Customer Reviews

Zatoichi 16 - The Outlaw

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Zatoichi the Outlaw" is the sixteenth in the fantastic Zatoichi series. It is a little different in tone from previous entries, as it is the first installment co-produced by star Katsu Shintaro's production company, Katsu Productions, and also the first in the series released by Toho studios. (In truth the movie was filmed under the previous Daiei Studios before they went bankrupt, and was only released by Toho. This confusion gave me a little chuckle as the first image on the DVD is the Daiei logo, but the English subtitle reads "the Toho Company.")

More intrigue and altruism than action, "Zatoichi the Outlaw" (Japanese title "Zatoichi ryoyaburi" or "Zatoichi's Jailbreak") pits a group of peasants trying to create a utopian, agrarian culture (singing songs of "no drinking and no gambling, no fighting and whoring!") against a group of yakuza gangsters who want the peasants to fail in order to drive up the profits at their dens of vice. The peasants are supported by a honorable samurai lord who wants to see them succeed, and by Asagoro, a wandering samurai like Zatoichi who believes in their dream. Zatoichi takes sides, and with his flashing cane sword sets up Asagoro as the new village leader. Content with his actions, Zatoichi wanders off to his next adventure, but has reason to regret as he finds that Asagoro played him for a pawn, and all is not what it seems.

Directed by Yamamoto Satsuo (The Haunted Lantern), "Zatoichi the Outlaw" is far denser in storyline than previous entries, and lighter on action. Also, it represents a turning point in the level of violence and blood. When Zatoichi slices, limbs and heads come flying off, rather than just people falling over dead. When Katsu Productions took over, they upped the gore value on the series, as well as allowed Zatoichi to take advantage of some of the offers the ladies so often through his way. The character is still the lovable rogue from the previous fifteen films, but he becomes more of a rounded human being and less of a perfect hero. This Zatoichi makes mistakes, kills the wrong people, and has to set right wrongs of his own making.

Animeigo's release of "Zatoichi the Outlaw" is beautiful, as expected. That company really takes care of their films, and makes sure that nothing less than perfection carries their logo. Separate color-coding is sometimes used for the subtitles, which really helps when multiple characters speak at the same time. For extras the DVD nine pages of liner notes discussing the series and this particular episode, as well as translator notes explaining the title change! That level of detail is really appreciated. I always feel that with an Animeigo DVD you can actually study the movie as well as watch it.

"Zatoichi the Outlaw" is also included as part of the Zatoichi - The Blind Swordsman DVD Collector's Edition Box also released by Animeigo.

This 16th episode of Zatoichi tends to have a more complicated plotline than usual. This may be due to the fact that there are quite a few complicated characters in this film. Farmers in the province that Ichi has wandered into have clashed with the local Yakuza bosses, who wish to see the farms fail in order to increase their revenues.

The champion of the farmers are led by two different groups. One is by benenvolent and caring boss who wants to see the farmers taken care of better, and the other is a sort of philospher-samurai who wants to start an agrarian cooperative of sorts. The Yakuza bosses want to see the farms fail, because it will help increase their gambling revenues. Sound a little complicated yet?

The acting in this episode is very good; however, it seems as if the director Satsuo Yamamoto was trying to put too much into this particular Zatoichi episode. Moreover, lost in this film is the noble qualities that we are used to with the Ichi character. I believe too much reliance on severed limbs, and lots of blood was the major problem with this episode. Yes, I am aware that Ichi lives in violent times and the nature of the swordsman sometimes requires the lopping off of a limb or two. But good writing always takes precedence to the violence.

However, the cinematography in the film is absolutely beautiful as usual: The stunning Japanese countryside is shown in all its splendor. I would not say this was the worst Zatoichi film. It could have been better; however, the storyline just didn't go anywhere with me. Recommended, but with caution.

ZatoIchi, blind swordsman of Japan is at his best. The film portrays a historical period of Japanese history largely unknown to Western Audiences.

Ichi once again protects the weak while making fools of the corrupt and powerful. The film provides blend of interesting & unexpected turns of fate with fast paced action.

Definitely a film of the moral high ground. Recommended for all audiences, although some may find the film violent for young audiences.

This was a movie I did not have. I enjoyed it and will enjoy it again and again in the future.

Another great film, but not as much about fighting as about making the right choices. Zatoichi finds that by using his cane sword, he can bring peace to a small village who are having problems with the local gang. Yet by using his sword to kill one evil is he putting another in its place. Can a good man, when given power and wealth, become an evil one? Does free will have any say in our life or is a man changed by the very system he supports and works for? Can a man who joins a corrupt government stay clean and ethical or will the very actions of working for said government change him?
The time period of the movie seems to spread over a year and the end is sad because, in the end, Zatoichi brought the events into creation with a few strikes of his sword at the start of the movie. A lot of Japanese history is used in the background, from the wandering samurai, the fear of Imperialists trying to overthrow the government, and the facts about growing rice!

I saw the film on a cheap korean karaoke player and realized it wasn't the dvd player on it but the player itself..

This is just a review of the technical aspect of the film. I thought the Animeigo transfer was horrible. The sound is especially horrendous as it is extremely tinny and grating. I had to almost turn the sound off to make it bearable...thank God for subtitles! The colors were good but it looked like a digital photo "sharpened" too many times. I prefer the previous company, Image Entertainment. Plus, you get a cool poster of the movie...:p Finally, just let me clarify that this is only for the quality of the transfer NOT the content which is the usual fun and cool Zatoichi!

The best entry I've seen so far in the Zatoichi series. The setting in these films seems so real and the stories touch the soul in a profound nature. I found myself tense throughout this entire movie, desperatley yearning for Zatoichi the blind masseur to distribute justice to those who wrong the innocent. The horrors that the villains commit become more and more unbearable and they really get under your skin. Zatoichi of course punishes the wrong doers in the end producing two very memorable fight scenes and leaving the viewer feeling completely fufilled. It should be noted that this episode contains a satisfying amount of blood and severed body parts, something the earlier entries in the series lacked. Great stuff.

Here are the pros and conts:

Good:
* Great cinematography.
* Awesome moves by Zatoichi.
* Great acting.

Bad:
* The dvd trailer fool you by showing a horse battle, barrel battle, daylight forest battle and a bridge battle that didn't appear in the movie!!!!!!!!!!
* There were like 3 action scenes in the whole movie and the only one that was cool was the night forest battle.
* To much blah,blah,blah!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sometimes I think that the best Zatoichi movie is Zatoichi goes to the Festival of Fire!!!

P.S: If you like to see movies like this, I recommend to buy the original Zatoichi in 1962.

Adios!!

This was an excellent movie. Great martial arts action with the sword as well as a good story, acting and characters. I really enjoyed this film and have ordered more of them to view. Zatoichi is a great character and the sword action is incredible.It's really a unique concept in a movie. I highly recommend it.