The Zatoichi Films

[strtfghtr]

I've been a big fan of these movies since around 2003 when I came across a remake/reimagining of Zatoichi called The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi. I had heard of the films but never saw one so I game it a chance and really liked it. Then I hadn't seen one for years until I moved to an area that used to get the Kung-Fu HD channel. This chanel would often play old Zatoichi movies and I fell in love with them. Unfortunately the dvds are difficult to find and never cheap. Just today I came across a huge lot of them at a local used game/dvd shop and picked up 14 of the 26 movies for under $4 a piece!!

I figure'd I'd come in here and discuss them as I watch them or just see if there's any other fans in here of the films.

For those who don't know Zatoichi or have never seen any of the films here's a basic rundown: Zatoichi is a blind masseuse that travels from town to town in feudal Japan. Most of the time he is trying to mind his own business and gets drawn into a battle of some kind among outlaws/samurai/warlords/peasants/families/etc. He is very skilled in sword fighting and uses a sword concealed in his walking cane. For the most part the movies are very serious but take on very humerous situations as Zatoichi tricks/entertains drunkards/gamblers/and thieves. The acting is superb especially from Shintaro Katsu who plays the title character in all the films (except the 2003 remake/reimagining). The camera work and directing is also top notch in the films I've seen and all are excellent examples of traditional Japanese Samurai movies. Many of them bare resemblance in storyline to the USA's and Italy's westerns and a few were even spawned directly from Zatoichi such as Blindman. A TV show was also made staring Katsu but those have managed to escape my grasp as of this moment.


Here are the Zatoichi films in the original series:
The Tale of Zatoichi (1962)
The Tale of Zatoichi Continues (1962)
New Tale of Zatoichi (1963)
Zatoichi the Fugitive (1963)
Zatoichi on the Road (1963)
Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold (1964)
Zatoichi's Flashing Sword (1964)
Fight, Zatoichi, Fight (1964)
Adventures of Zatoichi (1964)
Zatoichi's Revenge (1965)
Zatoichi and the Doomed Man (1965)
Zatoichi and the Chess Expert (1965)
Zatoichi's Vengeance (1966)
Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman's Pilgrimage (1966)
Zatoichi's Cane-sword (1967)
Zatoichi the Outlaw (1967)
Zatoichi Challenged (1967)
Zatoichi and the Fugitives (1968)
Samaritan Zatoichi (1968)
Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo (1970)
Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival (1970)
Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman (1971)
The New One-Armed Swordsman (1971)
Zatoichi at Large (1972)
Zatoichi in Desperation (1972)
Zatoichi's Conspiracy (1973)
"Zatôichi monogatari" (1974)
The One Armed Swordsmen (1976)
Zatôichi (1989)

[Halcon Loco]

Oh wow, tons of em them lol. They sound interesting. Bet NF doesn't have any of them

[FrighT MasteR]

I've only seen the one from the 80's and the 2003 remake. Oh, and Ichi (female version of Zatoichi) and Blind Fury, if you wanna count them

[Splat]

I saw that 'remake' as well. Thought it was pretty cool. Know what you mean about the mix of action/drama and comedy.

[strtfghtr]

the remake was WAY more goofy than any of the earlier films, I'd suggest checking them out...also for those people who hate subtitles most of these movies were never dubbed (thank god) and quite a few are in black and white

[Splat]

I will mate. have seen hem around for decent prices so should.

[KING]

I only saw the Beat Takeshi one.. because it's fuckin Beat Takeshi. Yeah it was goofy, and all the blood was CG'd, but as the movie went on I dug it more and more.

I've seen all 4 of the Crimson Bat films though, it's a blind female samurai instead, and they are awesome.

[FrighT MasteR]

Beat

[strtfghtr]

So far I've watched the first 5 films and here are some of my highlights:

1: The first is an absolute masterpiece, art in its purest form. Everything from the acting to the camera work is top notch.
2: While not as clever as the first it doe have some of the same characters and has a badass emotional twist at the end with the one armed samurai
3: The third is so amazingly badass it's hard to describe it adds color to the Zatoichi series and is one of the most effective at really drawing emotion from te swordsman/massuere
4. While the 4th isnt as technically proficient as the first three it draws the viewer in as much as any of them possibly could. Bringing back an old love and tossing in a brutal ending with Zatoichi taking on a whole army along with a rifleman This one certainly stands out!
5. Forcing the blind swordsman to care after a girl the whole movie is a bit trying but still comes off enjoyable, they seem to add more and more action to clean up after a boring and more comical plot. This was my least favorite so far.

[Lemmywinks]

Have only seen Zatôichi (1989) but did enjoy it.

[Zombie Yojimbo]

Sweet, man! I'll be watching them all again from the beginning soon, as all this Zatoichi talk is getting me stoked on it again. It's been well over 5 years since I did my marathon.