Announcement
Collapse
No announcement yet.
Red Sun
Collapse
X
Collapse
-
Red Sun
Released by: Kinowelt
Released on: 3/25/2003
Director: Terence Young
Cast: Charles Bronson, Ursula Andress, Toshiro Mifune, Alain Delon, Capucine, Luc Merenda, Tetsu Nakamura
Year: 1971
Purchase From Amazon
The Movie:
In the Arizona of the late 1800s, two bandits named Link (Charles Bronson of Death Wish) and Gauche (Alain Delon of Le Samourai) who, along with their gang, attempt a bold train robbery. Aside from the money on board, the train also contains the Japanese ambassador (Tetsu Nakamura of The Mysterians) who is on his way to Washington D. C.
While on board the train, Gauche finds a gold sword and figuring it has to be worth something, takes it with him when he leaves. Unfortunately for Gauche, the sword was meant to be a gift from the emperor of Japan to the president of the U.S., which means it's not going to go unnoticed. Add to that the fact that Gauche, in his infinite wisdom, decides to try to kill Link in an attempt to get all the loot for himself, and you can see that he's pretty much digging himself deeper into trouble - you never mess with Bronson. Ever.
Kuroda (Toshiro Mifune of The Seven Samurai) is the only survivor the ambassador's group of samurai bodyguards. Kuroda teams up with Link and has to put aside his issues with him so that they can work together to find Gauche. They've each got a score to settle with him, even if they are for very different reasons. Further complicating things is the fact that if Link doesn't help Kuroda track down Gauche in seven days, he's going to kill him just on principal.
Known internationally under its French title of Soleil Rouge, the film moves along at a brisk pace and makes the most of its eclectic cast. Bronson and Mifune get the most screentime, and rightly so as they're terrific together and have a nice on screen chemistry, but the supporting characters are interesting as well. Delon makes for a nice villain - having only seen him in more noble roles or playing anti-heroes before. I was impressed with his turn as the weaselly backstabbing Gauche, he brought a nice sense of sleazy menace to the proceedings. Ursula Andress pops up in the film as well, in a bit part, playing a love interest and having the decency to disrobe briefly for the camera. Any time Ursula does a nude scene the movie is worth watching but even aside from the nudity the film holds up.
Bronson and Mifune aren't given top billing for nothing though. They display an interesting love/hate relationship throughout the film and while their characters may be complete opposites, of course they find out by the end of the film that they have more in common than they thought. The screen presence these two giants of action cinema bring to the screen is evident from the first scene they share together. The pairing, unique as it is, makes sense when you consider the roles these two gentlemen played before making this film - both often cast as loners fighting a just fight against a worldly evil.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Unfortunately, this film was meant to be seen 1.85.1 and is presented 1.33.1 and the image does suffer for it. Matting aside, the picture quality is pretty solid with only minor print damage evident (though it is noticeable throughout the duration of the film). Colors look good with nice, consistent hues and solid black levels. Compression artifacts aren't really a problem but there are a few times where some shimmering occurs on the picture that proves mildly annoying.
The sound on this release is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono in either English or German with optional German subtitles. There's some hiss in a few scenes but it's nothing too distracting. Some of the scenes sound a little canned with very little range at all, but considering this is a mono track from over thirty years ago, it's forgivable. The sound mix is adequate, if unremarkable.
The only extra is a rather lengthy documentary on Charles Bronson, Charles Bronson - Der schweigsame Rí¤cher, that is completely in German and sadly doesn't have any English subtitles available.
The Final Word:
While it's a shame that the documentary isn't subtitled, you can't fault a German release for being in German. The movie itself is a good one though, and holds up well over the years. Red Sun is worth a look and this release is the way to go until a better domestic version comes out.Posting comments is disabled.
Categories
Collapse
article_tags
Collapse
- album review (218)
- album reviews (274)
- arrow video (272)
- blu-ray (3225)
- blu-ray review (4162)
- comic books (1392)
- comic reviews (872)
- comics (988)
- dark horse comics (484)
- dvd and blu-ray reviews a-f (1969)
- DVD And Blu-ray Reviews G-M (1711)
- DVD And Blu-ray Reviews N-S (1757)
- DVD And Blu-ray Reviews T-Z (878)
- dvd review (2513)
- idw publishing (216)
- image comics (207)
- kino lorber (391)
- movie news (260)
- review (318)
- scream factory (279)
- severin films (300)
- shout! factory (537)
- twilight time (269)
- twilight time releasing (231)
- vinegar syndrome (497)
Latest Articles
Collapse
-
Released by: Kino Lorber
Released on: February 22nd, 2022.
Director: Gianfranco Parolini
Cast: Lee Van Cleef, Jack Palance
Year: 1976
Purchase From Amazon
God’s Gun – Movie Review:
Directed by Gianfranco Parolini in 1976, quite late in the spaghetti western boom years, God's Gun (Diamante Lobo in Italy) introduces us to a bad, bad man named Sam Clayton (Jack Palance) who, along with his gang of equally bad, bad men, start wreaking...-
Channel: Movies
04-17-2024, 12:10 PM -
-
Released by: Kino Lorber
Released on: October 8th, 2019.
Director: Mario Bava
Cast: Christopher Lee, Reg Park, Leonora Ruffo, Gaia Germani
Year: 1968
Purchase From Amazon
Hercules In The Haunted World – Movie Review:
Directed by Mario Bava in 1961 and featuring a screenplay by Bava (and Sandro Continenza, Francesco Prosperi and Duccio Tessari), Hercules In The Haunted World (also known as Hercules At The Center Of The Earth and...-
Channel: Movies
04-17-2024, 12:08 PM -
-
Released by: Cinématographe
Released on: March 26th, 2024.
Director: Jack Nicholson
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Mary Steenburgen, Christopher Lloyd, John Belushi
Year: 1978
Purchase From Amazon
Goin’ South – Movie Review:
Made at the height of his career as an actor, 1978’s ‘Goin’ South’ sees Jack Nicholson once again in the director’s chair, seven years after his directorial debut, ‘Drive, He Said,’ failed to set the...-
Channel: Movies
04-17-2024, 10:29 AM -
-
Released by: Radiance Films
Released on: April 20th, 2024.
Director: Noburo Nakamura
Cast: Miyuki Kuwano, Mikijiro Hira
Year: 1964
Purchase From Amazon
The Shape Of Night – Movie Review:
Directed by Noburo Nakamura for Shochiko in 1964, ‘The Shape Of Night’ follows a young woman named Yoshie Nomoto (Miyuki Kuwano). In the opening scene, she’s working as a streetwalker on the outskirts of town and soon enough, she’s picked...-
Channel: Movies
04-17-2024, 10:26 AM -
-
Released by: Universal Studios
Released on: April 22nd, 2024.
Director: Bryce McGuire
Cast: Wyatt Russell, Kerry Condon, Amélie Hoeferle
Year: 2024
Purchase From Amazon
Night Swim – Movie Review:
The feature length directorial debut of Bryce McGuire, a collaboration between James Wan's Atomic Monster and Blumhouse, 2024’s Night Swim opens with a scene set in 1992 where a young girl looks out her window and sees a toy boat floating...-
Channel: Movies
04-17-2024, 10:24 AM -
-
Released by: Film Masters
Released on: April 23rd, 2024.
Director: Bert I. Gordon
Cast: Richard Carlson, Juli Reding, Lugene Sanders, Susan Gordon
Year: 1963
Purchase From Amazon
Tormented – Movie Review:
The late Bert I. Gordon’s 1963 horror film, ‘Tormented,’ is an effectively spooky ghost story made with an obviously low budget but no less effective for it.
The story revolves around a professional piano player...-
Channel: Movies
04-17-2024, 10:19 AM -