Customer Reviews

Zatoichi the Blind Swordsman, Vols. 5-8

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Instead of breaking down the review into four parts, one for each film, let me just list WHY you should buy this set. The Japanese method of movie making is to put MORE money into the sequels, to keep the characters, to try to link the plots so there is continuity between movies. They use the same actors for the same characters, they try to get the best writers and the experienced directors. In other words, the movies get better.
And you can tell. There is lots of humor but also they are playing with the art of the colored film. New opening scenes, camera angels, blood spraying sword slashes - we finally see blood in this set. The music, the story lines, the settings are all well thought out, crafted, and made with care. The wind blowing dust across the streets, the busy crowds in the background, the feeling that the story is happening in the real world and not some stage.
Movies 5 to 8 total about 5 hours and 39 minutes, with some extras in the form of trailers and some photo stills.

I bought the first Zatoichi film, "The Tale of Zatoichi." I really enjoyed the film and was impressed with the extras-an insert with an essay written by a Zatoichi freak and a set of 4 Collector's Cards. When I saw this set of 4 films I was overjoyed and I bought it. However I was a little disappointed to discover that this set has only the disks with no cards or inserts. Is there any way to get the inserts or collector's cards now? According to reviews I've read of the individual films they all included them.
The movies themselves rate 5 stars. But I'll dock the sets one star each for the missing inserts and cards.

The Blind Swordsman series is fantastic. IFC started showing these every Friday last year. (Has since stopped)
I recorded 18 of them... All of the ones they showed. I am now buying the 10 or so that where not shown.
Very well made. Try to watch them in order.

Love love LOVE Zatoichi! This series is fantastic. Ridiculous, touching, occasionally funny, and sooooo very Japanese (he never gets the girl!).

SPOILER AHEAD

In this second volume the cinematography gets better, even if the stories kind of...don't. But how many times can you rehash "blind guy is walking/blind guy gets caught up in town power play/blind guy meets girl who likes him/blind guy kicks every *ss in reach of his sword/girl dies/blind guy leaves?" It's like expecting salted, buttery, delicious popcorn to taste like caviar the next time you make salted, buttery, delicious popcorn. Nope. Zato is Zato, and it's daaaang tasty.

OK, except for the last Zatoichi movie the actor made in the 80's. That kind of sucked. But at least he "got" the girl. In a samurai hot tub. Hubba hubba.

I love all the Ichi movies. I'm trying to collect them all. There are heart warming and honorable themes studied throughout Shintaro Katsu's character of Ichi. Also, at the time of filming, there were no CG or special effects involved. It just goes to prove, great stories and great direction will always make for great movies. FIGHT ICHI, FIGHT!

When I ordered series 1-4 of Zatoichi, as well as the 7-disc boxset, I also ordered the "Lone Wolf and Cub" 6-movie boxset, which set me back a bit, but sometimes when things are "on sale"....
Anyway, though I've often heard that "Lone Wolf and Cub" are the better of the two series, I find myself enjoying "Zatoichi" more. I've watched half of the "Lone Wolf" series, and I've just finished watching the 6th of "Zatoichi" (2nd from this set), and don't get me wrong, "Lone Wolf" is very entertaining (and much more graphic!), but "Zatoichi" seems more about the story, the characters (especially the humble, shy, occasionally funny, and likable Zatoichi), and the (jumping way up into the air) fight scenes aren't so exaggerated. But, then again, it's also the mystical, unusual and bizarre circumstances that make Lone Wolf (pushing his little son across the rugged terrain in a large, heavy wooden baby carriage, with wooden wheels, no less!) and his extremely dangerous adventures, also so appealing.
In the end, if you like Zatoichi, you might just end up buying all 26 movies eventually. I'm hoping that Image will put out a couple more of these 4-disc series, (to save money), and to catch up to the 7-disc AnimeIgo box set.
It's the originality of both "Zatoichi" and "Lone Wolf and Cub", (many of which go as far back as 30 to almost 50 years since their release), that make these something much more special than today's super-fast edited, CGI and explosion-drenched, and always predictable movies of similar genre. Remember, these and Kurosawa before, as well as a few others, were the first and the "originals".

Volume 1 especially was good. Even through volume 4 was good. I had high hopes for this set. However, the story line/plots just weren't as compelling as the first 4. For an example, volume 1 has a renown samurai who has developed a terminal illness meeting Zatoichi while fishing and get to admire each other and become friends before finding out that they each are staying at opposing lords' homes who are about to go to war with each other. The samurai and Ichi end up dueling at the request of the samurai who knows that his days are numbered and didn't want to end his life at the hands of scoundrels but by someone he admired like Ichi. Ichi was humble while menacing throughout the 4 volumes. However, from volume 4 the movies start out with scenes of Ichi in action killing several men while telling them witty stuff. I felt that the character had changed a bit. Out of volumes 4-7, volume 7 had a compelling storyline. The others were just drawn out TV show in quality.

I spent time in Japan a long time ago and used to watch Zatoichi on the television then. This is a story much like the American western movies. We have our hero, who always comes into town to investigate the bad guys. He works around gathering information on all the bad things happening in this town. Then he challenges the usual gang of evil doers. And finally he does in the leader of the gang and rids the town of evil forever. Everyone loves him, and he leaves.
AND, just like our western heros, he does all sorts of wonderful things with his skills. Zatoichi is a Samauri, a swordsman of the upmost skills. Although blind, he had honed his skills and hearing to a point he is nearly invincible. Of course, he is terribly outnumbered in every encounter. BUT, good triumphs over evil, and everyone lives happily every after and the good guy's daughter gets the ryokan back and all is well in the end. Predictable, but fun.

Zatoichi is the sweetest and saddest of samurai movie heroes, and he is perfectly realized by Katsu Shintaro. The first movie is better than the subsequent two: one gets the feeling that they were surprised by the hit they had, and rushed the latter two into production. The series picks up afterwards, the later films varying in quality, but always entertaining.