Travelling across the west can be very hazardous for your health, as the newly appointed Japanese Ambassador for America is about to find out first hand, just how dangerous it can really be. Travelling on a train across the west to take up his position in Washington, with a gift for the American President in his possession from the Emperor of Japan, a beautiful crafted Golden Samurai Sword, the train is heavily guarded by Union soldiers and the Ambassadors Samurai Guards.
Link (Charles Bronson) and his partner Gauche (Alain Delon are on this train, they want the 400, 000 dollars that is locked away in a safe in one of the Carriages, their plan is full proof. During the robbery Gauche takes a fancy to the swords and steals it, he also decides that the money is his, and betrays Link leaving him for dead. Now, the Ambassador is in an unknown country and must trust link to guide his Samurai Jubei (Toshiro Mifune) to find Gauche and return the precious sword within Seven Days. Link needs Gauche alive to find the money, but Jubei wants him dead, he wants revenge for the samurai Gauche shot, and he does not want to fail his last mission as a samurai!
In 1971 director Terence Young and Charles Bronson teamed up for a second time for this classic. Previously the worked on Cold Sweat in 1970, then this film Red Sun in 71 and one more time for The Valachi Papers in 72. Bringing together a stellar cast of international stars with Bronson, Alain Delon and the amazing Toshiro Mifune, plus adding much needed glamour with the addition of Bond girl Ursula Andress. All four leads are superb, the cultural difference between Bronson`s Link and Mifune`s Jubei is very much for me the heart of the story, at times it is amusing and other times it can be touching, as the two very different men get to know each other. Bronson delivers the comedic lines very well, the fight between Mifune and Bronson highlights this. Anyone that knows me, will know that I am a massive fan of Alain Delon`s, here he plays a formidable villain in Gauche, a gambler who it seems just likes to kill. He has one weakness in that of prostitute Christina played by Andress. Link and Jubei use this weakness to set the finale and trade, the sword and the gold for Christina. The stage is set for the showdown, but no one expected the hostile Comanche’s on the war path. It has been that long since I watched this, that I forgot how it ended, it still surprised me in how it does end.
For me Red Sun is a classic fun adventure film that ticked all the boxes that I looked for in films as a kid and still does, a samurai western with a classic score from Maurice Jarre. The new Blu Ray looks great and the sound is excellent as well, bringing your enjoyment of Red Sun to a whole new level. I think the transfer is very natural looking and has a lot of depth of image to it, the new transfer was taken from the 35mm negative, and you can very much tell when watching it. Now after seen how good the blu ray looks, I am very tempted to pick up it up on 4K.
