4 Star

Eastern Twist on the Spaghetti-Western.

It’s gritty spaghetti western time, with this adaptation of Laird Koenig‘s (The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane, The Children are Watching) novel, and directed by British director Terence Young (Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Thunderball) who takes us to the blistering sun of Spain, to film this (Cult Classic) heist movie. Grab the popcorn and grab the edge of your seat for this thrill ride, there is a lot of money at stake, as well as Samurai honour.

By 1860 Japan had opened its borders to the West, and they send their Ambassador to Washington to talk trade, this is always a perilous journey, and ten years later the Ambassador (Tetsu Nakamura, Mothra, Madama Butterfly) still has a lot to learn about the wild-west.

As the Ambassador’s train pulls up at a remote station, a lone figure awaits the train, he is Link Stuart (Charles Bronson, Hard Times, Breakheart Pass, The Death Wish Series). He grabs his saddle as the train pulls to a halt, he watches lots of soldiers dismount, and passengers start asking questions about the number of soldiers, the Ambassador of Japan is being escorted to Washington. But Link knows another reason for the number of soldiers, gold, lots and lots of gold coins, four-hundred thousand dollars to be correct. But the Ambassador’s personnel guards are two Samurai, Kuroda Jubei (Toshirô Mifune, Seven Samurai, High and Low) and Namuro (Hiroshi Tanaka, Sengoku jieitai) who look very out of place in the dust of the American West.
Link’s reappearance in the state has brought the bounty hunter out in sheriff Stone (Georges Lycan, Gold for the Caesars, Triple Cross), but his hopes of a fortune for the return are cut short by Link’s accomplice on the train Gauche (Alain Delon, Le Samouraï, The Leopard). Now that distraction is out of the way, it’s down to business. Robbing the train, suddenly half the passengers are part of Link and Gauche’s gang, plus the other twenty on horse back coming out of the wilderness.

These guys don’t mess around as dynamite is used left-right and centre. With the treasure being loaded up, Link and Gauche head to the Ambassador’s car, where they acquire more gold and Gauche spots the present for the president of America, a golden Samurai sword, Namuro loses his life defending it. Gauche has his trophy as Link goes back to the gold. That is his first mistake, as Gauche has everything he wants, so he blows up the car with Link in it and leaves him for dead.

It’s the Ambassador who finds the unconscious Link, and gets him well and fit again. Link obviously wants revenge, and his money back. But the Ambassador has other plans, he gives Samurai Kuroda and Link one week to get the sword back and save the slain Samurai and the Ambassador’s honour, and get the sword to the President, otherwise it is ritual suicide for the Japanese, and certain death for Link.

The money means nothing. This is life and death.

Let the mayhem begin. As Link and Kuroda search for Gauche, each for their own reasons, along the way they will come across Ursula Andress (Dr. No, Clash of the Titans (1981) and Capucine (The Pink Panther, Curse of the Pink Panther) the women in the thieves lives.

With Charles Bronson, you know that he isn’t going to be taking anything lying down, and he will fight for everything he believes in. A great restoration, and what better way to spend your time than watching a cult classic spaghetti western.

Red Sun (Cult Classics) is available on Blu-ray, DVD and 4K SteelBook