Zatoichi

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Harry L Jan 11, 2019 This is an interesting movie for me to watch. Not only because I watched it before I was done with my review of the previous movie I watched (Underworld: Blood Wars) and it offered me some ways to compare the two in that review. But because I've had the DVD for this movie for quite a fucking while now. I don't know for how long, but it has to be nearing a decade if not more than that. This movie came bundled with another Takeshi Kitano film, Sonatine, which I actually have seen twice through the years. As an aside, Sonatine is a highly underrated and underappreciated gem that I would highly recommend. I think part of the reason that it took me so long to get to this movie (and this isn't even the only DVD I've done this with) is that streaming services, mostly Netflix, took over my life and, much to my own subconscious chagrin, I ignored the DVDs I spent hundreds of dollars on. And, really, some I do not know where some of these DVDs are in all honesty. Regardless, there's something weird in that I don't like to watch movies the same day I buy them. I own the DVD, of course, but I just don't like it. Feels like I spent that money to blow it almost immediately. So there is something to the fact that I like to have it for a while before I do eventually watch it. That way it feels like I got my money's worth. This probably makes sense to, at least, a few of you. But it clearly wasn't my intention to wait as long as I have to watch this movie. Having said all of that, has that decade long wait been worth it??? Yes, you could say that. An emphatic yes actually, because I thought this movie was pretty fucking great all things considered. Zatoichi has had a long and storied history in Japan, with TWENTY-SIX films made and a television series (four seasons with 100 episodes). So to say that Takeshi Kitano (whom I love) had his work cut out for him in terms of producing a movie that did something new while still respecting the 41 year old history (at the point of this film's release) of the franchise is an understatement. I'll be honest, as much as it ruins my street cred, but I have not seen a single Zatoichi movie of the 26 produced. So I cannot say whether or not this stacks up favorably to those films. But, let's be honest, with twenty-six entries in one franchise, a few of them are bound to be clunkers. All I can speak from is my perspective upon having seen this film and I thought it was a great movie with great characters, a lot of humor and strongly choreographed action scenes. I think one of the things that you immediately notice from the movie is how much care is actually put into the characters in this movie. Zatoichi's past is kept purposely mysterious. But Hattori played by Tadanobu Asano, takes a job being this gang's bodyguard in order to care for his ailing wife. Okinu and Osei (the geishas) are after Ginzo/Inosuke for his role in their family's murder. Really, they're after everyone that's involved, it's just that Ginzo was the ringleader. There's a lot of story in this movie, since Ginzo is the right hand-man, as it were, of the head of this gang, who's seemingly on his last legs. A gang that's been terrorizing this village and attempting to take over everyone's turf. There's really a lot going on here, but I do think the movie's narrative is really easy to follow and it never gets confusing in the slightest, which was something that worried me when I saw that the film was handling so many characters all at once. Another thing that I noticed about the movie is the amount of comedy it has. I do not know if the original Zatoichi films contained a lot of humor, but Takeshi Kitano made his name as a comedian in Japan, so it's obvious this film was gonna have some of his trademark humor. One of the funniest scenes, to me, in the entire movie is Shinkichi (who's about as useless as they come) training these dimwits in combat. He does this by going through a rehearsed set of moves that the dimwits are supposed to counter when he moves his stick to the spot they're assigned to. This, naturally, ends up failing and Shinkichi gets hit repeatedly by the dimwits' wooden sticks. This guy can't catch a break. Shinkichi's a really entertaining character. Another thing that really stuck out in my mind, and this is a big one, is how trans friendly this movie is. And I don't really know if Osei, who's a man who prefers to dress as a woman, is trans or if he's just a cross-dresser, but I thought it was really cool that they portrayed Osei in a really positive manner as they tie his dressing up as a woman to what happened to him as a child, being forced to make ends meet after their parents (who were rich) were murdered. To tell that story and to then make fun of Osei for his choices would have felt really contradictory. So, yea, I thought that was really nice. The action is great as well, even if some of the sword CG looks really outdated. And the narrative is a strong one as well, with Zatoichi trying to find out who the leader of the gang is (his face is never seen until the reveal at the end) and how all of the supporting characters are involved in this is really satisfying. In short, that's really the best word movie I can use to describe this movie. It's just a great and really satisfying experience. It's kind of weird to use the term crowd-pleaser in relation to this film, but that's also a great term to describe this movie. I feel like this review sucked mightily, but I can't really complain much about this movie. While I was watching it, I felt that there were some bits that felt aimless, like Zatoichi's first scene in the casino but, upon having finished the film, I feel that everything in this movie filled a purpose and a role. It all leads to the eventual sword fight between Zatoichi and Hattori and how their paths converge, despite Hattori himself not being an evil man. And, of course, Zatoichi discovering who the real leaders of the gang are and getting rid of them, so the village can finally live in peace. I don't know, very few complaints from me honestly, I thought this was a fucking great movie and one that I would easily recommend. See more

Jun 26, 2018 One of those rather crazy japanese films that is quite hard to access. The crux of the story is pretty much lost. Also I generally don't like movies that end with a group dancing scene. I'm looking at you, Ice Age 3. See more

Albus S Jun 7, 2018 Zatoichi is a bloody film that also manages to be beautiful and funny. - Movie Metropolis

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Zatoichi

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