Kenju burai-chō Nukiuchino Ryu

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Kenju burai-chō Nukiuchino Ryu
Directed byHaruyasu Noguchi
Written byIwao Yamazaki
Based onNuki uchi no ryū (抜き射ちの竜, Piercing Dragon)
by Rei Kido
StarringKeiichirō Akagi
Ruriko Asaoka
Joe Shishido
Kō Nishimura
CinematographyShinsaku Himeda
Edited byMasanori Tsujii
Music byNaozumi Yamamoto
Distributed byNikkatsu
Release date
February 14, 1960
Running time
86 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Kenju burai-chō Nukiuchino Ryu (拳銃無頼帖 抜き射ちの竜), also known as Ryuji the Gun Slinger, is a 1960 Japanese crime action film directed by Haruyasu Noguchi and produced by Nikkatsu. It stars Keiichiro Akagi as the lead main character. It was the first installment of the Tale of The Gunman series (拳銃無頼帖シリーズ, Kenjū burai jō shirīzu). At the time of the film's release, another movie to be screened at the same time was "Keiji monogatari: Koroshi o agero", directed by Isamu Kosugi and starring Kyōji Aoyama.

Plot[change | change source]

Ryūji Kenzaki, a gunman who has the nickname "Piercing Dragon" (抜き射ちの竜, Nuki uchi no ryū), hates killing and finishes his task by shooting the opponent's shoulder on the dominant hand side to make it impossible to recover, so he is called "The Killer Who Dosent Kill" and was feared by many around him. One night, he receives a request to shoot a gang leader, but he cannot pull out his gun due to withdrawal symptoms from drug addiction and is in a crisis. A killer known as "Colt Silver" (コルトの銀, Koruto no gin) appears and saves Ryuji. Yang Sanyuan, a Chinese businessman from Hong Kong who hires Gin as a bouncer, takes Ryuji to the hospital for treatment, shoulders the expenses, and takes care of his life, such as giving him home after he is discharged from the hospital. Ryuji, who was going to wash his feet, becomes Yang's bodyguard out of obligation. He reunites with his best friend, former boxer Keikichi, in the room of Fusae, a boutique owner who lives in the same apartment. Keikichi became addicted to drugs and gave up boxing after getting involved in match-fixing because of his drug addiction.

While working in restaurants, boutiques, and nightclubs, Yang made money by smuggling drugs in partnership with the Hotta Gang (堀田組, Hotta gumi), who ran a boxing gym. However, since the group is under investigation by the Tokyo police, Yang is about to cut ties with the gang. On the other hand, Hotta Gang crime boss Juzaburo Hotta secretly summons Ryuji and asks him to release information on a big deal that will be carried out without the gang, but he avoids answering on the spot. One night, members of the Hotta Gang attacked the Yang's men just after the deal was broke off. Colt Silver killed the Hotta's Gang members, but on the way back, the police appeared and persistently interrogated Yang's close aide and restaurant owner, Zhāng, who was in charge of the transaction.

Zhang uses gardening sands he has in his pocket to escape the situation. Yang discovers an informant among the crew and orders the traitor to be found and eliminated. He also asks Ryuji and Colt to kill Hotta who had attacked his men when the partnership breaks off. Instead of complying, Ryuji demands that Fusae and Keikichi, tied up with Yang's drugs, be set free. Ryuji, who doesn't want to kill people, persuades Hotta to reconcile with Yang, but Gin reluctantly shoots him dead in the middle of it with his mistress, which leads Ryuji to punch Gin away. Yang sees Midori, the nightclub hostess, as a clue leading to the informant and tries to kidnap her to the office. Ryuji, who happened to be an acquaintance of Midori, lied, saying, "That's my sake. It has nothing to do with me." Before long, Midori's older brother, Ishii, a nightclub trumpet player, appears in front of Ryuji. Ishii was the one who passed the information on Yang Gang to the Hotta group and the Tokyo Police and revealed his identity as an undercover narcotics investigator working for the police on an illegal drug smuggling investigation. Knowing that Ryuji is saddened by Keikichi's drug addiction, Ishii asks Ryuji for help destroying the gang and stopping them from selling drugs to the American mafia who wanted to meet with Yang's crew at Yokohama. On the other hand, Yang decides that Fusae is the informant and tortures her, but Gin, who doesn't like Yang's methods of sadistic torture and cruelty, finds a chance and releases her. Keikichi, who is in the hospital, is also attacked by Yang's minions, but he fights off with punches, and Midori hides him while he is escaping.

Ishii's identity is discovered by the Yang Gang, and he disappears. Yang decides that Ryuji hired Ishii and orders Zhang to eliminate Ryuji. Ryuji, who had killed Zhang, was angry at Yang's tyranny and rushed to the port trade site where Yang himself was participating to defeat him. Gin stands in front of Ryuji before he shoots through Gin's right shoulder. Right after that, Yang shoots Gin out of the shadows, fatally injuring him. Ryuji yells "Idiot" (ハジキ, Baka) and beats Yang. Before he died, the dying Gin praises Ryuji and said in his final words, saying, "If your fist was Hajiki when you killed Hotta, I would have died. But for you, you are the real pistol user." Ishii appears there along with the entire police and arrests Ryuji along with Yang and the rest of the drug traders. Midori, who followed him, says, "I'll be waiting forever," as she sees him taken away by the authorities.

Cast[change | change source]

Staff[change | change source]

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