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Have you ever come across a movie that you had no clue existed, only to curse yourself for not knowing about the movie? I certainly did when I watched Red Sun. How can you not watch it if two of my favorite actors, Charles Bronson, and Toshiro Mifune are together in a Spaghetti western? Why have I not heard of this movie before? Maybe it was simply because it isn’t talked about with the same respect that is given to other films featuring Bronson and Mifune such as Sergio Leones’ Once Upon a Time in the West or Akira Kurosawa’s Rasomon. I will agree that Red Sun is not a Western epic and masterpiece. However, I still view Red Sun as a fun entertaining western/samurai film and worth the time just for the two main actors.
Red Sun, like a shotgun wedding, doesn’t exactly put a fresh spin on the spaghetti western genre with its storyline. It follows a typical quest-based plot that features two characters who begin in conflict with each other as a result of their backgrounds and personalities. By the movie’s end, they come to respect each other after some trials and amusing repartees. As expected it sounds clichè, but I remind you it is a story guided by Toshiro Mifune and Charles Bronson, who while being big stars, are themselves loathed to get stuck in awful movies. Bronson, as the amoral but highly intelligent gunfighter is particularly good at it and Mifune is great as the obsequious sword and very potent samurai bodyguard (A not-so-subtle reference to Yojimbo). He does speak broken English. (He learns his lines phonetically). While it is not impossible to understand him, he is not in any way comprehensible. Regardless of his grasp of the language, he manages to sell his steely-eyed lines in broken English. I wouldn’t call Bronson and Mifune as giving their A material here. However, such active people simply cannot perform badly, so even their inferior material comes out feeling like the top.
Red Sun is not an incredibly unique American or Japanese film, but that is not its downfall. The film Bronson and Mifune portrayed allows for plenty of sword and gun action as they stare at each other while ripping through a few bandits. The movie is funny and entertaining without much of a plot. It is perfect for people who love samurai movies and westerns.
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