(released in the US as ''The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi'') is a 2003 Japanese

Jidaigeki is a genre of film, television, video game, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning " period dramas", they are most often set during the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—'' Portrait o ...

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include lif ...

, directed, written, co-edited by and starring

Takeshi Kitano is a Japanese comedian, television presenter, actor, filmmaker, and author. While he is known primarily as a comedian and TV host in his native Japan, he is better known abroad for his work as a filmmaker and actor as well as TV host. With th ...

("Beat" Takeshi) in his 11th directorial venture. Kitano plays the role of the blind swordsman. The film is a revival of the classic ''

Zatoichi is a fictional character created by Japanese novelist Kan Shimozawa. He is an itinerant blind masseur and swordsman of Japan's late Edo period (1830s and 1840s). He first appeared in the 1948 essay , part of Shimozawa's ''Futokoro Techō'' s ...

'' series of

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of History of Japan#Medieval Japan (1185–1573/1600), medieval and Edo period, early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retai ...

film and television dramas. It premiered on 2 September 2003 at the Venice International Film Festival, where it won the prestigious Silver Lion for Best Director award, and went on to numerous other awards both at home and abroad. It also stars Tadanobu Asano, Michiyo Okusu, Yui Natsukawa, Guadalcanal Taka,

Daigoro Tachibana Daigoro Tachibana (橘大五郎 ''Tachibana Daigorō''), birth name Daisuke Isayama (諌山大輔 ''Isayama Daisuke'', born 27 January 1987) is one of Heisei era's celebrated onnagata and taishū engeki actor. He is branded as the ''Taishu Eng ...

, Yuko Daike, Ittoku Kishibe,

Saburo Ishikura Saburo Ishikura (石倉三郎 ''Ishikura Saburō'', born December 16, 1946 in Kagawa, Japan) is a Japanese actor that has acted in several movies directed by Beat Takeshi is a Japanese comedian, television presenter, actor, filmmaker, and ...

and Akira Emoto.

Plot

The film's plot follows a traditional theme, with Zatoichi (a blind swordsman) coming to the defense of townspeople caught up in a local yakuza

gang war Film * ''Gang War (1928 film)'', an American film about gangsters * ''Gang War (1940 film)'', a Million Dollar Productions film * ''Gang War'', an alternative name for ''Paper Bullets'', a 1941 American film * ''Gang War'' (1958 film) a 1958 Ameri ...

and being forced to pay excessive amounts of protection money. Meanwhile, Zatoichi befriends a local farmer and her gambler nephew and eventually offers his assistance to two

geisha {{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha {{nihongo, Geisha, 芸者 ({{IPAc-en, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ʃ, ə; {{IPA-ja, ɡeːɕa, lang), also known as {{nihongo, , 芸子, geiko (in Kyoto and Kanazawa) or {{nihongo, , 芸妓, geigi, are a class of female ...

siblings (one of whom is actually a man) who are seeking revenge for the murder of their parents. The siblings are the only survivors of a robbery and massacre that was carried out on their family estate ten years ago. They soon discover the people responsible for the murders are the same yakuza wreaking havoc on the small town. After slicing his way through an army of henchmen with his sword, Zatoichi defeats the yakuza's bodyguard, a powerful

rōnin A ''rōnin'' ( ; ja, 浪人, , meaning 'drifter' or 'wanderer') was a samurai without a lord or master during the feudal period of Japan (1185–1868). A samurai became masterless upon the death of his master or after the loss of his master ...

, in a duel. Zatoichi later wanders into town and confronts the yakuza bosses, killing the second-in-command and blinding the elderly yakuza boss (who had been masquerading as a bumbling old waiter up until this point) after surprising him by opening his eyes. The film ends with a dance number led by noted Japanese

tap dance Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely per ...

troupe ''The Stripes'', and Zatoichi walking down a trail and tripping over a rock, saying "Even with my eyes wide open, I can't see anything."

Cast

* Tadanobu Asano as the

Hattori Gennosuke * Michiyo Okusu as Aunt O-ume, the farmer * Yui Natsukawa as O-shino, Hattori's wife *

as O-sei * Taichi Saotome as young O-sei * Yūko Daike as O-kinu, sister of Osei. * Guadalcanal Taka as Shinkichi, gambler nephew of Oume. * Ittoku Kishibe as Ginzo, gang leader *

as Ogiya, gang leader * Akira Emoto as "Pops", tavern owner

Production

Kitano revealed that he was approached by others to create the film and therefore differed from his own techniques and followed the common filmmaking process in order to please them and make a pure-entertainment film. This film marks Kitano's first collaboration with composer Keiichi Suzuki, ending an 11-year streak with Joe Hisaishi. The director said he made the decision feeling that the film needed percussion-based music and that Hisaishi is not a flexible composer, and also suggested that Hisaishi had become too expensive for him. Costumes were created by Kazuko Kurosawa. Kitano used digital technology to increase the gore of the fights.

Reception

The film grossed in Japan. Peter Bradshaw of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' gave ''Zatoichi'' 4 out of 5 stars. Jasper Sharp of Midnight Eye praised the film as "pure cinematic magic". Allan Tong of ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' said, "when Zatoichi is on screen, the film erupts with brilliant fury in unforgettable action sequences". ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'' praised the film while comparing it to ''

Yojimbo is a 1961 Japanese samurai film co-written, produced, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film stars Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yoko Tsukasa, Isuzu Yamada, Daisuke Katō, Takashi Shimura, Kamatari Fujiwara, and Atsushi W ...

'', ''

Sanjuro is a 1962 black-and-white Japanese ''jidaigeki'' film directed by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshiro Mifune. It is a sequel to Kurosawa's 1961 ''Yojimbo''. Originally an adaptation of the Shūgorō Yamamoto novel ''Hibi Heian'', the script ...

'' and '' Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance''. On review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, the film had a approval rating of 86% based on 124 reviews.

Awards

* 2003, September 6,

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

, Silver Lion for Best Direction, Venice * 2003, Audience Award Leone Del Pubblico, Venice * 2003, September 14, 28th International

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

, Audience Award AGF People's Choice Award, Toronto * 2003, London Film Festival * 2004, February 20, Japan Academy Prize, Outstanding Achievement in Film Editing, Outstanding Achievement in Music, Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography, Outstanding Achievement in Lighting Direction, Outstanding Achievement in Sound Recording, Tokyo

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zatoichi (2003 film) Zatoichi films 2003 films 2003 action films Japanese action films Samurai films Yakuza films Films about blind people Films directed by Takeshi Kitano 2000s Japanese-language films Shochiku films Cross-dressing in film Films about child prostitution 2000s Japanese films Films about disability Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award winners