Directed by Seijun Suzuki • 1961 • Japan
Starring Hideaki Nitani, Izumi Ashikawa, Yuji Odaka

A relatively rare example of a Japanese western, THE MAN WITH A SHOTGUN stars Hideaki Nitani as the titular drifter who arrives in a remote mountain town carrying a shotgun and claiming to be a hunter. There, he soon becomes embroiled in a web of trouble involving the local lumber mill and a gang of roughnecks. With its striking alpine scenery and entertaining action set pieces, this is a solid example of the “borderless action” pictures that Nikkatsu produced in the 1960s by gleefully remixing tropes from American and European genre films.