Review of The Tale of Zatoichi (1962) by Hiroko T — 12 Dec 2013
The first of 26 movies and 100 TV episodes spanning 3 decades. Katso-san portrays a blind, gambling masseur who is secretly a highly skilled swordsman with a heightened sensitivity towards justice, among other things. Set in the mid-1800's when Tokyo was known as Edo, he wanders into a town, stumbles into a situation (whether it's trouble for him or others), and ends up taking on the local system and killing lots of baddies. Ichi though, usually regrets killing even if they deserve it at the time. Life is sacred to him though he isn't religious.
The basic premise was similar to the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone that were filmed in the late 1960's. The difference was that each Zatoichi film would turn out to be as much a morality statement as an action flick. The comedy bits are funny and add to the telling of the tale. This is a great film even if you aren't a fan of sub-titles.., Zatoichi let's his cane-sword do much of his talking!
-If possible, get the Criterion Collection's 25 film set complete with documentary & booklet.
This review of The Tale of Zatoichi (1962) was written by Hiroko T on 12 Dec 2013.
The Tale of Zatoichi has generally received very positive reviews.
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