In 1870, Japanese Ambassador Sakaguchi is traveling through the American west on a train. Link Stuart (Charles Bronson) gets on the train. He's a part of a large gang attacking the troops on board from the outside and the inside. He's double-crossed by his partner Gotch 'Gauche' Kink who takes the gold and a sword from the emperor intended as a gift for the president. Samurai Kuroda Jubie (Toshirô Mifune) joins with Link to hunt down Gauche. The Ambassador gives them seven days before both him and the samurai are honor-bound to commit harakiri. Link needs Gauche alive to find the hidden loot. They kidnap Gauche's whore Cristina (Ursula Andress).The samurai and the bandit idea is a solid setup. Charles Bronson and Toshirô Mifune are a good odd couple. It does get a little muddled trying to do too much in the third act. Link and the Samurai should face the Indians by themselves and then they should face Gauche's gang in the climax. Overall, this is a good spaghetti western. A samurai in the old west is a great idea.

Red Sun is the type of film they mean when they talk about international production. American Charles Bronson, Japanese Toshiro Mifune, German Ursula Andress, French Alain Delon, Italian Capucine and for good measure this film was shot on the plains of Spain which did not look like they'd seen much rain by Englishman Terrence Young.The film concerns the train robbery of a gang in which Alain Delon is in charge. The money isn't enough for Delon, the train is carrying some Japanese passengers with a ceremonial samurai sword, a gift from their Emperor to our president. Two of three Japanese are killed, the mistake Delon makes when he decides the sword would make a nice souvenir is that he lives a real live Samurai in Toshiro Mifune alive with a vengeance quest. Delon makes a second mistake in double crossing Charles Bronson and not killing him as well. Bronson is a member of his gang who cuts all ties, but forms an uneasy alliance with Mifune.Mifune wants Delon dead, but Bronson just wants him alive long enough to say where he's hidden the money. Bronson and Mifune go to a bordello run by Capucine to get Ursula Andress, a hooker favored by Delon as a hostage.Red Sun works nicely as a film because of the interesting if antagonistic chemistry between Bronson and Mifune. From an uneasy alliance they develop a genuine regard for each other. As for Delon he has a gentlemanly demeanor that's a very thin veneer for one of the meanest mean streaks ever on the big screen.Fans who are younger will recognize the plot of Red Sun being later used in a modern day feature Renegades with Kiefer Sutherland and Lou Diamond Phillips as the uneasy allies with Rob Knepper as the gang leader with a mean streak.I'm not really big on foreign made westerns, but I make an exception in the case of Red Sun.

The things that had me on the edge of my seat during Brokeback Mountain was the amazing cinematography and the thrilling music. I just wanted to get as close as possible to the screen.Those two things were not as impressive in Soleil Rouge, but they were good enough that Oscar nominee Henri Alekan's (Roman Holiday, Wings of Desire) cinematography and three-time Oscar winner Maurice Jarre's (A Passage to India, Doctor Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia) music make this film worth watching all by itself.Directed by Terence Young (Dr. No, From Russia With Love), the film stars one of my favorites, Charles Bronson (Mr. Majestyk , Once Upon a Time in the West, Death Wish 1-5) and Japan's greatest actor, Toshirô Mifune. If that is not enough, it also starred Golden Globe winner Ursula Andress (Dr. No) and Alain Delon (Le Samouraï, The Leopard).Now, how in the world do you get Mifune in the old west, dressed as a Samurai, no less. He is accompanying the Japanese Ambassador on a train that is robbed by Bronson and Delon. A sword destined to be given to the President is stolen and he must serve his mater and retrieve it. Bronson is double-crossed by Delon and left for dead. Mifune and Bronson join together in a strange journey to retrieve the sword and Bronson's loot.Mifune is classic Samurai, and Bronson is the funniest I have seen him in the many films I have watched. he has that magic that made Mr. Majestic so fun to watch.Along the way, they stop in a whorehouse and pick up Andress as a hostage. She is Delon's girlfriend. She gives us a good view of her hootage as she changes a shirt while waiting with Bronson. Spanish actress Mónica Randall also gave us a skintastic display when in bed with Mifune.Lots of western action with shootouts between Bronson and the bay guys, and the whole gang against the Comanches. Mifune uses his sword to good effect as he adds the expected bright red to the screen.Eastern philosophy meets Western crudity in a classic.

Toshiro Mifune & Charles Bronson in an early 70's Western with Alain Delon as the bad guy & Ursula Andress playing an opportunistic whore?Sounds irresistible, but it's all a bit of a mess, which is often what happens when there's too much of a good thing. Plenty of talent & personality in the acting department, but too little attention paid to the story itself.Bronson plays a train robber forced by the Japanese ambassador to help find a priceless sword stolen by Bronson's double-crossing partner Gauche, played by Delon. Accompanying Bronson is Mifune playing, surprise surprise, a powerful samurai.Mifune, as always, is riveting, & Delon seems to be enjoying himself as the devilish Gauche. Bronson's a bit on the lazy side, but it's fun to watch the sparring between him & Mifune. Ursula Andress' role seems pretty pointless, but she was never hired for her acting abilities anyway.The film breezes cheerfully along, but the big showdown ends up being confusing & dull, with a tribe of vicious Comanches thrown in at the last minute, as if to provide some excuse not to have Mifune cut Delon's head off straight away. The climax, as such, only comes after being dragged out for too long, & so, falls flat. The subplot involving Cristina (Andress), Gauche's old flame, makes things even messier, & her character's motives are never all that clear.Still, it's well worth a look if you're a fan of any of the principal actors, or Westerns in general. Just don't expect a masterpiece.