Zatoichi
(2003)
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Takeshi Kitano, best known for such gangster films as VIOLENT COP, BOILING POINT, and BROTHER, makes his first period drama with ZATOICHI, an updating of the classic Japanese character portrayed by Shintaro Katsu in movies and television from 1962 to 1989. Zatoichi is a blind samurai who shuffles from town to town, righting wrongs with his remarkable sword hidden within his cane. He is also a masseuse who likes to gamble. Kitano serves as director, writer, co-editor, and star of the film, playing the protagonist under his acting name, Beat Takeshi. This version of Zatoichi, based on the stories of Kan Shimozawa, is more violent than the earlier series, as Kitano strives to make it more realistic. He has also infused a clever sense of humour, while cinematographer Katsumi Yanagishima adds beautiful depth of field to many scenes. |
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Shintaro Katsu may have starred as Zatoichi the blind swordsman in 26 B-movie adventures during the 1960s and 70s, but none of those can match the cinematic panache of this thrilling variation on the traditional themes of duty, honour and championing the cause of the oppressed. Director Takeshi Kitano also takes on the iconic role of the itinerant masseur/swordsman, but his inevitable showdown with the warring clans terrorising the residents of a small town in 19th-century Japan isn't simply a homage to a cult hero. It's a glorious visual scrapbook referencing the greats of Japanese film-making who have influenced Kitano's unique blend of pitiless violence, slapstick comedy and sensitive social detail. Superbly shot and scored, this is both riotous entertainment — witness the tapdancing finale — and exquisite art.
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