Zatoichi is a blind masseur swordsman-yakuza created by novelist Kan Shimozawa, whose written works spawned a film series of 20+ films and few reboots, as well as a TV series. Played by Shintaro Katsu (from Lone Wolf and Cub and Tenchu!), the principal character Ichi ("zato" is a title, signifying a lower-ranking blind man) holds the entire chanbara series on his back. This particular movie was directed by cult chanbara director Kenji Misumi.
The Tale of Zatoichi, although propagated as an action hack-and-slash film, is more of a meditative, talky character-driven jidaigeki gangster drama which reveals a bit of Ichi's past and deals with his sense of justice and hatred of the ruthless gangster underworld to which he belongs himself. He befriends a sick swordsman from the neighboring yakuza clan, but as the tensions between the two clans mount he's forced to fight his friend. There's also a subplot about this asshole who discarded his pregnant lover, leading to her suicide. This guy also has a sister who falls in love with Ichi, but their romance doesn't last long because of his unsteady lifestyle.
This movie is pretty entertaining and has an easy enough plot to follow. The characters are well-written and there's no unnecessary scenes; short, sweet and to the point. It also sports an interesting soundtrack in which traditional music and orchestral pieces collide.
Two things I disliked about it are the dim lighting which makes it hard to distinguish what's going on in several scenes, and uninspired action scenes which pop up at the end. It's just random gangsters going all-out on each other, each time obviously missing each other with their katanas.
The first two films in the series are B&W, so we'll see how the second movie compares. The highlight so far is Ichi cutting a thrown candle vertically in two equal pieces, without extinguishing it.
The Tale of Zatoichi, although propagated as an action hack-and-slash film, is more of a meditative, talky character-driven jidaigeki gangster drama which reveals a bit of Ichi's past and deals with his sense of justice and hatred of the ruthless gangster underworld to which he belongs himself. He befriends a sick swordsman from the neighboring yakuza clan, but as the tensions between the two clans mount he's forced to fight his friend. There's also a subplot about this asshole who discarded his pregnant lover, leading to her suicide. This guy also has a sister who falls in love with Ichi, but their romance doesn't last long because of his unsteady lifestyle.
This movie is pretty entertaining and has an easy enough plot to follow. The characters are well-written and there's no unnecessary scenes; short, sweet and to the point. It also sports an interesting soundtrack in which traditional music and orchestral pieces collide.
Two things I disliked about it are the dim lighting which makes it hard to distinguish what's going on in several scenes, and uninspired action scenes which pop up at the end. It's just random gangsters going all-out on each other, each time obviously missing each other with their katanas.
The first two films in the series are B&W, so we'll see how the second movie compares. The highlight so far is Ichi cutting a thrown candle vertically in two equal pieces, without extinguishing it.