The Hoodlum Priest (1967)
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.
- Parental Guidance: PG-13
- Release Date: 1967-11-15
- Runtime: 1h 24min
- Production Company: Daiei Film
- Production Country: Japan
- Director: Kimiyoshi Yasuda
- Writer: Hajime Takaiwa
