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Tokyo, 1934. Gang boss Arakawa is too ill and a successor must be named. The choice falls on Nakai, but being an outsider he refuses and suggests senior clansman Matsuda instead. But Matsuda is in jail and the elders won't wait for his release, so they appoint the younger and more malleable Ishido to take the reins. Clan honour and loyalties are severely tested when Matsuda is released, resulting in an increasingly violent internal strife. An atmospheric tale of gangland intrigue written by Kazuo Kasahara (Battles Without Honour and Humanity) and starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, (Lone Wolf and Cub, The Bounty Hunter Trilogy) and genre legend Koji Tsuruta, Big Time Gambling Boss is one of the all-time classics of the yakuza genre. Paul Schrader called it the richest and most complex film of its type, while novelist Yukio Mishima hailed it as a masterpiece. Radiance Films is proud to present this crucial re-discovery for the first time ever on Blu-ray. Limited Edition Special Features: - High Definition digital transfer of the film - Uncompressed mono PCM audio - Visual essay by genre expert Chris D on the film and its place within the period and genre - Ninkyo 101: A masterclass with Mark Schilling, author of The Yakuza Movie Book - Gallery of promotional imagery - Trailer - Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by maarko phntm Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by author Stuart Galbraith IV, and critic Hayley Scanlon - Limited edition of 2000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip

Media

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Bonus Materials

• High Definition digital transfer of the film
• Uncompressed mono PCM audio
• Visual essay by genre expert Chris D on the film and its place within the period and genre
• Ninkyo 101: A masterclass with Mark Schilling, author of The Yakuza Movie Book
• Gallery of promotional imagery
• Trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by maarko phntm
• Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by author Stuart Galbraith IV, and critic Hayley Scanlon
• Limited edition of 2000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip

Sales Points

• First Time Ever on Blu-ray!
• From writer Kazuo Kasahara (Battles Without Honor and Humanity) and director Kôsaku Yamashita (Night Train, Kuroi tsume)
• Stars Kôji Tsuruta (Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island), Tomisaburô Wakayama (Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance), Hiroshi Nawa (Three Seconds Before the Explosion) and Nobuo Kaneko (Ikiru)
• 'Big Time Gambling Boss' (aka 'Gambler: The Great Casino' and 'The Big Gambling Ceremony') is the fourth film in the Bakuchi-uchi (Gambler) series, and is regarded as the best of Toei's yakuza films.

Press Quotes

Kosaku Yamashita's introspective masterpiece stands not just as one of the absolute finest Ninkyo's ever made, but one that deserves its position at the very highest echelons of the Yakuza genre overall.

     —Nathan Stuart, Letterboxd.com

it rises above the familiar yakuza formula despite working with the same key ingredients.

     —GREG WALTON, Movieline Online

Big Time Gambling Boss is both an exemplary film and disc release. Recommended.

     —BRANDON A. DUHAMEL, Theater Byte

Big Time Gambling Boss never lacks in its ability to surprise an audience with a gut punch of existentialism.

     —ADAM KAUTZER, The Movie Isle

Big Time Gambling Boss is a cinematic masterpiece right down to the final moment when with an ironic twist to finish off the mayhem.

     —JOE COREY, Inside Pulse

Big Time Gambling Boss is at the more thoughtful and moodier end of the Yakuza genre

     —ROGER BATTY, Musique Machine

One of the things that set The Godfather and its sequels apart from "typical" gangster films was its emotional gravitas, and I'd argue that much the same aspect is at work in Big Time Gambling Boss.

     —JEFFREY KAUFFMAN, Blu-ray.com

Big Time Gambling Boss is a Yakuza genre picture escalated to Shakespearean levels of drama and tragedy.

     —JAKE KEET, Art House Cult

A terrific film that deserves to be seen and cherished

     —PHIL BAILEY, Ink 19