Red Lion
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Kihachi Okamoto
Toshiro Mifune
Etsushi Takahashi
Shigeru Koyama
No Terada
Shima Iwashita
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In 1868 the Emperor is restored to the throne, and the Imperial Army's Sekiho Troop, led by Sozo Sagara, marches toward Edo. Tozan Army Staff Chief Aragaki gives the Troop the right to halve land taxes in each town they pass to bring the people under control. Gonzo, a soldier in the Troop, volunteers to make the announcement to Sawando, which is his hometown, and he rides into town wearing the scarlet headdress resembling a lion's mane as his symbol of authority. However, Sawando is under the control of a ruthless magistrate and Komatora, a gambler, who tax the people so heavily that many parents are forced to sell their daughters into prostitution. Gonzo begins to notify the villagers of the reduction in taxes, while men still loyal to the old Tokugawa Shogunate calling themselves Mobile Unit One persuade the magistrate and Komatora to hire a swordsman, Hanzo, to kill Gonzo. Meanwhile, Tozan Army Headquarters, desperate for revenue and envious of the Sekiho Troop's growing popularity, rescinds the tax cut and executes Sozo Sagara, declaring his men impostors. The army's main unit arrives in Sawando and defeats Mobile Unit One, also killing Hanzo and his wife. Disillusioned, confused, and embittered, Gonzo attacks the entire army by himself.
Director
Kihachi Okamoto
Cast
Toshiro Mifune
Etsushi Takahashi
Shigeru Koyama
No Terada
Shima Iwashita
Yunosuke Ito
Tokue Hanazawa
Takahiro Tamura
Kaai Okada
Nobuko Otowa
Jitsuko Yoshimura
Yuko Mochizuki
Crew
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Released in Japan in October 1969 as Akage.
