1971 - RED SUN, international cast, mediocre film

Charles Bronson and Alain Delon are the leaders of a gang of outlaws.  Bronson is a bad guy with a few redeeming qualities.  Delon is a bad guy with no redeeming qualities. Anyway the gang pulls off a train robbery loaded with a bunch of gold.  Also on the train is samurai Toshiro Mifune who is on his way to delivery a priceless sword to the President of the United States.  The bad guys steal the priceless sword and Delon double crosses Bronson.  So Bronson and Mifune team up to take down Delon and the gang.

 This is a western set in the United States but filmed in Spain.  It has an international cast. American Charles Bronson, Frenchman Alain Delon, Swiss actor Ursula Andress and from Japan Toshiro Mifune all bundled together in a movie that only a bunch of lawyers and agents could put together.  The film was directed by Englishman Terence Young who wasn't exactly known for filming westerns and probably was available.  

If you think this film might have a rather disjointed and contrived quality to it you would be right.  The film also has a lot of action and for 1971, blood.  If Bronson and Delon aren't shooting someone Mifune is dissecting them with his sword.   

 

Red Sun is for the very discriminating viewer who has caught up on all those old Hopalong Cassidy movies on YouTube which are frankly more entertaining than this poor man's version of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.  

 

The film was written by Denne Bart Petitclerc, William Roberts and Lawrence Roman, the running time is 112 minutes.