The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi /Sonatine Double Feature
by Takeshi Kitano
List Price:
Our Price: $10.27
You Save: $9.72 (49%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $4.94 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Akira Emoto, Hideboh, Makoto Ashikawa, Tadanobu Asano, Yuuko DaikeDirector: Takeshi Kitano
Brand: Miramax
Primary Contributor: Tadanobu Asano
Primary Contributor: Takeshi Kitano
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Japanese (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
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: They Never Saw him coming....the blind swordsman
Summary: 5 Stars
Great movie!
I saw this first on TV, but it was slashed to pieces by all the commercial breaks.
Worth adding to your permanent collection if you like movies where the underdog whips butt in style. I would almost compare this to some of Kurasawa's masterpieces. All done with a wry bit of humor that endears the character to you.
What's also nice is the blind swordsman is middle-aged and also does massage.
An unassuming hero! Set in classic Japan with the scenery, costume and time frame we have come to love, the Samurai era. Well directed and well filmed, this will be one you need to see.
DVD Review: A good film hampered by bad special effects
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm a big fan of Japanese samuri movies. While for the most part an updated and fun continuation of the Zatoichi series, the use of poor quality special effects seriously dampered by ethusiam. Let me explain.
During sword fight scenes, most of the time Zatoichi's sword is actually a digital special effect as are the limb severings and cuts. On the upside, this allows for much more complex techniques than could perhaps be done in the traditional manner. The down side is that the sword, blood, and limbs being severed are so poorly rendered and obviously fake that it detracts from the realism of the scene. If a fighting move is patently false, it undercuts the ability of the audience to believe in the swordsmanship of the character. It's like if Clint Eastwood quickdrawed in his Westerns, but his gun looked like a cartoon gun inked in.
I think this film would have been much better, and more realistic, if they had used props rather than digital effects.
Otherwise, I found the characters to be engaging, and the dance sequence at the end was highly entertaining.
DVD Review: The Terminator in Edo Japan
Summary: 3 Stars
In early 2004 I saw Takeshi Kitano's ZATOICHI in the local cinema, intrigued by a Japanese feature but knowing nothing of the long tradition of films with Zatoichi, the blind swordsman. I never did see the earlier films with Shintaro Katsu, but I continue to enjoy Takeshi Kitano's take on the character. The plot is fairly basic, rival gangs are fighting for control of a small town, and the locals are obliged to pay increasing amounts protection money. Into this steps Zatoichi, played by Takeshi himself, as well as another itinerant swordsman who seeks to do the dirty work of one of the gangs in order to help his sick wife. Zatoichi falls in with a poor farmer, as do two geishas who are traveling about to get revenge on the gang members who killed their parents. Over the course of the films, Zatoichi proceeds to slay an enormous amount of people, with some vivid CGI blood painted over each fatal sword blow. In spite of the generic setup, the production values and a few of the twists in the story make this an enjoyable film.
I know that Takeshi has been criticized for completely doing away with the back story around Zatoichi. Here the only sign that he has a past at all is when a gang member says, "Could this blind man be Zatoichi", and a flashback where he silently kills a group of nameless foes. Instead, Takeshi brings the character between the two extremes of charming, but taciturn, old blind man and unstoppable killing machine. But nonetheless, I like how universal the Zatoichi character is, even when he is as mechanical as Kitano sometimes makes him. The archetype of the man of piercing intelligence who fains disability or madness appears in Western art from Hamlet to Russian holy fools, so all audiences will respond to Zatoichi. And sure, the action is sometimes hard to believe, but Takeshi knows this and has injected a level of grim humour into the film.
My only complaint about the film's action is that the final battle between Zatoichi and the bodyguard is anticlimactic. After building up the polarity between them for over an hour, there could have been more to it than a single blow. In addition, the soundtrack strikes me as exceedingly lame until the nice taiko drumming that closes the film.
I cannot comment on SONATINE, as in my market the two films were not released together.
DVD Review: Sonatine, with a decent bonus film to boot!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is definitely worth purchasing for Sonatine; while I'm not sure why this film wasn't released on its own, I'm glad its reaching a wider audience because of the bonus film it came with, Zatoichi. Sonatine is one of the greatest films ever made, and this is a great deal.DVD Review: Mixed Feelings
Summary: 1 Stars
If you are a fan of the original series with Shintaro Katsu, then you'll hate this. If they would have just named it something else and had not tried to tie it to the original Zatoichi it would have been a solid movie. If you have never seen the originals then you'll probably like this. And as mentioned in a prior review, the ending was a disgrace.
Description of The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi /Sonatine Double Feature
ZATOICHI: THE BLIND SWORDSMAN stars Japanese screen legend Beat Takeshi in an action-packed, award-winning film that has been compared to "Kill Bill Volume One." SONATINE also stars Beat Takeshi in a fast and furious gangland thriller with an edgy "Pulp Fiction" attitude. Both of these films include bonus DVD features, including an introduction to SONATINE by Quentin Tarantino, acclaimed director of such film favorites as "Pulp Fiction" and "Kill Bill" Volumes One and Two.General DVDs
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Bestsellers in General DVDs
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Full-Screen Edition)Release date: 2009-12-08; DVD
Best price: $9.99
Price in other shops:
![Quantum of Solace [Blu-ray] Image](/images/Quantum-of-Solace-Blu-ray-B001PPLIFU-X.jpg)
Quantum of Solace [Blu-ray]MGM HOME VIDEO (UNDER FOX); Release date: 2009-03-24; DVD
Best price: $9.99
Price in other shops:
Lost: The Complete Fifth SeasonRelease date: 2009-12-08; DVD
Best price: $36.99
Price in other shops:
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Single-Disc Edition)PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2009-10-20; DVD
Best price: $12.25
Price in other shops:
Terminator Salvation (Widescreen Edition)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2009-12-01; DVD
Best price: $9.99
Price in other shops:
![G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (Two-Disc Edition + Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] Image](/images/G-I-Joe-The-Rise-of-Cobra-Two-Disc-Edition-Digital-Copy-Blu-ray-B002NXSRX4-X.jpg)
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (Two-Disc Edition + Digital Copy) [Blu-ray]PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2009-11-03; DVD
Best price: $18.90
Price in other shops:
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Two-Disc Limited Special Edition + Digital Copy)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2009-12-08; DVD
Best price: $19.99
Price in other shops:
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Widescreen Edition)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2009-12-08; DVD
Best price: $9.99
Price in other shops:
![Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy & BD-Live) [Blu-ray] Image](/images/Harry-Potter-and-the-Half-Blood-Prince-Blu-ray-DVD-Combo-Digital-Copy-BD-Live-Blu-ray-B000ZELISO-X.jpg)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Blu-ray/ DVD Combo + Digital Copy & BD-Live) [Blu-ray]Warner Brothers; Release date: 2009-12-08; DVD
Best price: $15.99
Price in other shops:
Star Trek (Single-Disc Edition)PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2009-11-17; DVD
Best price: $8.49
Price in other shops:
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
When the Last Sword Is DrawnGenius; Release date: 2005-12-27; DVD
Best price: $12.85
Price in other shops:
The Twilight SamuraiRelease date: 2004-12-28; DVD
Best price: $15.18
Price in other shops:
The Hidden BladeGenius; Release date: 2006-08-08; DVD
Best price: $11.74
Price in other shops:
Violent CopRelease date: 1999-12-14; DVD
Best price: $15.45
Price in other shops:
Fireworks Aka Hana-biDVD
Best price: $14.69
FireworksRelease date: 2000-06-27; DVD
Best price: $44.98
Zatoichi - Darkness Is His AllyMedia Blasters; Release date: 2004-02-24; DVD
Best price: $12.51
Price in other shops:
DollsUni; Release date: 2005-03-08; DVD
Best price: $12.30
Price in other shops:
KikujiroKATANO,TAKESHI; Release date: 2000-12-12; DVD
Best price: $18.45
Price in other shops:
BrotherKITANO,TAKESHI; Release date: 2002-01-02; DVD
Best price: $15.99
Price in other shops: