The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi

Writer-director Takeshi Kitano, who also stars in his films under the name Beat Takeshi, provides a characteristically oddball take on the samurai genre in this revival of a classic character from old Japanese movies and TV series. Kitano plays the blind swordsman of the title, a sightless masseur who wanders about the countryside with a cane that conceals his weapon, which Zatoichi wields with preternatural skill and accuracy despite his infirmity. Featuring a virtually identical plot to the 1962 original film The Tale of Zatoichi (VL Online-7/02), this update finds Zatoichi coming upon a village caught in a conflict between rival gangs and eventually intervening in the dispute. In the process he becomes involved with an elderly woman and her gambling-addicted nephew, as well as two traveling geishas--children of a family slain by one of the gangs years before--looking for revenge. The Blind Swodsman: Zatoichi has numerous abrupt shifts of tone: gentle humor, broad farce, surrealistic and bloody fighting, strong sentimentality, and serious drama (not to mention the big song-and-dance finale). Granted, Kitano never really manages (or even bothers) to tie all of these disparate elements together; still, his idiosyncratic approach to the material pays rich dividends: The Blind Swordsman may be a bit messy, but it's also a great deal of fun. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include a second bonus disc--marking the DVD debut--of Takeshi Kitano's Sonatine, a subtitled 40-minute behind-the-scenes special, and production interview segments with cinematographer Katsumi Yanagishima (4 min.), production designer Norihiro Isoda (6 min.), costume supervisor Kazuko Kurosawa (7 min.), and Master Swordsman Tatsumi Nikamoto (4 min.). Bottom line: a fine two-fer deal with a solid extras package to boot for a cinematically-pleasing remake.] (F. Swietek)[Blu-ray Review—Sept. 15, 2009—Miramax, 116 min., in Japanese w/English subtitles, R, $39.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2003's The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi sports a nice transfer with 5.1 DTS-HD sound. Blu-ray extras include a subtitled behind-the-scenes special (40 min.), as well as production interview segments with cinematographer Katsumi Yanagijima (4 min.), production designer Norihiro Isoda (6 min.), costume supervisor Kazuko Kurosawa (7 min.), and master swordsman and fight choreographer Tatsumi Nikamoto (4 min.). Bottom line: a solid Blu-ray debut for a fine remake of a samurai classic.]