A Spectacular Showdown
6.0
One of the great stories from Japan’s rich history comes to life in this true tale of the bloody showdown between two rival yakuza gangs in the 1840’s. The battle between Boss Sukegoro of Iioka and Boss Shigezo of Sasagawa has been portrayed many times, most notably in the first Zatoichi film, where the blind man befriends the tubercular ronin Hirate Miki, before cutting him down in one of the great duels in cinema history. This all-star extravaganza pulls out all the stops, with appearances by virtually all of the great actors and actresses from Toei’s studio at the time. Ichikawa Utaemon’s portrayal of the kind-hearted, noble yakuza boss Shigezo of Sasagawa contrasts sharply with the devious Sukegoro of Iioka. Corrupt as he may have been, his men were all willing to give up their lives for him.
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Cast
79 people
Utaemon Ichikawa
Sasagawa no Shigezo
Known for
The 47 Ronin
Chiyonosuke Azuma
Kiyotaki no Sakichi
Also in
Battle Fever J
Goblin in Stirrups
Hiroshi Okawa
Hajime Takaiwa
Minoru Miki
Yasushi Sasaki
Kinnosuke Nakamura
Sunosaki no Masakichi
Known for
Goyokin
Hiroshi Ookawa
Tatsuo Sakamaki
Koinosuke Onoe
Also in
Seven from Edo
Eight Brave Brothers
Shintarô Miyamoto
Naoya Taguchi
Yasushi Sasaki Director · Hajime Takaiwa Screenplay Eiichi Yamada Composer
First release August 9, 1959 · Produced in Japan · Production Toei Tokyo
Production
Toei Company
Production
Toei Tokyo
Production
Japan
Produced in
Languages
Original title
血斗水滸伝 怒濤の対決
Original language
Japanese
Spoken on screen
Japanese
Release dates
Japan · August 9, 1959
Theatrical
No release date listed for United States.
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Some details come from TheTVDB.