The Japanese contribution to the martial arts movie collection released on September 15th by Miramax is The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi.
The Zatoichi character featured in a very long running series of movies that started in the 1960s and ran through to the eighties with over 25 movies produced.
Throughout these films the nomadic swordsman would wander from village to village, often helping the less fortunate and dispatching the criminal element.
The character was then re-introduced for the new century with this Zatoichi movie from 2003.
The movie is indeed a stark contrast to the Chinese movies in the collection.
While the Chinese films tend to hide the results of the violence, Zatoichi often graphically presents the severed limbs and blood that results from the swordsman’s deadly blows.
While extended sword play sequences a played out in the Hero movie, Zatoichi battles are often over almost before they have begun, with a single swift blow dispatching the enemy.
Such is the way of the samurai.
The basic storyline of the new Zatoichi movie is more or less the same as the traditional ones.
Zatoichi arrives at a new village, taking the role of an unassuming masseur, and is taken in by a farming woman and her son.
When it becom
fef
es clear that the village is overun with gangs and corruption, Zatoichi lends a hand to help rid the town of the criminal element.
On the other side, the local crime boss has hired a rogue ronin, who needs money to save his ailing wife, to protect his interests.
Can the blind swordsman prevail against such odds? This is the stuff of Zatoichi.
The cast includes Takeshi Kitano, Tadanobu Asano, Michiyo Ookusu, Gadarukanaru Taka, Daigorô Tachibana, Yûko Daike, Geisha Okinu Naruto and Yui Natsukawa.
Zatoichi was directed by Takeshi Kitano, a popular actor/director in Japan who also plays the lead in the film.
The movie has had a fairly good critical response, with an IMDb score of 7.6/10.
Zatoichi also earned $1.1M at the US box office.
The video on the disc is an AVC 1080p encode at 36.5 Mbps, and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1.
Check out the details page for Zatoichi to see full resolution PNG screen captures taken directly from the disc.
The main audio is lossless DTS-HD Master Audio with 5.1 channels – 24 bits resolution at 48 kHz.
The disc is a dual layer BD50, with 44.7 GB used and is coded for All Regions.
On the special features side, there is a behind the scenes special which covers the production of the movie and exclusive interviews with crew.
Zatoichi is a good choice for fans of the samurai movies and it is great to see a Blu-ray release from Buena Vista Home Entertainment for this niche genre.
The retail price is $39.99 and you can get it at Amazon for $25.99, saving 35%!
Extras:
Behind the Scenes Special
Exclusive Interviews with Crew
Synopsis:
Inventive and bold, this film shines with pristine picture and theater-quality sound on Blu-ray Disc. In an empire ruled by fear, the people’s only hope is the ultimate weapon: Zatoichi (Takeshi Kitano) — a blind, nomadic samurai whose sword has made him a hero and whose courage has made him a legend. Determined to help the desperate residents of a village, Zatoichi seeks justice through revenge. It’s a wildly entertaining film that’s even more brilliant in Blu-ray High Definition.
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