Zatoichi - Darkness Is His Ally
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DVD details
Actor: Kanako Higuchi, Ryuutarô Gan, Takanori Jinnai, Tsurutaro Kataoka, Yukio KatôBrand: Media Blasters
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Japanese (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0
Format: Anamorphic, Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 116 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-02-24
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Tokyo Shock
DVD Reviews of Zatoichi - Darkness Is His Ally
DVD Review: One last swing of the sword cane
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the way to end a legendary series. Not with any wacky gimmicks, hip young sidekicks, new spectacular special-effects or anything else that betrays the feel and tone of a long-established character. Just one last nostalgic trip into the gambling den, a flash of the deadly cane sword, and a retirement into quiet dignity. Hollywood could learn a lot from "Zatoichi: Darkness is his Ally".
Shintaro Katsu is not afraid to show his age. Greying and weathered from a life of hard-living, his Zatoichi character has reached a level of subtlety and depth that can only come from the many years he spent in the title role. All of the mannerisms, the ticks of the face and the gentle smiles, are as welcome as an old friend you haven't seen for a long, long time. He is still a rouge and a scoundrel, and he still pulls that same old dice trick that he has had up his sleeve for decades, but you forgive this old dog for never having learned a new trick. (Although he does get a little action with a pretty lady, which was a bit of a surprise. A departure from the usual sad refusal and longing looks when a woman offers herself to the brave warrior...)
The plot of the movie is...Zatoichi. There are some people in trouble. There is a beautiful woman. There is a scrappy up-and-coming fighter who tries to live his life honorably by the bushido code, but you know that he will eventually be drawn into conflict with the sage warrior whose reputation precedes him. Everything is paired down to the essential elements of a Zatoichi flick, and it delivers up exactly what we love with style and reverence.
The film itself is beautiful, and is a real testament to Katsu's abilities, as he put in triple service as writer, director and actor. He was dying at the time, and knew it, so this film was obviously very personal to him, his last outing as the character that had made him. The music is quite haunting as well, with the shamisen being used to perfect effect.
I wouldn't recommend this as anyone's first Zatoichi film. There is too much nostalgia here for that, and one should hold off on "Darkness is his Ally" until they have a dozen or so Zatoichi flicks under there belt. But with 26 films in the series, that is pretty easy to do, and it will give you something to look forward to.
Description of Zatoichi - Darkness Is His Ally
Studio: Media Blasters Inc. Release Date: 02/24/2004 Run time: 116 minutesAs the 26th installment in a popular film series that lasted 27 years, Zatoichi is essentially a "greatest hits" compendium of all the films that preceded it. That makes it essential viewing for Zatoichi fans and anyone interested in the voluminous "source code" for Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill. Known in Japan as Zatoichi 26 or Zatoichi '89, this lavish production was the last to star Shintaro Katsu, who originated the title role of "the Blind Swordsman" in 1962's The Tale of Zatoichi and served triple-duty as writer and director of this stylishly violent latter-day adventure. Now much older and still a wandering loner, the blind, peace-loving masseur Ichi (or, in Japanese, Zato Ichi) seeks a quiet life among the gentle people of Edo Period villages, but when he's caught in a power struggle between rival Yakuza clans, his reputation as a deadly defender of the innocent precedes him, and he's forced to fend for himself in a series of sword-wielding showdowns. Between geysers of spurting crimson, this gorgeous Zatoichi film delivers good humor and mild sentiment, although series devotees were justifiably disappointed when the familiar plot failed to advance Zatoichi's legend in a middle-aged context. Still, the action sequences are frequent and fun, and despite controversy surrounding an accidental death during the climactic battle (for which Katsu's son, playing a villain, was ultimately found not guilty), this was a fitting farewell to Katsu's involvement in the franchise, which was revived once again with the successful release of Takeshi "Beat" Kitano's Zatoichi in 2003. --Jeff Shannon
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