The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi /Sonatine Double Feature
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Actor: Akira Emoto, Hideboh, Makoto Ashikawa, Tadanobu Asano, Yuuko DaikeBrand: MIRAMAX
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); Japanese (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.1
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 210 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-11-09
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Miramax
DVD Reviews of The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi /Sonatine Double Feature
DVD Review: Too much filler, not a good move.
Summary: 3 Stars
And that is just what this new version of Zatoichi has, too much filler. The actual story could have been finished in a 40 minute film. Some of the filler was obvious, such as the sequances where the farmers were hoeing the ground to a rythm, were dancing in the field in the rain, were rebuilding the supporting characters burnt down home to a rythm, and that extended dance sequence at the end of the film where most of the surviving cast clog dances on a stage during yet another festival. Not so obvious were unecessarily long walks down the street, a longer than needed gambling sequence, and a sequence where the villians burn down the home of the supporting characters which could have been done in a minute rather than the minute of skulking around the house, another minute of setting fire to it, and yet another minute for the characters to run out after the alarm was raised. Also add to that some flashback scenes with the supporting characters that was not really relevant to the main story.
The original Zatoichi films started in the early 1960's by actor and producer Shintaro Katsu and remained popular enough for him to make 25 of theme by 1974 [ at one time averaging 4 films a year ]. Moving to television as an hour show, there would be more than 100 episodes of Zatoichi made. [ there was also one final Katsu Ichi film made in 1989 ]. Through all of this, the character was always played by Shintaro Katsu, who died in 1997.
No one else had ever played Zatoichi, although the character was adapted to other countries. [The American adaption was the movie "Blind Fury" with Rutger Hauer as Nick Parker, the blind Viat Nam vet with the kane sword and was a remake of "Zatoichi Challenged" ] The Zatoichi films centered on a blind masseur who at one point in his life lerned to use a sword to protect himself. His hearing gave him near supernatural fighting skills and he was soon working for gangsters as a sword for hire [ his sword hidden inside his kane ] but his good natured heart soon had him killing off the corrupt bosses he worked for to protect the towns people that were being abused. As the films progressed, he would give up the life of a gangster, only hiring himself out on rare occasions. But inevitably the town he would wander into was being taken over by yet another corrupt Yakuza boss who would have to be delt with by the final reel.
It was a risk for someone else to step into this role, but inevitably, some on would have. Great screen characters never die, but are passed on to new actors when the originator either retires or passes on. Such was the way with Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, James Bond, Wong Fei-Hung, and a host of other screen characters. But it will always be a risk for the first actor to take over the role. No one wants to be the next George Lazenby. It usualy is not until the third actor takes over the role that audiences are willing to accept, while still agreeing that the first was the best.
So why if you are going to take such a risk, would you make such a film? The thin plot is derivative of all the other Zatoichi films. A once happy village is taken over by a corrupt Yakuza gang that demands way too much protection money from the shop owners. Zatoichi does not want to get involved but winds up at the local gambling hall where he exposes them as cheaters, resulting in the death of all the Yakuza running the place. The head boss realizez that the blind man must be the famouse Zatoichi and resolves to have him killed before Ichi comes for him. There is the obligatory ronin with superior swordsmanship hired by the boss who decides that he will be the one who will finally kill Zatoichi, and the final scene where Ichi finally decides to go to the head bosses house and take out him and his army of henchmen. There is also a subplot thrown in where a cross dressing brother and sister are looking for the gang of ninja theves who killed their parents, but even this was not enough to pad out the film to feature legnth. While this plot was typical of the original Zatoichi films, they were at least written with enough characters who's subplots interconnected with the main plot to warrent a 90 minute film. There was just not enough plot for this film and it showed.
Description of The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi /Sonatine Double Feature
Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 08/02/2005 Run time: 210 minutes Rating: RBestsellers in DVD
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