Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival. Oct 09, 2012 the blind masseur and former samurai zatoichi takeshi kitano is drifting and arrives in a small village dominated by three tyrannical lords, inosuke ginzo ittoku kishibe, tashichi ogi saburo. Zatoichi begins life as a straightup samurai movie, evolves into a slapstick comedy and ends as a. His recent film was zatoichi, the blind swordsman 2003, a remake, a homage, and a wry take on one of the most popular series of films from japan in the 1960s and 1970s.
Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. An expert entry in the online encyclopedia wikipedia says he has also. Beat takeshi kitano directs and plays the title role in this tribute to the wildly popular blind swordsman of japanese cinema who was the hero of more than 20 movies and a television series from. This film is a shebang, a fullscale show, complete with everything you. Seeing kitanos film, i was only aware of one other zatoichi film, not the series. The final 1989 film, zatoichi the blind swordsman is missing, possibly due to rights issues, as is the television series. Turkey 10 october 2004 istanbul filmoctober film week poland november 2004 camerimage film festival indonesia 4 december 2004 jakarta international film festival turkey 17 december 2004. Shintaro katsu portrays the legendary zatoichi, a blind masseur who lives by the yakuza code and answers his foes with a deadly cane sword. The blind swordsman 9 bluray deluxe set the colossally popular zatoichi films make up the longestrunning action series in japanese history and created one of the screens great heroes. Zatoichi is available to watch and stream, buy on demand at amazon, vudu online. Does not include remakes and other similarly related films, just the original film series. Kitano is known here in the states primarily for his dark yakuza pictures violent cop, sonatine, fireworks, brother, but he is also a comedian as beat takeshi, which is the name he performs under.
Here a blind swordsman goes to a small town controlled by a ruthless gang and abuses the people there. Zatoichi wanders into a town run by sinister gangs and a powerful samurai. Zatoichi begins life as a straightup samurai movie, evolves into a slapstick comedy and ends as a rousing, tapdancing musical. They release takeshi kitanos blind swordsman epic, zatoichi, this summer uncut and subtitled. Marcel yancy read zatoichi the blind swordsman collection 2 ebooks online. Director takeshi kitano takes on japanese cinematic legend zatoichi. He has a code, but enforces it according to his own rules. Zatoichi finds himself in a small village a village caught in a gang war where he befriends a farmer and her nephew. The story of the blind swordsman zatoichi should be well known to most aficionados of japanese cinema. Zatoichi, zatoichi is a fictional character featured in one of japans longestrunning series of films and a television series that are both set during the late edo period 1830s and 1840s. The blind swordsman new tale of zatoichi english subtitled. Surprisingly, i found out there were twentyfive more zatoichi films, all starring. Zatoichi takeshi kitano, a blind, nomadic samurai whose sword has made him a hero and whose courage has made him a legend.
The blind swordsman there is a off sale on this right now. Zatoichi was one of the classic period piece franchises in 1960s70s japanese cinema with over 20 releases and a tv series. Chambara entertainmentvideo action of honolulu held the original vhs release rights to the zatoichi film series numbers 120, though it only released some of them. Read zatoichi the blind swordsman collection 2 ebooks online. In an empire ruled by fear, the peoples only hope is the ultimate weapon. Download zatoichi the blind swordsman vol 1 pdf online. Zatoichi is the updated version of cult japanese show some decades back. Zatoichi takeshi kitano a blind, nomadic samurai whose sword has made. Since so many older films were being remade in the 2000s it was only natural that. It was rereleased and retitled darkness is his ally in 2004. The blind swordsman box set contains digitally restored versions of all 25 original zatoichi films made between 1962 and 1973 with new english subtitle translations, plus a book featuring essays, short stories, and 25 new illustrations. Zatoichi is a masterfullymade, highly entertaining film.
And then there is the style of the movie, and what only can be called its. Takeshi kitano tadanobu asano michiyo ohkusu 2004 a master swordsman beat takeshi battles a formidable ronin tadanobu asano and a deadly clan terrorizing villagers. Zatoichi is a 2003 japanese samurai dramaaction film, directed, written, coedited by and starring takeshi kitano beat takeshi in his 11th directorial venture. Kitano is known here in the states primarily for his dark yakuza pictures violent cop, sonatine, fireworks, brother, but he is also a comedian as beat takeshi, which is the name he performs under, author and television personality in his. A list of the zatoichi films in chronological order. The small town of gunnison, colorado becomes a war zone between two of the deadliest extraterrestrial life formsthe alien and the predator. Mar 19, 2004 set in the 19th century, the film has kitano himself as the blind masseur and itinerant wiseguywarrior zatoichi, a legendary character familiar in japan from tv specials and movies starring. The character, a blind masseur and blademaster, was created by novelist kan shimozawa. Since so many older films were being remade in the 2000s it was only natural that someone would do zatoichi. Blind swordsmans vengeance is the thirteenth film in the series. Zatoichi is a criticallyacclaimed recent entry in a decadeslong japanese media franchise, but i regrettably found it to be rather poor, with limp, meandering pacing and fun yet uninteresting. Sep 06, 2003 zatoichi is the updated version of cult japanese show some decades back. Primarily for my own reference as i make my way through the films but may be useful to others also taking the journey along with the blind masseur.
Shintaro katsu portrays the legendary zatoichi, a blind masseur who lives by the yakuza code and answers his foes with a deadly cane. But behind his humble facade, zatoichi is a master swordsman, gifted with lightningfast draw and strokes of breathtaking precision. Determined to help the desperate residents of a village, zatoichi seeks justice through revenge. Zatoichi takeshi kitano a blind, nomadic samurai whose sword has made him.
However, behind this humble facade, he is a master sw. Nov 28, 20 trailer for the massive 25film boxset, zatoichi. An ample selection of the movies is available in subtitled dvd versions from home vision entertainment. Zatoichi, zatoichi is a 2003 japanese samurai dramaaction film, directed, written, coedited by and starring takeshi kitano beat takeshi in his 11th directorial venture. The blind masseur swordsman zatoichi stumbles upon a lone widow when he comes walking in the countryside. Blind swordsman s vengeance is the thirteenth film in the series. The iconic creatures from two of the scariest film franchises in movie history wage their most brutal battle everin our own backyard. Set in the age of rouge samurai, shintaro katsu stars as ichi, a blind masseur, gambler, gangster, lady charmer, deadly swordsman, and all around kindhearted scoundrel. I was thrilled when i heard that takeshi kitano of all people would be making a remake of the classic series. Zatoichi by director takeshi kitano featuring himself in the classic role.
Kitano reviving zatoichi is akin to clint eastwood deciding to take over as the lone ranger, and the disparity between the directors singular vision and the demands of the genre often throw his the blind swordsman. As we are about to see though, that was just the tip of the iceberg. Ichi is a blind masseuse ambling from town to town until some injustice or threat cause him to reveal his incomparable swordplay and samuraistyled sense of honor. He plays, as usual, a man with an impassive face, few words, and sudden bursts of action that end in a few seconds. The eastwood of japan, takeshi kitano, tackles one of japan. Zatoichi begins life as a straightup samurai movie, evolves into a. Blind zatoichi makes his living by gambling and giving massages. There he meets many characters like the siblings on a mission, a samurai who is hired by the gang, as well as an unlucky gambler who befriends the blind swordsman. Kitano throws most of his signature directorial style out the window, moving the camera and cutting like he. Both of these films include bonus dvd features, including an introduction to sonatine by quentin. The blind swordsman zatoichi is to japanese cinema what james bond is to american cinema.
Sep 06, 2003 blind zatoichi makes his living by gambling and giving massages. Zatoichi, zatoichi released in the us as the blind swordsman. The blind swordsman drops you right into the action. A version of this article appears in print on july 23, 2004, section e, page 9 of. Zatoichi you are looking for exciting, humorous and atmospheric movies about with samurai, martial arts, geisha, one man army, violence, gang and good versus evil themes of action, comedy and crime genre shot in japan. Zatoichi in us theaters july 23, 2004 starring takeshi kitano, michiyo ogusu, taka gatarukanaru, yuko daike. The blind masseurswordsman zatoichi stumbles upon a lone widow when he comes walking in the countryside. Little pleasures, like steaming hot pie pizza or rhubarb, a good comic book, a fine beer, killer klowns, spaghetti westerns or even a giant robot flick. Zatoichi embodies the kinds of contradictory elements that make takeshi kitano japans most intriguing contemporary actordirector. Ichi is a blind masseuse ambling from town to town until some injustice or threat cause him to reveal his. The blind swordsman, a box set from the criterion collection, assembles the 25 films starring shintaro katsu as a samurai. However, behind this humble facade, he is a master swordsman gifted with a lightningfast draw and breathtaking precision. This film is a shebang, a fullscale show, complete with everything you would happily pay to. Zatoichi begins life as a straightup samurai movie.
Kitano throws most of his signature directorial style out the window, moving the camera and cutting like he never has before. Set in the 19th century, the film has kitano himself as the blind masseur and itinerant wiseguywarrior zatoichi, a legendary character familiar in japan from tv specials and movies starring. Zatoichi is a 19th century blind nomad who makes his living as a gambler and masseur. Criterion delivers the first 25films of the zatoichi series together for the first time ever on home video in north america on dvd and bluray in this massive 27disc box set. Sep 30, 2011 beat takeshi kitano directs and plays the title role in this tribute to the wildly popular blind swordsman of japanese cinema who was the hero of more than 20 movies and a television series from.
A sightless samurai in 19thcentury japan helps two sisters get revenge on the gang that murdered their parents. Inventive and bold, this film shines with pristine picture and theaterquality sound on bluray disc. Before kitanos movie there were 26 more and a tv series consisting of. Introduced in the early 1960s, zatoichi is now an archetypal character in japanese film, inspiring dozens of films and numerous television shows. And theres really only one blind samurai worth his salt. Zatoichi the film is a great take on the decades old property of a masterful blind swordsman in 19th century japan who travels the land helping under the guise of a masseur.
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