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.

Genres: Action, Crime, History

Stars: Shintarō Katsu, Mayumi Ogawa, Mikio Narita, Kayo Mikimoto, Naoko Kubo

Release Date: 1967-11-15

Country: Japan

Ratings: 6.5 / 10 (2 votes)

Runtime: 84 mins