Zatoichi Movie Review 2003

Versatile and popular filmmaker Kitano (who also takes on the lead role under his actor's pseudonym) kicks butt as a legendary 19th-century samurai (an iconic figure in Japanese film and TV). The blind masseur/gambler hides his sword in his walking stick and the plot, such as it is, involves loner Zatoichi helping out geisha Okino (Daike) and her cross-dressing brother Osei (Tachibana) in their quest for revenge on the Ginzo gang, who slaughtered their family and who are now threatening the local peasants. Which makes a good excuse for Zatoichi to challenge the gang and their own formidable samurai Hattori (Asano). Lots of stylized violence and some slapstick gags; Japanese with subtitles.

Distribution

Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 500 S. Buena Vista St., Burbank, CA 91521-1120, Toll-free: 800-723-4763, URL: http://www.bvhe.com

Available on DVD
Running time 115 minutes.
Originally from Japanese.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Samurai, Period Piece: 19th Century, Blindness, Dance Fever, Japan, Gender Bending, Brothers & Sisters, Aunts & Uncles, Nieces & Nephews

Screenplay

Takeshi "Beat" Kitano

Cast

Tadanobu Asano, Takeshi "Beat" Kitano, Michiyo Ogusu, Guadalcanal Taka, Daigoro Tachibana, Yuko Daike, Ittoku Kishibe, Saburo Ishikura

Cinematography

Katsumi Yanagijima

Director

Takeshi "Beat" Kitano

Music

Keiichi Suzuki

Other

Senji Horiuchi, Takeshi "Beat" Kitano, Yoshinori Ota, Yohji Yamamoto, Kazuko Kurosawa, Norihiro Isoda

Producer

Masayuki Mori, Tsenehisa Saito, Asahi Network, A Bandai Visual, Dentsu, Saito Entertainment, Miramax Films