Red Sonja (1985)

An vengeful woman sets out to retrieve a magic orb from an evil queen whom she vows vengeance upon after the evil queen slain her family and her loyal warriors raped her.

Director:

Richard Fleischer

Writers:

Robert E. Howard (character), Clive Exton,

Stars:

Brigitte Nielsen, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sandahl Bergman

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brigitte Nielsen	...	Red Sonja
Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	Kalidor
Sandahl Bergman	...	Queen Gedren
Paul L. Smith	...	Falkon (as Paul Smith)
Ernie Reyes Jr.	...	Prince Tarn
Ronald Lacey	...	Ikol
Pat Roach	...	Brytag
Terry Richards	...	Djart
Janet Agren	...	Varna, Red Sonja's Sister
Donna Osterbuhr	...	Kendra the High Priestess
Lara Lamberti	...	Gedren's Handmaid (as Lara Naszinsky)
Hans Meyer	...	Red Sonja's Father
Francesca Romana Coluzzi	...	Red Sonja's Mother
Stefano Maria Mioni	...	Barlok, Red Sonja's Brother (as Stafano Mioni)
Tutte Lemkow	...	Wizard

Storyline

The tyrant Gedren seeks the total power in a world of barbarism. She attacks and kills the keepers of a powerful talisman just before it is destroyed. Gedren then uses the power of the talisman in her raid of the city Hablac. Red Sonja, sister of the keeper, sets out with her magic sword to overthrow Gedren. The talisman's master Kalidor follows to protect her. Of course they fall in love - however Red Sonja's power bases on the oath to never give herself to any man...

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Plot Keywords:

talisman | warrior | 100th century b.c. | prehistoric times | decapitation | 

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Taglines:

Heroes of their time. For all time.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

Netherlands USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 July 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Crvena Sonja

Filming Locations:

Celano, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$17,900,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dino De Laurentiis Company, Famous Films (II)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor) Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Maria Shriver said in a TV interview that at the premiere of Red Sonja she remarked to her husband, "If this doesn't kill your career, nothing will".

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Goofs

When Red Sonja and Falkon fight the bandits that captured Prince Tarn, Falkon hits a downed bandit with his bone club and part of the club breaks off upon impact. When he appears on screen again a moment later, the club is undamaged.

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Quotes

Prince Tarn: [upon finding the Great Pearl of the Icthyan Caverns] This could buy me an army, or even rebuild Habloc! Dig it out, Falkon!
Falkon: Your Highness, this pearl may BELONG to somebody.
Prince Tarn: It does! And he wants it NOW!

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Connections

Featured in Red Sonja Vs. Kalidor: The Making of a Misunderstanding (2010)

User Reviews

Actually, As Much As People Hate This, It Still Runs Like Conan 3.

It is sad that Schwarzenegger was the best thing about this production, especially considering the fact that he had not yet come into his own, and was still as stiff as cardboard in his dialog delivery.

Actually, this isn't as bad as some critics say, but it isn't good, either. It IS amusing, and DOES play like a poor country cousin of the Conan line, making it a conflicted, uneven, poor work. And speaking of poor, the quality is terrible, due to the era in which this was filmed, but that is not the only reason.

The story herein is inferior, even to the Conan line, but moreover, it loses itself in the "Red Sonja must be dominated by big strong Schwarzenegger" ploy, and entirely forgets its purpose, if it ever had one.

It's entertaining, but in a low-budget, guilty-pleasure "B" kind of way.

It rates a 4.2/10 from...

the Fiend :.