by Jack Nilan            EMail : jacknilan@yahoo.com


Red Sun (1971)


Director: Terence Young

Jack   B

IMDB    7.0



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   How about a movie with Tohiro Mifune, Alain Delon, Ursula Andress and Charles Bronson? Imagine having the stars of The Seven Samurai, The Magnificent Seven and Le Samourai together. Set in 1860 the movie starts off with Kuroda Jubie (Mifune), a samurai guard protecting the Japanese ambassador, stepping on a train. We then have Link Stuart (Bronson) and Gauche (Delon) holding up the train. Link and Gauche enter the car of the Japanese ambassador and take his money. Gauche then sees a gold sword (katana) which is to be a gift to President Grant from the emperor. Gauche takes the sword, and shoots on of the samurai guards who tries to stop him. Jubie asks Gauche then asks him his name, and tells him that he will follow him and see him dead.

   Gauche and his men rides off, leaving Link knocked out behind. Jubie has seven days to get the sword back or he and the ambassador must commit hara kiri. Jubie and Link then head off on foot after Gauche. The carnival like music then gives you a clue that the movie is veering off on a comedic path. Jubie talks in a broken English, and grunts a lot. When a mosquito flying around bothers them Jubie takes it out with his sword.

   When Link attacks Jubie with a stick, Jubie cuts it to pieces. He then tries to fight Jubie who then tosses him all over the place. Jubie and Link then kill some bad guys on a ranch and get horses. Link now has a gun, but he doesn't use it on Jubie. Jubie and Link fight along the way, but eventually get along. Jubie tells Link that the way of the samurai is ending and that this will be one of the last jobs he takes on. He must get the sword back, but Link is just after the money.

   Link and Jubie head in to a town where Gauche's girlfriend Christina (Andress) works. They get a message to Gauche that he is to bring the money to get Christina back. Some Comanches show up and capture Christina but Jubie and Link rescue her.

   Eventually we get to the showdown. As Link and Jubie face off against Gauche, the Comanches attack and the stars just used them for target practice. Jubai shoots arrows, throws knives and slashes with his sword. They fight the Comanches off, and when Jubai tries to cut down Gauche he shoots him. Then Link shoots down Gauche.

  Red Sun is a movie that tried to walk that fine line between comedy and adventure, but it really wasn't too successful at either. I think the movie could have been much better if it decided what it wanted to be. But, overall it was still pretty good. It was fun just to watch the stars as they interacted on the screen.