Red Peony Gambler
Asian Cinema
•
Action, Drama, Thriller
Wandering female gambler Oryu the Red Peony (Junko Fuji), so known for the tattoo on her shoulder, rambles into town searching for her father’s killer with a wallet left at the crime scene as her only clue. At a card game she meets a kindred spirit, the noble and handsome yakuza Katagiri (Ken Takakura), when they team up to foil a cheating player. As their paths continue to cross she befriends a gang boss and other sundry denizens of the underworld who all join forces to guide her on a blood-soaked quest for vengeance. With its fantastic tropes and charismatic stars this inaugural entry in the Red Peony Gambler series proved an influential watershed of the “chivalrous gangster” genre and was so popular that it spawned multiple sequels.
DIRECTED BY KÔSAKU YAMASHITA
JAPAN | 1968 | JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
Up Next in Asian Cinema
-
Red Peony Gambler 2: Gambler's Obliga...
The second installment of the influential Red Peony Gambler series finds the titular heroine Oryu taken under the arm of the benevolent gang boss of a silk farming town. Soon ruthless loan sharks encroach on the business determined to enslave and exploit the workers. When their treachery leads to...
-
Red Peony Gambler 3: The Flower Cards...
Maestro of Japanese cinema Tai Kato simultaneously satiates and transcends genre tropes in his masterful direction of the celebrated third film in the Red Peony Gambler series. From its classically melodramatic opening set piece involving an oncoming train, the stage is set for a visually rich ta...
-
Seire
According to Korean folk tradition, the 21-day period after childbirth is known as “seire.” During this time, a newborn is vulnerable to bad luck, curses, and even evil spirits. Many superstitions surround these first three weeks, and new mother Hae-mi carefully follows every one of them. Her hus...
