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Zatoichi:
The Blind Swordsman |
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Year:
2003
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Rated:
R
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Runtime:
116 mins
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Starring:
Takeshi Kitano, Michiyo Ookusu, Gadarukanaru Taka,
Daigorô Tachibana, Yuuko Daike, Tadanobu Asano, Yui Natsukawa,
Ittoku Kishibe, Saburo Ishikura |
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Directed
by: Takeshi Kitano |
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Written
by: Takeshi Kitano |
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Based
on the novels by:
Kan Shimozawa |
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Music
by: Keiichi Suzuki |
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Movie
Studio: Miramax |
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Review |
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The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi is about the
legendary blind samurai who wanders from village to village
causing trouble to gangsters and bandits. It is a film
that is a rare remake that is as a good as the original. It
is not better than the original because in director Takeshi
Kitano’s (Beat Takeshi as he’s also known by) vision,
Zatoichi is more of an anti-hero, than a protector of the
helpless. This little difference definitely angers the
purists who have seen the 30 Japanese sequels and television
series of Zatoichi. The remake does expand on the ideas that
were in the other Zatoichi films like the musical numbers
and the mandatory festival at the end. |
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The plot of Zatoichi is the same as Sergio
Leone’s western epic, “The Good, Bad, and The Ugly.” Good is
Zatoichi, Bad is the ronin for hire, and Ugly is the two
wandering geishas. Keep your eye on one of the geishas. I
spotted the upcoming surprise right away. If you can spot
it, it’s going to save you a lot of trouble at the clubs.
All three are searching some type of closure in their lives
and revenge will give it to them the harshest way possible.
In this remake, the swordfights are not as stylistic like in
Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill.” Director Takeshi Kitano
(actor in Battle Royale) is faithful to the quick and bloody
swordfights that occurred in past samurai movies. In
“Zatoichi Challenged,” in one long shot, the blind swordsman
is surrounded by 20 assassins. The blind swordsman moves to
the left, right while slashing back and forth, stops moving,
and then 10 of those assassins fall dead to the floor. There are many swordfights in this remake but the best one
has to be between Zatoichi and the Ronin. The Zatoichi
samurai films have had a major influence in Hollywood films
and comic books. Stan Lee probably saw one of those films
and was inspired to make Daredevil. The American version of
Zatoichi is “Blind Fury” starring Rutger Hauer. Robert
Rodriguez was inspired by the blind masseuse being led by a
boy in “Zatoichi Challenged” which led to Johnny Depp’s part
in “Once Upon A Time in Mexico.” In “Kill Bill Vol.1,” Uma
Thurman has a swordfight with Lucy Lui in the snow which is
reminiscent of the climatic battle in “Zatoichi Challenged.”
Takeshi Kitano directs and stars in one of the most
crowd-pleasing and action-packed film that continues the
Zatoichi legacy.
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by Christian De Matteo
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DVD
A Samurai DVD
collector's MUST HAVE |
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Commentary about The Blind
Swordsman: Zatochi
by Christian De Matteo
Well, I was so blown away by Zaitochi last
night, that I decided to do some research about
the whole thing. It didn't take me long, because
Ebert, film enthusiast that he is, managed to
give a great deal of the entire history in his
review, as well as give a whole lot of info
about the film itself, such as the fact that
Zaitochi was played by the writer/director who
is an amazing individual.
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First, it turns out a massuer is exactly what I
thought it might be but figured I was
riduculously and ludicrously wrong:
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Dictionary.com
- A man who gives massages
professionally.
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That was my first guess, but I thought I was
totally wrong.
That explains the fake sex scene that was really
a massage.
Next, And you really ougthta read the whole
thing, you'll find it facinating.
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DVD
A Samurai DVD collector's MUST HAVE |
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Here's the link:
This is a great review/article and explains a
whole lot. I'd love it if he had done the
commentary track on the DVD like he did on Dark
City.
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-sûr
,
m
-)
