Inside Pulse DVD Review – Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman

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credit: Cine Y Peliculas

Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman

Cast:

Zatoichi ………. Takeshi Kitano (as Beat Takeshi)
Hattori ………. Tadanobu Asano
Ginzo boss ………. Ittoku Kishibe
Aunt O-Ume ………. Michiyo Ogusu
O-Kinu ………. Yuko Daike
O-Sei/Sitarou ………. Daigoro Tachibana

The Movie

Takeshi Kitano may be Japan’s most talented entertainer, having found success as a stand up comedian, a TV host, a poet, a film critic, and as a film actor. Most Americans don’t even realize they are already familiar with Kitano as a game show host, as his immensely popular Takeshi’s Castle program has been re-edited and dubbed with silly dialogue by the Spike network as Most Extreme Elimination Challenge. But unlike America, where there really is no comparable entertainer, Japan has embraced Kitano’s many ventures because he’s extremely talented, so it doesn’t seem so unusual that he can take on a wide variety of roles and embrace various forms of art with ease.

Kitano enjoyed favorable reviews and blockbuster box office in his native Japan when Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman was released in 2003. The film is no doubt inspired by the current crop of brilliant Chinese swordplay operas, from Zhang Yimou’s magical Hero to Ang Lee’s beautiful Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. These films set the template that Kitano follows, which is a strong dramatic tale (enhanced with lush and somewhat tribal music) framing scenes of stunning fights. Also, without the financial and artistic successes of these films, Zatoichi may never have found release in the United States, where audiences often don’t care about the country of origin, just the sweet kung fu. Kitano also adds a bizarre element of choreography to the film, as a group of farmers often seem to be working in the field in rhythm with the percussive soundtrack.

Takeshi Kitano is a quiet, slow moving blind masseur with an almost ghostly presence as Ichi — the Zato in the title is actually a very ancient Japanese ranking for a blind swordsman. Ichi almost seems to float in and out of the lives of the supporting characters, occasionally displaying masterful talent with his cane sword when he is forced to use it. Ichi is unbearably calm at times, but when his rage is finally unleashed, he slices apart his enemies with amazing speed and a sickening penchant for bloodshed. In one moment, a dice game at the local gambling house suddenly turns crooked, and Ichi comments that he can hear the difference in the dice. The owners of the establishment take offense to his comment and stand as if to beat down the seemingly helpless Ichi, but before they know it he’s chopping off heads and hands recklessly as blood shoots in every direction.

Oddly enough, Ichi is not what motivates the plot. Instead, the film follows two different sets of characters that happen to run across Ichi throughout the story. First is Hattori Genosuke (Tadanobu Asano), an amazing samurai who’s love for his wife clashes with his desire for honor as a shogun’s assassin. He finds employment with Genzo (Ittoku Kishibe), a small time crime boss who runs a few shady establishments in a countryside village. Despite his wife’s obvious sadness whenever he goes out to kill, Hattori has a powerful urge to find honor, and finds time to kill those who have dishonored him in his past when he isn’t out killing for Genzo.

The other important characters are Geisha O-Sei (Daigorô Tachibana) and Geisha O-Kinu (Yuuko Daike), brother and sister (respectively) who pose as geishas in hopes that they will find the murderous gang who slaughtered their parents and forced them to live such a weird and tortured vengance. Tachibana is quite believable as a woman, making it all the easier for him to slaughter unsuspecting gang members who drunkenly take the duo home. Ichi befriends the duo by accident one night, and from there they join together (along with a few other interesting characters) in their collective desire for justice.

After Ichi’s gambling house massacre (and subsequent countryside battle with Genzo’s underlings), the group hides deep in the forest and spends some quality time together, leading to a few quirky moments such as O-Sei and O-Kinu’s hypnotic dance routine and a bizarre scene where Ichi wears fake eyes over his eyelids. Kitano might have included this scene as a reference to his previous Sonatine, which is almost an entire film of criminals hiding out and having strange fun together.

As local gang warfare escalates and the various characters begin putting the pieces together, everything seems to be leading to a final fight between Ichi and Hattori. Without giving away the ending, Ichi helps bring about revenge that will please both fans of beautifully shot drama and blood drenched action, and it is not half as predictable as one might expect from the genre.

Multiple films about the Zatoichi character have been lensed throughout the years, but the previous treatment of his character may be comparable to a kind of magical Batman type. These entertaining but ultimately superficial movies have little to do with Kitano’s Zatoichi, which is a far more layered and powerful portrayal. Using silence and facial tics instead of sheer supernatural violence, he brings to mind a Japanese Clint Eastwood, a comparison that he’s often been given by critics in the past.

Fans of Asian kung fu have been blessed in recent years, as a wealth of excellent action films have been released with a complete disregard for the so-called “rules” of action cinema. From the films referenced above to Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle and Prachya Pinkaew’s Ong-Bak, Asian directors are obviously the guiding light in action at the moment. Zatoichi is an excellent addition to this group of films, so by all means, go out of your way to check out this powerful tale of vengeance.

Score: 8.5/10

The Video

What’s not to love? Miramax may get a lot of flack for their treatment of foreign films, but they’ve left Zatoichi alone and maintained its gorgeous 2.35:1 widescreen for all to enjoy. The colors are vibrant, the image crystal clear, and the digital effects are virtually seemless.

Score: 9.5/10

The Audio

You’ve got Dolby 5.1 Japanese and Dolby 5.1 English, and both are absolutely stunning. The music and the effects are marvelous, and the English dubbing is up to the high standards set by Miramax’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon DVD. Hot stuff!

Score: 10/10

The Extras

Another home run on Miramax’s part, as they include a press conference with Kitano, several interviews with crew members, and another full DVD of Kitano’s 1992 classic Sonatine, which is a fantastic gangster film that Quentin Tarantino originally released in America (through Miramax) back in 1994. Sonatine is certainly a different kind of film, and deserves a full review instead of a brief mention, but if you appreciate the quieter moments of Zatoichi than you’ll probably dig Sonatine as well.

Score: 9.5/10