Red Peony Gambler: Flower Cards Match
(Hibotan bakuto: Hanafuda shôbu)
Tai Katô
- 1969
- Japan
- Yakuza eiga
- 1h38mn
- Original version with French subtitles
- Color
Brand new master
The Nishinomaru clan in which Oryū wants to perfect her apprenticeship is in the midst of preparations for a gambling competition that’s been going on for generations. To protect the Nishinomaru’s interests against the Kinbara clan who wants to rule at any cost, she is forced to take part in a tournament that will end in blood.
With Tai Katō, the series doubles its formal ambition, both through its nervous editing, its low angle shots and a way of sticking close to the actors that places us in the heart of the action. Humor has vanished, replaced by a dramatisation of violence and a profound melancholy, witness the magnificent snow scenes. Suzuki’s script is this time more political, notably in his frank evocation of Western influence in Japan.. A magnificent opus.
Credits
- With : Junko Fuji, Ken Takakura, Kanjūrō Arashi, Asao Koike, Bin Amatsu...
- Screenplay : Norifumi Suzuki, Motohiro Torii, Hisakichi Ishimoto
- Photography : Osamu Furuya
- Editing : Shintarō Miyamoto
- Music by : Takeo Watanabe
- Production : Gorō Kusakabe, Kōji Shundō
