Red Sun is a 1971 Franco-Italian spaghetti western directed by Englishman and James Bond favourite, Terence Young (Dr No, Thunderball and From Russia with Love). The film has a fairly remarkable all-star international cast including Charles Bronson (Death Wish, Once Upon A Time in the West and The Magnificent Seven), Toshiro Mifune (Seven Samurai, Yojimbo and Throne of Blood), Alain Delon (Le Samourai, The Leopard and Purple Noon), Ursula Andress (Dr No, Clash of the Titans and Slave of the Cannibal God), and Capucine (The Pink Panther, Walk on the Wild Side and Fellini's Satyricon). 

Set in the 1860s, a Japanese ambassador is travelling across the US by train with a ceremonial sword to be presented to the US president as a gift from the Emperor of Japan. A gang of bandits led by Link Stuart (Bronson) and Gauche (Delon) hold up the train. Gauche and the other gang members murder one of the ambassador’s guards, steal the sword and escape with $400,000 from the train’s vault, leaving Link Stuart for dead after they double-cross him and throw dynamite into the carriage he is on. 

Kuroda Jubei (Mifune), the ambassador’s other samurai teams up with Link Stuart in an attempt to track down Gauche and the gang. Kuroda has been given one week to do so, if he fails, he must commit hara-kiri. Meanwhile Gauche and four of the other gang members bury the money, before Gauche murders the other men so only he knows the whereabouts of the money.  The rest of the gang are hiding out at a ranch when Kuroda and Link catch up with them, they kill them and steal their horses before heading off in search of Gauche. Link decides the best solution to their problem is to head straight for Gauche’s girlfriend, Christina (Andress) and use her as bait to retrieve the sword and his share of the loot from the robbery.

Red Sun acts as a far better precursor to the Jackie Chan/ Owen Wilson vehicle, Shanghai Noon. Whilst both movies have similar stories, Red Sun is by far the better movie. Bronson and Mifune are both excellent in the starring roles, even adding some subtle comedy to the proceedings, something neither man is known for. Delon is also very good as Gauche, the handsome, but despicable bandit who is only concerned with his own wealth, while Andress’ role seems mainly to provide eye candy for the male viewers, which is a shame as she seems to fall into that category too often during her career. The plot itself is reasonably convoluted, however, as the movie is so well scripted, it flows really well, and you don’t feel any negative impact from this.

This new Blu-ray/ UHD release from Studio Canal features a brand new 4k restoration of the movie. The image quality is clear and crisp, and the colours look both vibrant and natural. I didn’t notice any print damage at all during my viewing and would say this is probably the definitive release for this particular title. The Blu-ray also features on-set documentary footage, an interview with Steven Okazaki, whose Mifune: The Last Samurai documentary is probably the best film looking at the great man himself, as well as the obligatory theatrical trailer. 

Overall, this is a solid release for an underappreciated movie, and whilst the print and the movie itself are very good, the bonus material is slightly underwhelming. That said, this is still a very good release, and fans of spaghetti westerns, Bronson, Delon, Andress and Mifune should find plenty to enjoy in this release.