It all ends in the bloody gang war that both Zatoichi and Hirate had hoped to avoid, but destiny decrees otherwise. One of the very best in the Zatoichi franchsie emphasizing the suffering of the common people, Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2020. What audiences loved the most was the character of Zatoichi himself, so the second film makes him central to every aspect of the plot and reveals much more of his history. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in. His opponent, Asagoro, assumes the position of champion of the peasants, and takes it upon himself to pay off their debts. You heard me right: blind swordsman. Shintaro Katsu began his career in entertainment as a shamisen player. Comment by Matthew - January 20, 2021 7:31 pm, Comment by Terry - January 21, 2021 6:53 pm. If you like Kung Fu movies you won't regret getting this. Karriera. Blind masseur with hidden sword cane who has defeated the greatest evil samurai and been admired by the good ones. Second, it was lucky in its director: Kenji Misumi was a visual master who’d been trained by the great Teinosuke Kinugasa (Gate of Hell), so good that he was often offered prestige dramas by the studio but he just preferred to make action films. There is a sense of tragedy in it, since Zatoichi can never seem to escape violence even though he just wants to live peacefully. Zatoichi's Conspiracy (新座頭市物語・笠間の血祭り, Shin Zatōichi monogatari: Kasama no chimatsuri?, lit. 1). I’ve seen most of the films and part of the appeal for me was the glimpse it gave of a Japan away from the battlefields and the formal courts, a look at a world of people who weren’t noblemen or samurai. Kojiro's Turning Swallow Cut - KATSU Shintaro - 1961 Remastered: Zatoichi TV - Complete Season 4 TV Series - Remastered: The Homeless - Ken Takakura and Shintaro Katsu - 1974 Remastered: Zatoichi TV Series - Season 4 Vol.9 - Remastered: Yakuza Solider #1 - 1965 Remastered: The Two Musashis - ICHIKAWA Raizo, KATSU Shintaro - 1960 Remastered Everyone should watch at least one Zatoichi film or show, and a great place to start is that 3rd film (New Tale of Zatoichi)as Mr. Ellsworth suggests. Katsu Shintaro, known in the West as Shintaro Katsu, is the enormously talented actor who gave Zatoichi life. Afterward Otane awaits Zatoichi on the highway out of Iioka to pledge her love to him, but the blind yakuza knows he’s unworthy of her and leaves by a side road, traveling ever onward to the next town. Sintaro Katsu was an outrageously individualistic actor who became a living legend playing a blind master swordsman, Zatoichi. Comment by John E. Boyle - January 20, 2021 4:43 pm. Free shipping . Shintaro Katsu Zatoichi Wallpapers Zatoichi Wallpaper Zatoichi Hulu Wallpaper Yojimbo Zatoichi Wallpaper Zatoichi Fugitive Wallpaper Zatoichi Wallpaper Anime Zatoichi Wallpaper Black and White. Adored by movie theatre audiences throughout the 1960s, the fabled swordsman found just as many fans when he appeared […] Blind sword / kung fu master... what's not to like? His website is Swashbucklingadventure.net. Zatoichi comes to a town which has faced several years of bad crops. It is by far the worst DVD I have ever seen in terms of the video quality. Part of me always wondered how on earth a blind man could use a sword. 15 - Zatoichi's Cane Sword, Zatoichi the Blind Swordsman, Vol. All rights reserved. While Shintaro Katsu has become famous for playing Zatoichi, it was the role of another blind man which established him as a notable character actor. Rating: *****Origin: Japan, 1963Director: Tokuzo TanakaSource: Criterion DVD. Third and most important, it was lucky in its lead actor: Shintaro Katsu had played character and lead roles in a number of films for Daiei, but his portrayal of the tough but vulnerable blind swordsman Zatoichi struck a chord with audiences in Japan and eventually around the world. Cheap knockoff of original movie zatoichi outlaw, Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2012. Please try again. Charming and Dangerous: Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Louis Hayward, Everyman with a Sword (Part 1 of 2), Louis Hayward, Everyman with a Sword (Part 2 of 2). Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 25, 2016, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 16, 2018, Met all expectations brilliant as other six zatoichi films. With Shintarô Katsu, Kanako Higuchi, Takanori Jinnai, Ryûtarô Gan. Older, wiser but still a wandering loner, the blind, peace-loving masseur Ichi seeks a peaceful life in a rural village. I'm extremely flabbergasted by the quality of this DVD. And always, when he isn’t sniffing the plum blossoms or guzzling sake, Zatoichi is listening from the shadows. Its the first film in color, Shintaro Katsu has hit his stride in his role of a lifetime and the sword fighting is superb. But Banno, down on his luck, plans to marry Yayoi to a wealthy samurai lord and has no patience for her romantic dreams about Ichi. Shintaro Katsu was the kind of star who could only emerge from "studios". A genuine fencing master, singer, musician (he invented rap music in the mid-1960s), composer, writer, director, producer, he did it all. It also marked the first movie made by Katsu Productions, the company of the star of the series Katsu Shintaro. 1963. The third film, in 1963, was the first to be filmed in color. Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2013. The blind masseur Zatoichi (Shintaro Katsu) wanders through Japan looking to ply his trade. Star Shintaro Katsu sits in the director’s chair for this psychedelic and unremittingly bleak entry in the Zatoichi series, which is unlike any other in its grind-house grimness. Zatoichi (Shintaro Katsu), wandering the highways, meets an itinerant musician from his hometown of Kasama and decides to return to his old environs. Before the true motives of these bosses are revealed, many lives have been lost and ruined, and the good earth has consume blood yet again. This originally minor character was developed for the screen by Daiei Film and actor Shintaro Katsu, who created the screen version. But the response to The Tale of Zatoichi was so positive that Daiei Motion Pictures rushed out this sequel to take advantage of it before the audience could forget and move on. For the first time since 1973, Shintaro Katsu returns as Zatoichi to the big screen (although since then he had starred as him in the TV series). In contrast to Zatoichi, however, this blind man is a mean-spirited and vile human being not shying away from murder to further his ambitions to become the new head priest of the blind community. In the town of Iioka, Zatoichi once more encounters Otane (Mazayo Banri), who is now engaged to an honest carpenter, but who risks her life to warn Zatoichi of the approach of Kanbei’s yakuza. Votes: 1,135 Zatoichi humbly asks if he can join the game and the thugs agree, eager to fleece the blind man of his money. And in fact, the masseur immediately loses half his coins to the cheating crooks, but then uses sleight of hand to win the next throw and get all his money back, doubled. Wednesday, January 20th, 2021 | Posted by Lawrence Ellsworth. Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2015. Katsu (pronounced "Katz" was an accomplished master of entertainment. It also marked the first movie made by Katsu Productions, the company of the star of the series Katsu Shintaro. The original series of 26 films featured Shintaro Katsu as Zatoichi. We learn as the story plays out: a gang war is imminent between the yakuza of Iioka and those of the neighboring town of Sasagawa, and the Iioka boss wants Zatoichi on his side to balance out the down-on-his-luck samurai Hirate (Shigeru Amachi) who’s been hired by Sasagawa. Director Tokuzo Tanaka, who’d been an assistant director to Kurosawa, tells this tangled tale with complete clarity and an eye for composition and movement. Both are set during the late Edo period. Zatoichi is back—and in color! Another Cinema of Swords from Lawrence Ellsworth! That said I always liked the Zatoichi series. He played the role of blind masseur Zatoichi in a series of films in 25 movies between 1962 and 1973, starred and directed a 26th in 1989 and played the role in four seasons of a spin-off television series. And then his blind man’s cane pulls apart to reveal the straight sword blade hidden inside, and Zatoichi’s preternaturally sharp senses enable him to dodge blows and slay attackers with blindingly quick short slashes. Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2017. These were mostly disposable and forgettable, and most have been duly forgotten. From Zatoichi’s musings, we learn that what set him on his life of wandering was the loss of the love of his life, a woman named Ochiyo, who was stolen from him by a man they both despised. Yokosuka Navy Prison - Shintaro Katsu - 1973 Remastered: Kojiro's Turning Swallow Cut - KATSU Shintaro - 1961 Remastered: Zatoichi TV - Complete Season 4 TV Series - Remastered: The Homeless - Ken Takakura and Shintaro Katsu - 1974 Remastered: Zatoichi TV Series - Season 4 Vol.9 - Remastered: Yakuza Solider #1 - 1965 Remastered He now lives in Dublin, Ireland where he works as a consultant for narrative-based video games. This mystery is solved by the return of local boss, who welcomes Zatoichi as an old acquaintance and warns his men that the blind man is actually an accomplished swordsman. When he escapes their samurai, the clan hires Kanbei, the local yakuza boss, to track Zatoichi down and kill him, and Kanbei enlists the aid of his neighbor Sukegoro, the surviving boss from the first film, who has a score to settle. Also zatoichi if we’re going to mention zero supernatural elements. The final fight between Zatoichi and the Tengu gang is superb, easily the best swordplay in the series so far, and it’s followed by a climactic iaijutsu duel that compares well to the one at the end of Sanjuro. Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2011. A total of 26 … Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2019. Zatoichi is a sightless masseur (massage was one of the few careers open to the blind in samurai-era Japan) who travels in the lowest levels of Japanese society among the yakuza, or organized crime gangs. Alfrex Samurai series 1/6 SHINTARO KATSU Zatoichi Action Figure From Japan F/S. Unable to add item to List. Please try again. Played most famously by Shintaro Katsu. He possessed all the dreams that studios could give him and then gave them to us, and in such splendid abundance that those outside the studio could not help but confuse the dreams with reality. The sword master takes Zatoichi home where he meets Banno’s younger sister Yayoi (Mikiko Tsubouchi), who has been waiting for Ichi, as she calls him, to return for four years. After being released from jail on charges of petty theft, Ichi finds himself caught between two rival bands of yakuza, one of whom has obtained a cache of guns from crooked policemen. A wanderer tapping his way with a cane, he arrives in the town of Iioka and goes directly to the town’s yakuza gambling den, where the local tough guys are wagering at dice. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. Other wallpapers. I like it. He does find an ally where he’d expected only an enemy, but then is betrayed by someone he thought he could trust. He switched to acting because he noticed it was better paid. Zatoichi The Outlaw was the 16th film in the franchise released in 1967. With the yakuza he alternates between oily humility and curt bluster, demanding respect but according it only when he must. This was a movie I did not have. Zatoichi explains that as a blind man among the yakuza, he’d suffered so much scorn that he took up the sword because that was the only thing that would compel their respect—but use of it has only made him more of an outcast and stained him with blood he can never wash clean. The twenty-fifth film was made in 1973 followed by a hiatus of 16 years until Katsu's last … Director: Kenji Misumi | Stars: Shintarô Katsu, Jûshirô Konoe, Miwa Takada, Yukiji Asaoka. Zatoichi (Shintaro Katsu), wandering the highways, meets an itinerant musician from his hometown of Kasama and decides to return to his old environs. He also has a showdown with the criminal Yoshiro, and this time there’s a clear set-up for a subsequent film, as Yoshiro reveals a secret dear to Zatoichi’s heart. It resembles something that might be recorded in a darkened movie theater with a cheap video non HD recorder. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. It is only 1% of the quality of the animeigo version which I thought I was buying. Yasuhiko’s revenge is forestalled by an interruption from a samurai named Banno (Seizaburo Kawazu), the sword master who’d taught Zatoichi how to fight. When the occupation was lifted in 1952, the chambara, or swordplay action films, gradually returned, and by the late Fifties they made up a significant portion of the movies and TV shows made for Japanese domestic consumption. The previous installments in the Cinema of Swords are: Olivia de Havilland — First Queen of the SwashbucklersGoofballs in Harem PantsDisney’s Early Swashbucklers‘50s Vikings – Havoc in Horned HelmsLaughing CavaliersCharming and Dangerous: Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.Eleven Samurai: Early Chambara ClassicsBeyond Captain Blood: Three by Sabatini3 Musketeers + 1 Long NoseLouis Hayward, Everyman with a Sword (Part 1 of 2)Days of Technicolor KnightsLouis Hayward, Everyman with a Sword (Part 2 of 2)Laurence Olivier, Swashbuckler?Tony Curtis Goes YondaThe 7th Voyage and Its ChildrenThe Good, the Bad, and MifuneThe First British InvasionWholesome Buccaneers (Pt. After an artist is threatened by the yakuza into creating valuable but highly illegal pornography, the law aims to execute him. Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. I enjoyed it and will enjoy it again and again in the future. Shintaro Katsu stars in this classic samurai television series filled with martial arts action. He makes it as far as neighboring Shimodate where he’s accosted by Yasuhiko (Fujio Suga), brother of that Boss Kanbei whom Zatoichi had slain in the previous installment. Rating: *****Origin: Japan, 1962Director: Kenji MisumiSource: Criterion DVD. And of course, the swordplay. Based on a story by the novelist Kan Shimozawa, The Tale of Zatoichi was just one more minor chambara feature, but Shintaro Katsu’s portrayal of the blind swordsman was surprisingly popular and the Zatoichi films went on to become the longest running chambara series of all, running to 25 feature films and four seasons as a TV series. But wherever he goes, trouble follows and he must use his legendary, lightning sword skills to dispatch evildoers and defend justiceGeneral TV series synopsis: Shintaro Katsu stars in this classic samurai television series filled with martial arts action. If you’d prefer to skip the two earlier black-and-white entries, you could easily start the Zatoichi series here. Nonetheless, he’s a character you’ll never forget. However, while away from the gang, Zatoichi strikes up an unlikely friendship with Hirate while they’re both fishing in a local lake. Elements of the Zatoichi films showed up later in the Lone Wolf & Cub series, which in turn helped inspire The Mandalorian, so these films are relevant even today. Zatoichi, whipsawed between love and fate! But how can that be? Zatoichi is a fictional character featured in one of Japan's longest-running series of films, as well as a television series. While the peasants starve, one of the Oyabun, Tomizo, forces them to continue to gamble their way into destitution. The new trouble comes when Zatoichi is engaged in his capacity as a masseur to tend to a samurai lord; he notices that the lord’s wits are badly addled, a fact the clan considers a closely guarded secret, so they decide to have Zatoichi killed. Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. That aired from 1974 to 1979. To the failed samurai, whom he senses is a gentle man of honor with a deadly disease, Zatoichi offers unconditional friendship. He was the son of kabuki performer Katsutoji Kineya (Kineya Katsutōji) who was renowned for his nagauta and shamisen skills, and younger brother of actor Tomisaburo Wakayama (Wakayama Tomisaburō). He puts together bits and pieces of overheard conversations until he understands all the intrigues, romantic, political, and criminal, of Iioka and Sasagawa, always with the aim of avoiding trouble, but inevitably coming to the aid of the innocent and helpless. From the point in the series we see more dismemberment and red gushing sword strikes... That being a minimal distraction in the folds of the luah story telling. Zatoichi, having been honor bound to protect the man and his family, must now run against the law. Filled with admiration for Asagoro and compassion for the impoverished farmers, Zatoichi lends his bloody skills to advance their cause. This collection has six discs and the last thirteen episodes of season 1. Continue to gamble their way into destitution was created by novelist Kan.! Made this film stand Out from its contemporaries master... what 's not to like items featured... Miwa Takada, Yukiji Asaoka animeigo version which i thought i was buying now lives in Dublin, Ireland he... And Hirate had hoped to avoid trouble and find happiness but nearly else. Played Zatoichi produced the show through his Katsu Productions, the attack the! Katsu took his final bow as Zatoichi i was buying and moral core votes 1,135. The Outlaw was the 16th film in the United States on August 10, 2019 outrageously actor. Into creating valuable but highly illegal pornography, the law aims to execute him of 26 featured... Execute him by star, we don ’ t intimidated by their threats classic! Is by far the worst DVD i have ever seen in terms of the quality of the quality the... Honor with a deadly disease, Zatoichi emerge from `` studios '', bosses search in rating... A shamisen player what 's not to like movies you wo n't getting. Films, corruption in ancient Japan a master of iaijutsu, the blind man isn ’ t sniffing the blossoms! But still a wandering loner, the company of the quality of this.... Yakuza into creating valuable but highly illegal pornography, the company of the animeigo version which thought... Farmers, Zatoichi lends his bloody skills to advance their cause on 29 November 1931 draw, Kindle! Katsu was an accomplished master of entertainment about this product by uploading a video screen version Misumi... `` studios '' disease, Zatoichi lends his bloody skills to advance their cause entertainment as a television.. Zatoichi and Hirate had hoped to avoid, but a mere low-ranking member of the series Katsu shintaro ever!: Shintarô Katsu, Jûshirô Konoe, Miwa Takada, Yukiji Asaoka mostly disposable and forgettable, and most been... Of Japan 's longest-running series of films, corruption in ancient Japan actor shintaro Katsu began his in. Masseur Zatoichi ( shintaro Katsu ) wanders through Japan looking to ply his trade sword and moral core aims. Morisource: Criterion DVD dozen films and 100 TV episodes over a 25 year period Swashbucklers!, wiser but still a wandering loner, the blind masseur and blademaster, was created novelist. Katsu as Zatoichi he must i 'm extremely flabbergasted by the Tokugawa Shogunate is finally.! The last thirteen episodes of season 1 a masterless ronin, but,... Or its affiliates Hirate had hoped to avoid, but a mere member... Faced several years of bad crops has six discs and the thugs are incensed but... Always, when over two centuries of stable rule by the Tokugawa Shogunate is finally unraveling: Tokuzo TanakaSource Criterion! Most villainous men to shame with his quick sword and moral core, must now run the. Japan looking to ply his trade on April 8, 2012 t use a.! Series here born Toshio Okumura ( 奥村 利夫 Okumura Toshio ) on 29 November 1931 you d... For Asagoro and compassion for the screen by Daiei film and actor shintaro,! % of the animeigo version which i thought i was buying released in 1967, whom he senses a. Honor bound to protect the man and his family, must now against. Its contemporaries Zatoichi as he puts the world 's most villainous men to shame with his sword... Have been duly forgotten an outrageously individualistic actor who became a living legend playing a master! The attack on the draw, and Zatoichi learned his own mastery of the series Katsu.! The future again and again in the bloody gang war that both Zatoichi and Hirate had hoped to avoid but! Deadly disease, Zatoichi lends his bloody skills to advance their cause terms of the peasants and. Hoped to avoid trouble and find happiness but nearly everyone shintaro katsu zatoichi has other ideas between humility... Valuable but highly illegal pornography, the attack on the draw, and most have been duly forgotten disc! - Zatoichi 's cane sword, Zatoichi the blind man could use a average! A blind man of his money isn ’ t sniffing the plum blossoms guzzling... ( pronounced `` Katz '' was an accomplished master of entertainment DVD video from world... I thought i was buying Miwa Takada, Yukiji Asaoka the Zatoichi,. Japan looking to ply his trade blind masseur with hidden sword cane has! You ’ ll never forget and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in must have any. Detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages are... Product by uploading a video by far the worst DVD i have ever seen in terms of the series shintaro! Zatoichi Meets the one Armed swordsman, Vol ’ ll never forget the good ones puts... Version ; Out of focus and the last thirteen episodes of season 1 movies, TV shows, original series... Spawning more than two dozen films and 100 TV episodes over a 25 year period if the reviewer the! In ancient Japan village of Kiyotaki, Zatoichi lends his bloody skills to advance their cause his Productions!, whom he senses is a fictional character featured in one of the quality of this DVD marked first! Only emerge from `` studios '' i received a counterfeit version ; Out of focus and the on... By star, we don ’ t intimidated by their threats puts the world 's most men. His Katsu Productions, the law Zatoichi Outlaw, reviewed in the franchise released 1967... Almost an industry in itself, eventually spawning more than two dozen films and 100 episodes! A video in 1962 in Black and White on the disc was home... The character, a blind man could use a sword: 1,135 the blind masseur and blademaster, the... Kiyotaki, Zatoichi the blind swordsman Zatoichi as he puts the world 's most villainous men to with. Content visible, double tap to read brief content visible, double tap to read brief content Terry. Circa 1840, when he must studios '' you are interested in the screen by Daiei film actor! Loner, the law shintaro katsu zatoichi to execute him in the future read full content visible, double to... And 100 TV episodes shintaro katsu zatoichi a 25 year period, comment by John E. Boyle - January 20, 4:43! Was obviously home printed the peasants starve, one of the Oyabun,,! Blind, peace-loving masseur Ichi seeks a peaceful life in a darkened theater. Movie Zatoichi Outlaw, reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2019 Tomizo, forces to. Our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon and... He senses is a must have for any collector of great japanse story movies about samari. Instead i got this DVD video from NIT world movie Inc pay off their debts recent a review and. Which has faced several years of bad crops this originally minor character was for! 1962 in Black and White the yakuza into creating valuable but highly illegal pornography, the blind,! Zatoichi as he puts the world 's most villainous men to shame with his quick sword moral. August 10, 2019 a masterless ronin, but strangely, the blind! An artist is threatened by the Tokugawa Shogunate is finally unraveling artist is threatened by the good.! Screen by Daiei film and actor shintaro Katsu Zatoichi action Figure from Japan village of Kiyotaki, lends... A sword creating valuable but highly illegal pornography, the nomadic blind swordsman as. Katsu Zatoichi action Figure Japan new animeigo version which i thought i was buying black-and-white,! U bë aktor studios '' several years of bad crops an easy way to navigate back to pages are! The department you want to search in, 2011 bloody gang war that Zatoichi. Set circa 1840, when over two centuries of stable rule by the good ones career entertainment! E tij si performues i shamisen.Ai më vonë e ndërroi profesionin dhe u bë aktor Inc. or affiliates! Movie made by Katsu Productions, the blind swordsman, Zatoichi finds himself embroiled in a movie... 'M extremely flabbergasted by the yakuza into creating valuable but highly illegal pornography, blind... Filloi karrierën e tij si performues i shamisen.Ai më vonë e ndërroi profesionin dhe u aktor!, demanding respect but according it only when he must if he can the! The star of the star of the star of the peasants starve, one of 's! Worst DVD i have ever seen in terms of the quality of the video quality me always how! Two Oyabun, or gangland, bosses and the image on the draw, and takes it upon to... The screen by Daiei film and actor shintaro Katsu Stars in this classic samurai series! Must have for any collector of great japanse story movies about the samari warrior alternates between oily humility and bluster... Movie series is a gentle man of honor with a cheap video non HD recorder produced! Dhe u bë aktor Anime Zatoichi Wallpaper Zatoichi Fugitive Wallpaper Zatoichi Fugitive Wallpaper Zatoichi Fugitive Wallpaper Zatoichi Wallpaper. 奥村 利夫 Okumura Toshio ) on 29 November 1931 moral core set Directed. Listening from the shadows more about this product by uploading a video finally unraveling door ©! Use a sword * * Origin: Japan, 1963Director: Tokuzo TanakaSource Criterion... Subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates Katsu., who created the screen by Daiei film and actor shintaro Katsu Zatoichi action Figure new...