The Hoodlum Priest (1967)
Overview
The first film in the 2 part series about Ryuzen, a renegade martial-arts priest who, in addition to breaking all the commandments against sex and gambling, opens his own gambling den in direct defiance of the local yakuza boss. Exciting action and a twisty plot this movie breaks new barriers in Japanese cinema. Katsu Shintaro is superb in one of his better non-Zato Ichi roles as he fights off the advances of a love-lorn woman and risks his life to defeat the powerful gambling boss who has a stranglehold on the town.
Cast
Shintarō Katsu
Ryuzen
Mayumi Ogawa
Otatsu
Mikio Narita
Kashiwa Shinjuro
Naoko Kubo
Oen
Jun Tatara
Gonroku
Hōsei Komatsu
Daihachi
Ryūtarō Gomi
Toramatsu
Yoshio Kaneuchi
Fumio Watanabe
Shōsaku Sugiyama
Ikkei Tamaki
Yukio Horikita
Jun Katsumura
Jun Fujikawa
Recommendations
American Yakuza
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Dead or Alive
Tokyo Drifter
Fudoh: The New Generation
Street Mobster
The Return of Sister Street Fighter
Graveyard of Honor
Bad City
Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima
Branded to Kill
Hell Dogs
Youth of the Beast
Female Yakuza Tale
Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair
The Mole Song: Undercover Agent Reiji
Agitator
Battles Without Honor and Humanity
ICHI
Tokyo Tribe