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From the mythical world of Robert E. Howard comes Red Sonja, a fierce, fireforged fantasy adventure from director Richard Fleischer (Soylent Green), starring Brigitte Nielsen (Cobra) in her iconic debut as the legendary warrior, joined by Arnold Schwarzenegger at the height of his sword-and-sorcery powers.

When her family is slain and her homeland destroyed by the tyrannical Queen Gedren (Sandahl Bergman, Conan the Barbarian), Sonja is chosen by the goddess Scáthach and gifted with extraordinary strength and skill in battle. Sworn to vengeance, she embarks on a perilous quest to stop Gedren from wielding a deadly talisman with the power to annihilate the world.

A thrilling tale of high adventure packed with stunning spectacle and steel-clashing action, backed by an epic score by maestro Ennio Morricone (The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly), Red Sonja is a bold, larger-than-life epic where destiny is forged in fire and blood.

What We Thought:

I hadn’t seen Red Sonja in probably 30+ years and that was most likely on cable. It was cool catching up with it on this new 4K from Arrow Video. It’s not as good as the Conan films from the same era, but it makes for a good tagalong film.

It’s a classic 1980s designed sword & sorcery flick. I think it’s on the level of The Beastmaster more than the Conan films despite also starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. He plays second fiddle to Brigitte Nielsen’s Red Sonja. She handles the action well and carries the movie.

It’s a classic revenge tale of Sonja wanting revenge on the people who killed her family. Her sister is killed when the evil queen steals a powerful talisman. Arnold’s character finds Sonja and despite not wanting his help, they team up to get revenge. They are joined by Ernie Reyes Jr.’s child prince character and his protector on their journey.

I can’t say that the film holds up to today’s standards, but for the time it was pretty cool. The action is what you expect for the era with overly choreographed sword fights and one on one fighting. If you grew up on these films the new 4K is great reminder of your childhood.

Red Sonja fits the 80s era perfectly. She was powerful yet still feminine. She wielded her sword and took on all evil doers to get her revenge. The story works flawlessly and the characters all feel appropriate for the journey. The new 4K looks great and sounds even better with a fantastic score from Ennio Morricone. There are multiple new commentaries, multiple new interviews and lots of other neat additions in the heavily loaded bonus features. If you’re a fan of the film this is highly recommended.

Bonus Features:

  • 4K ULTRA HD LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
  • 4K restoration from the original negative with new HDR grading by Arrow Films
  • 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
  • Original lossless mono audio and optional DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
  • Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • Brand new audio commentary by critics Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth
  • Brand new audio commentary with comic book expert Dave Baxter
  • The Prince and Me, a newly filmed interview with actor Ernie Reyes Jr.
  • Swords, Stunts and Sonja, a newly filmed interview with action unit supervisor Vic Armstrong
  • The Last of the Invincibles, a newly filmed interview with Schwarzenegger’s stunt double Pietro Torrisi
  • The Danish Girl, a newly filmed interview with stuntman Ottaviano Dell’Acqua
  • The 12 Labors of Red Sonja, a newly filmed interview with assistant production manager Stefano Spadoni
  • The Marvel of Primitive Technology, a newly filmed interview with FX artist Domingo Lizcano discussing the work of Emilio Ruiz del Río
  • Moulding Fantasies, a newly filmed interview with make-up FX assistant Adriano Carboni
  • Bodybuilding the Imagery, an archival unreleased interview with poster artist Renato Casaro
  • The Man Who Raised Hollywood, an archive featurette on Schwarzenegger’s career featuring filmmakers Peter Hyams and Arthur Allan Seidelman, producer Edward Pressman and others
  • Red Sonja vs. Kalidor: The Making of a Misunderstanding, an archive interview with assistant director Michel Ferry
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Image gallery
  • Reversible sleeve featuring two original artwork options by Renato Casaro
  • Collectors’ perfect-bound booklet featuring new writing on the film by John Walsh, Nanni Cobretti and Barry Forshaw
  • Double-sided foldout poster featuring two original artwork options by Renato Casaro
  • Six postcard-sized reproduction artcards

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