely straight, and a subtle story of honor and revenge is laid out with patience and perfection. Although technically a "Spaghetti Western", none of the tropes are brought into play, and everything is handled with respect and intention. Mifune is not Bronson's wacky sidekick, and Delon is no French buffoon. As an interesting note, this is the first film I have seen where Mifune speaks English. It was quite a surprise, and he does an able job with his lines, although they are not flawless. His character here is a straight-laced servant to his lord rather than the dangerous rouge from Yojimbo , and the scenes between him and Bronson are fantastic. This DVD presentation is a little lacking. It is strictly bare-bones, and the video looks to be a PAL transfer. It would be nice to see this gem get a deluxe Region 1 release, but until then I am just happy to have it in any format.

My husband recalled seeing this film years ago, had me look it up on Amazon and bought it that night. Thank you. The movie is a good western with a twist of Japan and the need to recover a valued stolen golden sword and save the Emperor's honor. There is plenty of shooting, but it's 'not bloody.' The movie producers just had to slip in three uses of God's name in vain. It is a redeeming movie re: the violence. This was done in the days when riders were asked to pull hard on the horses mouths for 'good action' shots due to the pain it caused, but there is only one of this episode. All in all it is a good movie considering the copious use of God's name being cursed in most movies these days.

I have searched near and far for a decent copy of this film and wham, I plugged in the title on Amazon.com and found this jewel. Evergreen films which looks like its source is from a Hong Kong distributor has delivered the best transfer of this film I have ever seen. You really appreciate the masterful photography of Henri Alekan especially at the climax in the cane fields . The soundtrack is crystal clear making the appreciation of the music by Maurice Jarre that much more satisfying. I never realized from my old murky VHS copy that Jarre mixes a blend of Anglo/Japanese themes making it atmospheric and soaring at the same time. The plot is simple: A railroad car gold robbery goes the way of the double cross as Charles Bronson is left for dead by greedy Alain Delon who also makes the fatal mistake of stealing an ancient samurai sword from Toshiro Mefune, a Japanese dignitary on his way to Washington to present it to the President. Bronson and Mifune team up to recover both gold and sword and meet Indians, Capucine and Delon's girlfriend Ursula Andress along the way. Director Terence Young keeps things flowing at a brisk pace and no wonder, he directed three Sean Connery Bonds, and also directed Bronson in 'THE VALACHI PAPERS'. Highly recommended to both Western and action movie fans. The DVD transfer is just like Ursula Andress--Drop Dead Gorgeous.

I first saw this film at a theater in Bangkok, Thailand (1972) when I was on leave from army service in Vietnam. It became available on VHS during the 1980's and I wasted no time adding it to my collection. The videotape version didn't really do the film justice, however, and I was quite pleased to see it reissued in a digitally remastered DVD version. Charles Bronson stars as Link, a train robber who is nearly killed when his partner Gauche (Alan Dillon) tries to blow him up with dynamite shortly after they stop a train to rob it. Apparently unknown by the robbers before the heist, the train includes a Japanese diplomat's private car. Gauche robs the Ambassador of gold and an exquisite sword which was intended to be a gift for the President of the United States. In the process, he also kills one of the Ambassador's samurai guards. The adventure begins as Link teams up with the remaining samurai Kuroda (Toshiro Mifune) to track down his double-crossing partner. Link's primary motive is to get the gold from the robbery which he believes is rightly his. Unfortunately for Link, Kuroda has his own agenda: recover the precious sword and kill Gauche. Which one will succeed when they finally track down their man? The digital remastering is impressive. I also noticed a few minutes of restored footage which were not in either the VHS or theatrical versions, including brief nudity by Ursula Andress.

plays well home use

Muy buena

米国、日本、仏国３大スターと共に映画するのが面白かった。

Classic

Ce Blu-ray de Studio Canal offre une belle qualité images (TV OLED + Panasonic dit 4K). Les 4 protagonistes y sont valorisés, bien filmés, même Alain Delon, qui a pourtant le rôle du type sans aucun scrupule. Andress n'est pas très Undress, mais c'est encore 1971, et la plante se porte bien en seconde partie du film. Bronson, entre 2 bagarres, a des entretiens semi-psychologiques avec l'Ambassadeur japonais ...et là, l'on mesure pleinement l'absence sur ce Blu-ray 2015 d'un vrai SDH anglais ! Le seul SDH (SIC !) disponible est allemand, en option. Comme les publicités pour d'autres films portent sur des versions allemandes, l'on a l'impression que le DVD est d'abord allemand...mais le boîtier est rédigé en anglais et affiche un copyright 2015, comme le disque. Bref, l'on n'a pas le confort de l'anglais/anglais ou du l'anglais/français ; l'on en perd ... (moins avec l'anglais sous-titré allemand, test fait après coup) ; le scénario m'a paru plutôt léger ; il suppose beaucoup de bonne volonté de la part du spectateur. Il reste la qualité du jeu des acteurs, de très belles vues. Déjà, les 3 personnages masculins ont de la gueule, Ursula Andress est toujours à (bien) considérer, et les paysages (espagnols) soutiennent l'ensemble. Le film, en cette version germano-anglaise se laisse donc redécouvrir, mais penser à une VF serait une autre option.