A Gambler's Life
The Massacring Fudo
Directed by: Kimiyoshi Yasuda
Starring: ICHIKAWA Raizo, Saburo Date, Tatsuo Endô, Takeshi Hamada, Machiko Hasegawa
At the outset, Raizo is a dealer in a popular gambling den who is sent as bill collector in search of a gambler (played by the omnipresent Date Saburo.) The gambler lives with his wife and sister. The wife is very sick, which the viewer knows, but Raizo's character is ignorant of the personal facts and kills the gambler, when he attempts to flee without paying.
When Raizo learns the truth about the man and his family, he begins to distance himself from his yakuza clan. This gangster association is further tested when another man, the great Konoe Jushiro, bets the house limit on a hand of cards, and Raizo cannot bring himself to cheat on behalf of the house.
A bond develops between Raizo's character and the older and wiser man, but pre-existing circumstances form a barrier to their friendship. The balance of the movie deals with these circumstances and our hero's efforts to deal with them and alter fate.
Remastered Print
1969 Color WIDESCREEN (16:9)
Japanese with English Subtitles.
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