Red Lion (1969)

Toshirô Mifune: Gonzo

Quotes 

• Gonzo : Taxes cut in half? Wow! Now that's some kind of world renewal!

• Gonzo : Th-th-th- the world has just b-been turned up... upside down! As you d-d-didn't know... l-l-let me explain it to ya... Th... the Imperial flag has just arrived... It's only a few steps away! The T-Tokugawa Shogunate is... k... kaput! C-corrupt officials like y-you are k-k-k-kaput, too!

  [He inadvertently spits in the official's face] 

• Gonzo : I'm not too bright, but... I never forgot what you taught me... that "W... W... Warriors of Soumou" stuff, you know!

• [Dawn; Tomi and Gonzo are asleep on Tatami mats; Gonzo is lying on his back with his arms spread out and snoring loudly. He is suddenly awakened by Tomi's cries in her sleep] 

  Tomi : No! I hate it!

  [Gonzo shakes Tomi awake] 

  Gonzo : What is it? Hey! Tomi! What's wrong? What scared you?

  Tomi : Oh... I just had a nightmare! They stripped me naked and forced me to stand in the snow... They kept whipping me...

  [She covers her face] 

  Tomi : Oh, it was so horrible!

  [She and Gonzo sit up] 

  Gonzo : Hey!

  Tomi : They used to do that to me a long time ago... I couldn't earn enough... so I got punished...

  [She shows Gonzo her shoulder] 

  Tomi : See? I've got the scars, right here!

  Gonzo : Damn that KomaTora! But you know, Tomi... it's all right now! Don't you worry!

• Gonzo : Mr. Gohei! What on earth are you doing?

  Gohei : What the? It's you, Gonzo! Look who's talking! What are you doing... wearing that thing on your head?

  Gonzo : Say what? Old man, just what's up with you? Huh?

  Gohei : To begin with, this is the center of the village. I wanted to do this here because there are a lot of people around... 'cause I thought that somebody would stop me, you know. Now that my only beloved granddaughter Osode has been taken away... in lieu of the land tax that I couldn't pay, well...

  [He strings a rope around his neck] 

  Gohei : there's nothing left for me to live for! Would you let me die, please?

• Sanji : You know that they were ready to watch us get killed! They're no friends of ours! You guys aren't all that different either... The tiniest threat, and you're chickening out! Sheesh! Well... one good thing... at least we found the money...

  Gonzo : Money? I told Tomi about the money... Right, Tomi? I thought I told you that it was under the altar spread...

  Tomi : All you told me... last night... was to make crests from the spread... for everyone... no more than that.

  Gonzo : What's wrong, Tomi? Are you feeling all right?

  Tomi : No... nothing's wrong...

  Gonzo : Oh... I know! Perhaps I just forgot to tell her! Gee... I'm very sorry, everyone! It's all my fault... I've caused so much trouble here!

  [He leans over the body of Yago and crosses his arms] 

  Gonzo : Yago... forgive me...

  [He sobs over the body] 

• Ume : Gon... When are you gonna stop this nonsense?

  Gonzo : Wh-what are you talking about?

  Ume : All this stuff about "world renewal" and "restoration" and so on! You're gonna get in trouble if you don't knock it off!

  Gonzo : Mama, you just don't seem to un-un-un-un...

  Ume : 'Understand'? Hell, no! You haven't grown up at all! Do you remember? You boasted that you were the tough guy, the kids' leader, and loved to look down on everyone. But when you climbed up the persimmon tree, you fell. You hit your head hard, that's why you're so thick up here! And now you go pulling a stunt like this! Don't you see that you're being used?

  Gonzo : [defensively]  Nobody's using me to do anything! There's gonna be a world renewal! It's gonna be a peasant's world! Un-un-un-un...

  Ume : I understand that! But... no matter how much the world might change, the lives of us peasants aren't gonna change one bit.

• Gonzo : You know, Tomi... the truth is, I'm no more than a peasant's son after all.

  Tomi : How can you say such a thing?

  Gonzo : What everybody's looking up to is this Redhead, not me. So soon as I go away for a moment, they all start shouting that I'm a faker or a phony. And just because they couldn't find the money box... they've lost all faith in me. No matter how hard I try in the name of the Imperial Flag... the peasants don't give a damn...

  [He starts crying] 

  Gonzo : And Mama just can't understand me. Maybe I'm a dimwit like she said!

• [Kesaji has been shot down in the street and Gonzo suspects Hanzo shot him. Armed with his sword, he confronts the samurai] 

  Gonzo : Show me!

  Ichinose Hanzo : Show you what?

  Gonzo : Take your hand out of your pocket.

  Ichinose Hanzo : If you must see it...

  [He takes his hand out and shows it to Gonzo] 

  Gonzo : Let me smell your hand!

  Ichinose Hanzo : If you must. But it doesn't smell of gunpowder. Just of saké and money.

  Gonzo : Then, who just tried to shoot me?

  Ichinose Hanzo : I don't know. But I'll say that whoever did it in the dark is a coward. I get pissed off whenever I see a coward. Well, take care now.

  [He turns away and walks off into the darkness. Gonzo watches him go, slightly bewildered] 

  Gonzo : What a weirdo.