... You may remember Kitano from eighties, foreign classic “Violent Cop”, frequently hailed as his best, or is it? Kitano’s latest writing/directing effort comes in the form of “Zatoichi” the sixties Japanese TV show about a wandering blind swordsman in 19th Century Japan. Not to mention the story ... Read review
Takeshi "Beat" Kitano, the Japanese actor-director best known in the US for his quirky, ... more
ulraviolent gangster movies (Fireworks,Brother,Sonatine) and in the UK (among satellite and cable viewers, at least) for the bizarreIt's a Knockout-meets-Enduranceg...
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Cult filmmaker Takeshi Kitano's ('Hana-Bi', 'Violent Cop') dazzling new film is a ... more
thrilling tale of swordplay and adventure set in 19th Century Japan. Zatoichi (Beat Takeshi) is a blind wanderer whose humble facade disguises his prodigious skills as a ...
Takeshi "Beat" Kitano, the Japanese actor-director best known in the US for his quirky, ... more
ulraviolent gangster movies (Fireworks,Brother,Sonatine) and in the UK (among satellite and cable viewers, at least) for the bizarreIt's a Knockout-meets-Enduranceg...
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Masterless samurai Zatoichi comes to a village that is on the brink of gang war. Always on ... more
the run and looking for the next dice game a blind masseur and swordsman soon finds himself a wanted man in town when he protects his landlord's nephew in a sla...
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Masterless samurai Zatoichi comes to a village that is on the brink of gang war. Always on ... more
the run and looking for the next dice game a blind masseur and swordsman soon finds himself a wanted man in town when he protects his landlord's nephew in a sla...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Action/Adventure - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Jack Ging, Marla Heasley, Lance Legault, Melinda Culea, Mr T, Dwight Schultz, Dirk Benedict, George Peppard, Carl Franklin
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 1977 - Action/Adventure - Director: Clint Eastwood - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring:Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney
Advantages: visually sublime, brilliantly presented Disadvantages: may be too violent for some...
...the story and character of Zatoichi is a much loved Japanese legend and has a similar folklore standing to our Robin Hood in England. It is also a popular series of novels by the late Kan Shimozawa, which have been the basis for a steady amount of “Zatoichi” films from 1962 to the present day. So to make a remake of said beloved character must exceed the expectations of the Japanese populace not to mention the highly difficult foreign markets. Not ... ...starring role as well, as Zatoichi himself, a gamble perhaps or even a brief lapse in self judgement but one thing is clear, Kintano triumphs in spades. We open brilliantly with Zatoichi (Kintano) sitting out on a log by the roadside, sunning his face when a group of mercenary/assassins come over the hill. After taking care of business (I’ll leave that to your imagination), Zatoichi continues on his road and ends up in a small town that is being ... more
Hmm, another Samurai film? Damn right and who better to make a samurai film than foreign, cult master “Beat” Takeshi Kintano. You may remember Kitano from eighties, foreign classic “Violent Cop”, frequently hailed as his best, or is it? Kitano’s latest writing/directing effort comes in the form of “Zatoichi” the sixties Japanese TV show about a wandering blind swordsman in 19th Century Japan. Not to mention the story and character of Zatoichi is a much loved Japanese legend and has a similar folklore standing to our Robin Hood in England. It is also a popular series of novels by the late Kan Shimozawa, which have been the basis for a steady amount of “Zatoichi” films from 1962 to the present day. So to make a remake of said beloved character must exceed the expectations of the Japanese populace not to mention the highly difficult foreign markets. Not much pressure then…
For the purposes of Kintano’s reworking, he has decided not only to direct and write the screenplay but to place himself in the starring role as well, as Zatoichi himself, a gamble perhaps or even a brief lapse in self judgement but one thing is clear, Kintano triumphs in spades. We open brilliantly with Zatoichi (Kintano) sitting out on a log by the roadside, sunning his face when a group of mercenary/assassins come over the hill. After taking care of business (I’ll leave that to your imagination), Zatoichi continues on his road and ends up in a small town that is being torn apart by sinister gangs. Meanwhile we have a Ronin (Tabanobu Asano) who also enters town with his wife. With his wife being ill, the Ronin; Hattori Genosuke must find work to pay for medicine. He gets a job working as a bodyguard for one of the local gang bosses.
As Zatoichi befriends simple farm woman Aunt O-Ume (Michiyo Ookusu) and her down on his lucky, gambling nephew, Zatoichi also befriends two ‘Geisha’ (Yuuko Daike & Daigoro Tachibana) who have their own personal vendetta. The individual stories of not just Zatoichi but the nearby characters whom are affected as well pan out without delay as Kitano uses an aggressive yet sublime directing style that begs your attention. With performances to die for, especially from leads Takeshi Kitano (“Violent Cop”) and Tabanobu Asano (“Ichi The Killer”) both putting in amazing turns as the blind masseur and silent ronin respectively.
Supporting performances are also superb no matter how small and seemingly unimportant. From the old man who helps out in the tavern to the fat kid who lives next door who dreams of being a true samurai, every performance is unforgettable. It is however possible fair to say that the two Geisha, one dances while the other plays her instrument (a sitar I think) are the pair who shine out the most in Beat Takeshi’s visually stunning film. Michiyo Ookusu (an actress who’s no stranger to the legend of Zatoichi as she’s appeared in “Zatoichi’s Pilgrimage” back in 1968”) puts in a fine performance as well rounding off a superb cast of virtual no bodies to western audiences.
It is fair to say that “Zatoichi” runs with a kind of action that could easily make you urinate yourself, from the spectacular beginning to its exciting end. The film doesn’t pause for breath as it beautifully crafts jaw dropping set pieces amongst devastatingly simple and poignant subplots. Like other recent huge Asian movie event “Hero”, “Zatoichi” can be accused of possessing a stylised edge but the difference between these films is that Kitano’s offering has a raw human element at its centre making it more emotionally accessible to the general public. Although every single frame from “Hero” could easily hang on your wall, it is a story set in a time that not many of us are familiar with. The founding of China is a dark chapter of history that is rarely plagiarised by Hollywood and discovery channel specials. “Zatoichi” is set in a more familiar 19th Century, Samurai country (before Tom Cruise came along) and deals with more relevant issues to a more modern society, vengeance, crime syndicates and intimidation are a few of the themes as well as honour.
Director/Writer/Actor Takeshi Kitano paces the story expertly never leaving you bored, in fact, he doesn’t give you the chance providing an unusual but well delivered pairing of extreme violence and light hearted, slap-stick relief. This reminds me of a time where films were simple, films that didn’t have to constantly rely on slick scripts, sharp (and hollow) direction and huge name Hollywood talent in order for it to get seen. “Zatoichi’s” selling point is its modern, imaginative approach to an old fashioned fable, using digital camera’s, computer generated blood and having a very omnipresent musical theme to the proceedings. The musical element to the film is perhaps the most original and indeed the most impressive. From four people ploughing a muddy field to a specific rhythm to a whole team of people making music as they build a house by using tools and cutting wood to a melody. It may not sound like much at the moment but when you watch it unfold in front of you, you think to yourself: wow, that’s pretty impressive stuff. The same standard stays with the film throughout, with Kitano displaying his talent as a storyteller as well as his eye for brilliant choreographed action sequences to which his films are famous.
When the film is violent, it is very violent, with swift swordplay being the main cause of death. A lot of blood is spilt but not quite in the same way as we saw in Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill” where it was almost done like the blood is done in Manga Japanimation/comics: exaggerated. In “Zatoichi”, although the blood is… well a lot, there is a certain air of realism to the whole concept making the action more down to earth but still stylised. A disadvantage for such scenes is the blood not looking entirely real due to its digital rendering. Kitano intended that the blood should look like flowers blooming across the screen (apparently anyway), whether or not this works is probably up to viewers individually rather than me telling you what’s what. I think it’s great that people have different opinions on what works and doesn’t work with films. So in short, although stylised in its execution and ultimate presentation and appearance, the violence portrays a pinch of grit, removing us from the realms of unnecessary slickness and substance sabotage. The film also runs with the kind of action that slaps a huge smile on your face of approval making “Zatoichi” one of the most thrilling foreign works to be seen for a while over here in the west.
The second of the film’s style paring is that of moments of light-hearted comic relief usually straight after a scene of copious blood, displaying a rapid change of mood and genre that makes for an intriguing and arguably risking contrast. But it does pay off. Kitano’s film keeps stressing to you that this is all a bit of fun… and it is, to have a light hearted bit of slapstick to make you shrug off a previous scene of intense violence is welcoming indeed and doesn’t leave any stale cinematic aftertaste that other ‘violent for the sake of violent’ films may do. Kitano includes a fair mix of slapstick and subtle humour to balance his scenes of blood and brutality, with raw human feelings and convincing characters as a pivot. Thus; dark undertones and moods are mixed with Kitano’s quirky light comedic relief. All these ingredients are then complimented and boosted with an impressive musical score and sometimes… no score at all. Silence is more powerful than some filmmakers think and sometimes a close up on a character’s face is all you need to tell how he’s feeling.
The score (composed by Keiichi Suzuki) runs with high tension, using the traditional Asian instruments to good effect with elements of poignancy, sympathy and mischief without overuse. Costumes fit and compliment the period well with Zatoichi’s probably being the best using each of the primary colours, blue for his cloak, red for his cane and yellow for his erm… hair. It’s nice to see a film that has been well thought out and executed but not so nice for not to be as recognised as it should. Takeshi Kitano’s screenplay is again solid, reminding once more of the old days of simple, pleasing films. Kitano’s script is delightful yet possess equal amounts of sorrow, which is brilliantly displayed within the film’s subtitles. Yes the filmed is subtitled, unless you’re fluent in Japanese of course. The next time I read someone saying that subtitles are a disadvantage, I might scream (in a manly fashion, I might add). Would you prefer some Jet Li esque dubbing, which not only cuts corners in its translation to fit the footage but makes everyone sound like a pervert, ruining whatever acting quality that was in the original performance?
BOTTOM LINE “Zatoichi” is a swift, dangerous, intuitive, beautiful, wondrous and violent film with some breath taking cinematography mixing stylised portrayals of life with raw emotions and the power of ‘Beat’ Takeshi Kitano’s unique storytelling. Although shockingly violent in places, its balance of culturally universal ‘light moments’ and its touching and intriguing sub-plots make this immensely enjoyable viewing and one of Kitano’s best to date. Highly recommended stuff but not really a film for the occasional cinema-goer who enjoys the more ‘popcorn’ variety of film. By all means if you see it on the shelf somewhere, give it a chance, it may be something you’ll really get into. There is also a traditional/modern tap dance finale for what seems to be for the hell of it, but hey it’s all good fun…
“Fantastic… breathtaking and hugely enjoyable” – Jonathan Ross: Film 2004
“Quite, quite brilliant” – Sunday Times
“Kill Bill? Zatoichi would wipe the floor with him!” – Empire
IF YOU LIKE THIS TRY: Kill Bill Volume 1 – Quentin Tarantino’s revenge epic boasts some exceptionally slick swordplay and almost cartoon style violence, exciting stuff.
Advantages: stunning visual attention to detail, creative editing Disadvantages: erratic variation in style and genre may not be to everyone's taste
...Set in 19th century Japan, Zatoichi [Takeshi Kitano] is a blind masseur who arrives in a remote mountain town. Here he discovers the Ginzo gang are terrorizing the locals with extortionate protection fees, aided by a skilled samurai ronin, Hattori [Tadanobu Asano]. After befriending unlucky gambler Shinkichi [Guadalcanal Taka], he meets two geisha who have sworn to avenge the deaths of the parents. With an inevitable confrontation, Zatoichi must ... ...like his earlier Yakuza efforts. Zatoichi himself is a brilliantly cool and unhurried hero who appears always in total control, played in traditional Kitano Hana-bi style, a subdued personality that suddenly emerges confrontations. The violence occurs in his traditionally short and sudden bursts, often gory but not purely gratuitous, and he also includes a few trademark scenes where the violence occurs outside of the frame. Finally, he weaves in ...
PriyanPhoenix 27.06.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Zatoichi (DVD)
Advantages: Dazzling fight scenes coupled with an absorbing storyline. Disadvantages: None to mention.
Zatoichi is a blindman, a masseur by trade. However, Zatoichi holds a secret. He is a master swordsman, able to strike with surgical precision.
Set in feudal Japan, this remake sees Zatoichi wander to a country village, where he helps a woman farmer carry her crop of vegetable to her home. As a way of thanks, she offers Zatoichi a place to stay. During his stay at her home, he finds out that a criminal gang, the Ginzo gang, has taken over the village, ... ...gambling friend. During this meeting, Zatoichi learns that the two Geishas are on a hunt for the murderers of their family, the Narutos. It comes to light that certain members of the Ginzo gang are the ones responsible for the slaughter of the Naruto family.
As the Ginzo gang tighten their grip over the village, and destroy all opposition, Zatoichi is forced to react. In the final showdown, who will be victorious?
This remake of the famous Zatoichi ...
filmfreak2005 05.08.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Zatoichi (DVD)
Advantages: Great Presentation and plenty of extras Disadvantages: Pricey
...He plays the role of Zatoichi superbly, the blind swordsman/masseur. Zatoichi parades as a masseur earning his living in that fashion (apart from gambling). Kitano portrays him has being a rather humble individual, but behind that shroud of humility lies a deadly swordsman who is a match for any human being.
Zatoichi wanders into a remote village at the mercy of the ruthless Ginzo, a gang leader. He then meets an old woman whose abode he stays in, ... ...There are a few light hearted moments in the film, none more so than the ending, but overall, the tone of the movie is finely balanced, always having a sort of "action/adventure" theme to it. The fight scenes are awesome, the swordplay is fantastic. The blood may seem a little too "CGI" but that was the intention of the director, to reduce the impact of the numerous on screen kills. The movie contains 5.1 sound, and the DVD video quality is great, ...
sghosh 04.07.2006 (12.07.2006)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Zatoichi (DVD)
...The action is spectacular. Zatoichi revels in brutal sword fights, with CGI blood spurting all over the screen. Although very violent, the movie has a surprisingly gentle humour. The characters are believable, aided by fine performances, and give substance to what could otherwise have been a tawdry exercise in bloody excess. Zatoichi is an action movie with a heart.
From start to finish Zatoichi never has a dull moment, and when it's over you'll ...
djlumpy 26.09.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Zatoichi (DVD)
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Advantages: Amusing trickery Disadvantages: Not involved enough, Weak Storyline
the newest revision of Zatoichi (Yes the Special Edition - Steel Tinned one, wow), and so I went with it and I can say that the film is not worth the money I paid for it.
This film would appeal to anyone who is collecting the Zatoichi Collection. If you are thinking you might give it a go because its a samurai film and you enjoy that particulat type of film I wouldn't bother. Its made in 1972 so its very dull picture quality and it lost my attention on more than one occasion.
There are no extras or special features it is literally just the movie on the DVD. This DVD is nothing special ...
Advantages: A great unknown, one of the best of its kind Disadvantages: nothing
kind of disappointing since the film is by far one of the greatest western films on celluloid. The acting is very strong and the costumes are very authentic. A very fine addition to anyone's western collection.
Who's in it? And partial discography
««««««««««««««««««««««««««««
Armand Assante:1492: Conquest of Paradise, Judge Dredd, The Odyssey, American Gangster
Robert Davi: Licence To Kill, Halo 3 {voice of Shipmaster Rtas 'Vadumee}, Stargate Atlantis
Elizabeth Shue: The Karate Kid, Cocktail, Back to the Future 2 & 3, First Born
Adam Baldwin: Independence Day, Wyatt Earp, Predator 2, The Patriot, Full Metal Jacket
Director: Richard Spence
Released:1994, on DVD 2001
Genre: Western
Certificate:18
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Blind Fury: Rutger Hauer {Modern action}
Zatoichi: Beat Takeshi {Samurai ...
tayloa22 02.12.2007 (03.12.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Blind Justice DVD
Limited Edition Film Cell, 3 Art Cards, Booklet, Two Interviews With Takeshi Kitano, Interviews With The Technical Team, Takeshi Kitano Masterclass, Making Of Documentary, Stills And Poster Galleries, Theatrical Trailer, Filmographies
Aspect Ratio
Anamorphic Wide Screen
Sound
DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Dubbing Sound
DTS Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 Japanese, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Japanese
Professional reviews
Review
"...KILL BILL? Zatoichi could wipe the floor with him!" (Empire, )
"...Fantastic... breathtaking and hugely enjoyable..." (Jonathan Ross) (Film 2004, )
"...Lots of bloody, excellently choreographed fight scenes..." (Johnny Vaughn) (The Sun, )
DVD Description
Takeshi Kitano, best known for such gangster films as VIOLENT COP, BOILING POINT, and BROTHER, makes his first period drama with ZATOICHI, an updating of the classic Japanese character portrayed by Shintaro Katsu in movies and television from 1962 to 1989. Zatoichi is a blind samurai who shuffles from town to town, righting wrongs with his remarkable sword hidden within his cane. He is also a masseuse who likes to gamble. Kitano serves as director, writer, co-editor, and star of the film, playing the protagonist under his acting name, Beat Takeshi. This version of Zatoichi, based on the stories of Kan Shimozawa, is more violent than the earlier series, as Kitano strives to make it more realistic. He has also infused a clever sense of humour, while cinematographer Katsumi Yanagishima adds beautiful depth of field to many scenes. When Zatoichi arrives in a small town, he unknowingly walks into a classic tale of revenge, as two women plot to kill the men who murdered their family. As Zatoichi becomes more involved, an eventual showdown with young samurai Hattori (Tadanobu Asano, who excelled in Takashi Miike's very violent ICHI THE KILLER) is inevitable. ZATOICHI is thrilling filmmaking at its best, an endlessly entertaining samurai epic from a man who fully understands the genre and is not afraid to take it to the next level.
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