With an epic film like "Hero" being released in theaters this past year, it isn't surprising that a film like "The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi" remained relatively unknown to fans of martial arts/samurai cinema. Where "Hero" exceeds at being an epic, "Zatoichi" excels at being a more personal and traditional sword-fighting narrative.
For those unfamiliar with the character of Zatoichi, he has been a popular icon in Japanese cinema that spawned 26 theatrical films. The character of Zatoichi has always been depicted as a wandering swordsman who poses as a masseuse with one great catch - he's blind! Takeshi Kitano (aka Beat Takeshi) not only directs the 27th installment in this classic series, but also stars as the blind swordsman himself.
The story behind this installment places Zatoichi on a journey which leads him to a local Japanese village where he hopes to find some relaxation. His rest is quickly disrupted however when he learns that the village is full of corrupt officials, master-less samurai and yakuza gangsters who all cause trouble for the local villagers. Zatoichi, accompanied by two geishas and a few other courageous citizens, take justice into their own hands and seek to rid the village of corruption.
"The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi" is a wonderful little Japanese gem of new age samurai cinema. With the Japanese film industry being nowhere near the golden age it possessed with such directorial geniuses as Akira Kurosawa and Yasujiro Ozu, Takeshi Kitano has taken the flag and ran with it to become one of Japan's top directors today. Kitano's take on Zatoichi remains a faithful one to the character, and also surprisingly is very original considering it's the 27th installment in the hero's journey. The film contains a great blend of action, dialogue and comedy which helps keep the pacing of the story steady. The fight scenes are greatly choreographed and entertaining to watch with exception to the over-exaggerated amount of CG blood effects which make some deaths seem almost comical. Most importantly, Kitano once again places his trademark stamps of stylized violence and film-as-art on his most recent directorial achievement.
While the extras might seem a bit bare-bones for this release, a Behind-the-Scenes Special and interviews with various crew members, this is made up for by including one of Kitano's earlier films, "Sonatine." Having only been available previously on hard-to-find VHS, "Sonatine" has been highly praised by director Quentin Tarantino and was actually released onto video via Tarantino's Rolling Thunder Pictures distribution label. "Sonatine" is an excellent way to be introduced to Kitano's work which usually deals with the life of yakuza gangsters.
"The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi" falls into recommended viewing for anyone who enjoys a great samurai film. With Kitano recently announcing plans to do a sequel, one can surely expect to see the legacy and name of Zatoichi carried on for many more generations of Japanese cinema.
