Rutger Hauer, you ain’t go nothing on this guy
The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi is an interesting film to say the least. Former Samurai Zatoichi, who moonlights as a gambler and masseur, finds himself in the middle of small war when he meets up with a couple of strangers hell bent on getting revenge for the death of their parents by the hands of tyrannical lords. Typically not wanting to get involved, he finds himself very involved and finds himself helping the strangers and their small village with his masterful sword skills.
This film demonstrates how great an anti-hero can be. Who doesn’t love someone coming into a situation reluctantly and ending up righting a terrible wrong? This reminds me of an altered version of The Road Warrior where someone shows up in the middle of a war only to find themselves leading the pack. I love the history behind this movie and the way it’s presented story-wise. Takeshi Kitano is nothing short of brilliant in his performance as the fateful hero. He is tough, brutish, stylish and spectacular in his heroic role. The only other movie I can think of that reminds me of something so dreadfully powerful as this is the classic black and white 1962 film Harakiri. In that film, a former samurai wander gets revenge for the death of another samurai warrior. Both films have characters that want normal lives, but deep down have too much honor to let atrocities fly by unpunished.
Outside of an excellent storyline, and a great lead character, The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi‘s only problem is that it drags just a little bit towards the middle. I’m not sure what happens, but it seems to slow only for a mere moment in the overall body of the story. Other than this, the film is really quite riveting and the character development is nothing short of powerful. I really liked what was done here and I think that for any martial arts fan, who wants something deeper than empty action sequences, you’ll be happy with what Zatoichi has to offer.
It’s no hero, but it is better than an anti-hero
Certainly a film like The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi doesn’t compare to the visuals of a Hero, but it still does have its beauty through its violence. Shot and lit well, the blu-ray version of the film shines in HD. You’ll have plenty of riveting scenes and gorgeous backdrops in 1080p to drop your jaw. As for the audio, much like my most recent reviews (Hero and Iron Monkey) the original language tracks don’t get the same treatment as the English tracks do. I understand that most people out there in the United States will prefer spoken words over written, but come on! Give the fans what they want and make all tracks DTS-HD; the fans deserve that much out of their blu-ray.
As for features, you get an interview with the crew of the film and a wonderful 40-minute documentary about how it was all done and the character re-imagined (oh, yeah…. there are several different Zatoichi out there).