RED SUN

France/US, 1971, 114 minutes, Colour.
Charles Bronson, Alain Delon, Toshiro Mifune, Ursula Andress, Capucine.
Directed by Terence Young.

Red Sun is an average Western filmed in Spain. It seems to try to have it both ways at once; use all the conventions of the Western and then share in the mood of disillusionment with the West. Where the film differs from others is in its use of Toshiro Mifune as a Samurai in the West trying to recover a Japanese sword. The contrast of style, manners and personality of the non-hero, Charles Bronson, is quite striking. The film is bloodthirsty at times, offers discussion points, but is average entertainment. Young next made The Valacchi Papers with Bronson.

1. Was this was meant just to be a Western or was there some idea or even message behind it?

2. To what did the title refer?

3. The immediate setting was the brutal West - thieves, double-crossing, revenge? Did this picture of the West remain through the film?

4. How stereotyped was the character of the "hero"? Did you like him? What attractive facets of his personality were emphasised?

5. Was Gotch a conventional villain? Why?

6. Why was the Japanese in the West an unusual situation for a Western? Do you think it was a good idea?

7. How were you impressed by the Samurai as a man?

8. Comment on the differences between Eastern and Western cultures in the attitudes and behaviour of the gunman and the Samurai. Was one a better man than the other? By what standards?

9. What motivated the Samurai in his quest for the sword? How noble were his motives? Did he believe in honour and hari-kari?

10. What motivated the gunman? Did he have any sense of nationalism, pride and honour?

11. Why did the two become friends (or did they?)

12. Did the two understand each other? Did the gunman understand the Samurai's capacity for endurance? Did the Samurai understand the gunman's rugged individualism?

13. What role did Ursula Andress play in the film? Was she introduced merely for glamour and sex? What of the scene where the Indians leave her to die?

14. Were the Indians dragged in? What did they add to the film?

15. Was the last half-hour of the film too violent? Did you enjoy the Samurai's use of his sword for killing? Was the film too cruel?

16. Was it appropriate to the film that the Samurai should be killed? - or did this jar on you and affect the mood of the film?

17. How cynical was the ending of the film, considering the two who were left alive? Is this the kind of West that survived?

18. What picture of the West did the film give? Does it correspond with the usual images of the West?