Red Sonja (1985)

The fearless warrior Red Sonja sets out to avenge her family's murder and rid her kingdom from the tyrannical rule of evil Queen Gedren.

Director:

Richard Fleischer

Writers:

Robert E. Howard (based on the character created by), Clive Exton

Stars:

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brigitte Nielsen, Sandahl Bergman

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	Kalidor
Brigitte Nielsen	...	Red Sonja
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
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 Stefano 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:

sword and sorcery | female nudity | bare breasts | redheaded woman | hyborian age | 

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Taglines:

A woman and a warrior that became a legend.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

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Certificate:

PG-13

Did You Know?

Trivia

Arnold Schwarzenegger eschews this movie as one of his worst, yet he (laughingly) claims that it's an excellent disciplinary tool for his children. "I tell them, if they get on my bad side, they'll be forced to watch Red Sonja (1985) ten times in a row. It must be working, because none of my kids has ever given me much trouble."

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Goofs

(at around 1h 6 mins) When Red Sonja and her companions are climbing a sheer wall to enter Queen Gedren's castle, her hair and clothing items are hanging "into" the wall, revealing that the actors are in fact crawling across the floor.

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Quotes

Brytag: [Upon being challenged by Sonja to a death-duel, in lieu of paying "tender tribute"] Woman, I have fought 177 men. Only one survives, and he has no legs. *You DARE to mock Brytag?*
Red Sonja: That takes no daring. But when I've killed you will your warriors let me go unharmed?
Brytag: *When you've KILLED me!*
Brytag: [laughs scornfully] When this wench has killed me, you will let her go, won't you?

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Alternate Versions

Two brief shots (including a severed head flying through the air) were cut from the Ontario, Canada version of the film in order to reduce the rating from Restricted (no one under 18 admitted) to Adult Accompaniment (anyone under 14 must be accompanied by someone over 18).

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Connections

Referenced in High Chaparall: Brigitte Nielsen (2004)

User Reviews

OK I admit I enjoyed it!!

Let's just settle this before I start - this is a bad bad movie! You will be hard pressed to find such awful acting anywhere as Miss Nielsen, 'veteran' director Richard Fleischer stumbles blindly through a non-existant plot, and you will feel absolutely no sympathy for either the good guys or the bad - in other words you just won't care!

I would love to have hated this film - as a self-proclaimed 'movie-buff' this is the kind of film I should not even go near. But I'm loathed to admit...I enjoyed it! The two stars, amongst their awful acting, are actually quite engaging in a comedic way (intentional or not!). I began to relish the dialogue scenes just to see if a line could have been delivered with any more wood! The intentional comedy comes from a young prince (Ernie Reyes Jr) and his bodyguard (Paul Smith). Although I wished the prince to find the end of a sword as quickly as possible from his first scene, the interplay between these two characters was amusing, with some one-liners that could not have been more out of place in this film! The villainous queen (played by Sandahl Bergman) is unfortunately bland and forgettable. But one real treat for me was another completely out-of-place commodity - a great rousing score from maestro Ennio Morricone!

This was Schwarzenegger's return to his CONAN genre after hitting it big with THE TERMINATOR. It isn't too surprising that this was the last 'swords and sorcery' movie he did - but I promise you won't hate it! You'll want to!....but you won't!

Details

Country:

USA Netherlands Italy

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 July 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Red Sonja

Filming Locations:

Celano, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$17,900,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,263,553, 7 July 1985

Gross USA:

$6,948,633

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$6,951,415

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