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Have you watched a movie that you never knew existed and now regret not watching it earlier? For me, it is Red Sun. Charles Bronson and Toshiro Mifune together in a spaghetti western! Yes please! How am I not aware of this movie for so long? Probably because the same hype wouldn’t be placed on Bronson or Mifune movies like Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West, or Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon. I will agree that Red Sun isn’t a classic western film, but it is a very entertaining western and samurai movie that is at least worth a ‘because of the two stars of the movie’ try.
The Sun Burns Red is set in the 1870s where the main character Link Stuart (Bronson) together with his aide Gauche (Alain Delon) attempts to pull a train robbery with a bunch of hired bandits. The train also has on board a Japanese ambassador (Tetsu Nakamura) who possesses a samurai sword with a gold handle that he intends to give to the president. Gauche betrays Link, deciding to keep the sword and leave Link at the mercy of the ambassador. Instead of killing or handing Link over to the authorities, the Japanese ambassador decides to employ him, instead sending Link off to locate Gauche while Kuroda Jubei, the ambassador’s bodyguard, accompanies him. Kuroda feels dishonored by having to assist the man who stole the samurai sword and killed his friend. With the sword untaken from the magician, Kuroda would be honor bound to commit seppuku. This seems entirely pointless, but I could understand there should be a limit. Perhaps the ambassador is twisted and sees some kind of strange joy punishing his employees.
Red Sun doesn’t innovate the spaghetti western genre with its plot. It’s a quest-based narrative where two characters begin at loggerheads given their different cultures and temperaments. At the film’s conclusion, after engaging in several comical exchanges, they come to respect each other. It sounds like a cliché, which it is, but this is a story led by Toshiro Mifune and Charles Bronson, who dominate even in the worst films. Bronson excels in an amoral but sharp shootist, while Mifune as the stern, bodyguard samurai (A not so subtle reference to Yojimbo) is superb. Mifune’s English is not exactly “correct” since he learned every word phonetically. But he is coherent and manages to deliver the dialogue’s intent behind his piercing gaze. I’m not claiming these two were trying hard to make an impression. Having said that, these two actors are physically incapable of having a bad performance, so that even their second rate material comes off rather well.
Red Sun is not a tale western samurai odyssey that is either original or magnificently generated, but it was not supposed to be either. The only proper reason was for Mifune and Bronson to kill some bandits having sword and gun conflicts while concentrating deeply on each other. It is a straight-forward and entertaining and unexpectedly humorous film that many fans of samurai and westerns will enjoy.
Blake Meadowcroft is from Washington state, but he’s too much of a sloth to shift to another state. In 2014, he completed his schooling at Charles Wright Academy. Afterwards, he went on to study film and video studies with a concentration in critical studies at Central Washington University, from which he graduated in 2018. At his college radio station, 88.1 The ‘Burg, he served as a DJ for two years, and also dabbled in stand-up comedy. His childhood experience inspired him to become a proficient verbal critic of scripted entertainment, starting with films. His parents did not put a limit on most of the activities he engaged in growing up, but he…overboarded it.
He is interested in the history of film as well as the process of making films. He writes his critiques with a critical flair blended with sharp humor. He isn’t fond of separating films into types (though if one had to, it would fantasy). He is ready to try out any type of movie, but considers the quality of the movie first, not the genre. Blake has worked for and volunteered at numerous film festivals including Ellensburg, Gig Harbor, and Tacoma film festivals, and also worked as a theater manager at a boutique cinema. He lives in Redmond, and is a film critic for Lakeside Living Magazine.
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