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When Daiei Studios and star Shintaro Katsu made “The Tale of Zatoichi” in 1962, little would they have known that in just 8 years, they would be on the 20th entry in the series. No mean feat, they managed to reach the mammoth number by continually reinventing the narratives while still staying true to the same formula and putting a number of different directors at the helm, with five of the twenty titles made by Kenji Misumi. For the twentieth, they aimed to make the biggest and most ambitious entry yet, getting none other than the legendary Toshiro Mifune to share screen with Katsu, playing one of his most famous on-screen incarnations, the nameless ronin he played so wonderfully in “Yojimbo” and its follow-up “Sanjuro”. But how did they fare? Let’s find out.

Tired of all the killings and wandering, Zatoichi returns to his hometown after a long time,...

The overall nineteenth entry into the popular “Zatoichi”-franchise marked also the return of director Kenji Misumi into the series, who had started it back in 1962 with “The Tale of Zatoichi”. It also is a return to form for the story of the blind swordsman, especially after the excellent “Zatoichi and the Fugitives”, which was released in 1968 as well. While this previous feature shed some light into one of the core internal conflicts of the main character, Misumi’s movie not only included the typical ingredients of the series, but also emphasizes the way Zatoichi deals with the repercussions of the code he lives by, which is still the one by the yakuza. It is never truly addressed, for example, why the blind masseur, who has killed and maimed various yakuza bosses and their men for violating these principles, still seems to stick to these codes, which has caused nothing but harm thus far.

Albert Hughes takes us on a wild journey through the movies that made him, then explains why he’s not a cinephile (Spoiler: He is). Heads up – you’re going to hear some words you’ve never heard on our show before, and only one of them is Metropolis.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Gremlins (1984)

A Christmas Story (1983)

The Candidate (1972)

Menace II Society (1993)

Die Hard (1988)

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Scarface (1983)

Goodfellas (1990)

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Midnight Cowboy (1969)

Raging Bull (1980)

Taxi Driver (1976)

Alpha (2018)

Battleship Potemkin (1925)

Metropolis (1927)

True Romance (1993)

Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)

The Matrix (1999)

Man Bites Dog (1992)

Looney Tunes: Back In Action (2003)

A Serbian Film (2010)

Scarface (1932)

The Book of Eli (2010)

The Departed (2006)

Infernal Affairs (2002)

The Godfather (1972)

Casino (1995)

JFK (1991)

Dead Presidents (1996)

Eve’s Bayou (1997)

Basic Instinct (1992)

Psycho (1960)

The Cremator (1969)

The Firemen’s Ball (1967)

Halloween (2018)

From Hell (2001)

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

Hoffa (1992)

V For Vendetta (2005)

Spartacus (1960)

You Were Never Really Here...

After kickstarting the whole franchise in 1962’s “The Tale of Zatoichi”, director Kenji Misumi wouldn’t return to the series until two years later for the eight film and the third of 1964, “Fight, Zatoichi, Fight”, and in the process ended up creating one of the finest adventures for our blind hero.

Among the many, many people that want to kill Zatoichi for various reasons, is also a group of assassins that see Ichi get into a palanquin and decide to kill him once the palanquin reaches a secluded spot. However, just as he is about to sit inside, the ever-chivalrous Ichi ends up giving his ride to woman who is travelling with a baby in arms. Unaware of this fact, the assassins riddle the palanquin with their swords, killing the woman. When Zatoichi learns of this from the palanquin bearers, he rushes to the scene and, taking the boy in his arms,...

In an interview with IndieWire back in 1996, one year before the death of the famous Zatoichi actor Shintaro Katsu, Takashi Miike said “I plan to make some sort of jidai-geki. Traditional with kimonos, swords and Samurais, as “Lone Wold and Cub” or “Zatoichi”. Its going to be for all of the family. It will be a mixture of Shakespeare and Samurais.” He intended to cast Takeshi Kitano for the lead, but Kitano wanted to direct the movie himself and so Miike got kicked out of the project that he once started. Kitano continued the production and finally released “Zatoichi – The Blind Swordsman” in 2003.

But Miike, not known for being work-shy, picks up his idea again in 2007 to direct a stage play with Sho Aikawa as Ichi. In addition to crowd-pleasers like “Crows Zero” (2007), “Sukiyaki Western Django” (2007), and “Like a Dragon” (2007), Miike’s turn to the traditional Japanese theatre, Kabuki, proofs...

“Daimajin” by Kimiyoshi Yasuda stretches the genre borders and creates a well-aged drama about a big boy.

Being the first installment of a trilogy of which all movies have been shot at the same time, but were released a year apart, “Daimajin” resembles the trend of telling a Kaiju story in an Edo setting. The Japanese production company Diaei combines classic elements of the chanbara genre with the equally popular monster category.

Getting into the first 60 minutes of the plot, the movie goes into a totally different direction and does not feel like a monster movie at all. We are introduced to a political drama about a royal family that is torn apart by a coup. The heirs and their guardian have to flee to the mountains, where they hide for 10 years before they return to their home to free the people from a barbaric tyrant. That’s it for the sword fighting aspect.

The success of “The Tale of Zatoichi” was surprising for many, including those at the Daiei Film studio, who wasted no time in green-lighting a fast-tracked follow-up to the film. Sure enough, a mere six months later, “The Tale of Zatoichi Continues” was released. This trend of urgent follow-ups would go on to continue throughout the production of the Zatoichi series, with as many as four films often releasing in a year and several in various stages of production at the same time.

Still remorseful from killing Hirate, the man he thought he could grow to be friends with but regrettably found on the wrong side of the feudal war in the first film, Zatoichi decides to visit his grave to mark a year of the warrior’s passing, a journey that is going to prove a lot easier said than done, for hot on his heels...

In retrospect, the continuing popularity of a character such as Zatoichi, the blind masseur and skilled swordsman, fits within the overall mood of the 1960s. Much like Akira Kurosawa classic “Yojimbo” (1961) the story of an underdog, a man shunned by society, drawn towards the criminal sideways of Japanese society, but following a certain moral compass, Kenji Misumi’s work would also continue to be celebrated by Japanese and international audiences alike. At the same time, given the film’s story, it becomes obvious Daei studios never imagined the story of this character would resonate within Japanese people. Kenji Misumi, who would also direct some of the most impressive entries within the “Lone Wolf and Cub”-series, together with this main star Shintaro Katsu, had given birth to one of the most iconic characters of Japanese cinema.

Impressed by his skills as a swordsman, yakuza gang leader Sukegoro...

One of the first Asian Masters of Horror, Japanese director Nobuo Nakagawa offered up numerous exceptional horror films in the late 1950s and early 60s with scores of important and legendary titles. After several tales offering variations of ghost tales, Nakagawa decided to go for a more existential tale of remorse and greed which scored him one of the biggest hits of his career and secured his reputation with a vengeance leading to who he is today.

Trying to move on in life, Shiro Shimizu finds that his involvement with Tamura taints his relationship with his fiancée Yukiko Yajima as his disdainful attitude really sours her. When they both get involved in a car accident that takes its victim, they again feel differently about reporting their involvement in the incident, and soon afterward, a series of personal tragedies effects him. As they both take the news normally,...

Craig Lines Feb 18, 2019

We take a dive into the whopping 25-film Blu-ray release of Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman – The Criterion Collection.

This article comes from Den of Geek UK.

In the 1978 Us documentary The Blind Swordsman, Shintaro Katsu is asked how he’d like to present himself to American viewers. “I have zero interest in promoting myself,” he barks, waving the question away, “I run like a dark horse!” Indeed, this may go some way to explain that while he was celebrated as an actor, writer, director, producer and singer in Japan, his name still drifts only on the fringes of international pop culture.

The son of a kabuki performer, Katsu was born into performing arts and originally followed in his father’s footsteps as a shamisen player. After a tour of America during which he met James Dean, he changed his focus to acting and amassed a series of...

David’s Quick Take for the tl;dr Media Consumer:

Samaritan Zatoichi, the 19th film in the franchise and the fifth of six installments directed by Kenji Misumi (who started off the series with 1962’s original The Tale of Zatoichi) is a solid entry in the series that I can’t say is particularly unique or altogether distinctive from its predecessors. The aspect that stands out the most is that we get to see Zatoichi functioning in a role usually reserved for his backstory, that of a lethal yakuza enforcer, even though his companions in that early scene don’t seem to have any knowledge of his lethal capabilities. To them, he’s just a blind bumbling tagalong who could have just as easily been left behind. But as it turns out, Ichi is the guy who had to deliver the fatal blow to a young hothead who didn’t...

Once I saw the Zatoichi Blu-ray set from Criterion was on sale at Barnes & Noble it immediately became a hot item on my Christmas wish list. Thankfully, even at the ripe age of 36, my mother still asks what I would like for Christmas... Zatoichi it was and I couldn't be happier, the set is amazing! I can't remember exactly, but I think I watched the first six Zatoichi films on Hulu Plus earlier this year, but once I received the set there was no chance I wasn't starting from the beginning and working my way through. I managed to watch the first three so far -- The Tale of Zatoichi, The Tale of Zatoichi Continues and New Tale of Zatoichi -- and I really can't wait to get to Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo, but that's still 16 movies away. Speaking of Yojimbo, or Toshiro Mifune to be more accurate, I also just received for review,...

Moviefone's Top DVD of the Week

"Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me"

What's It About? The Memphis band Big Star has legions of diehard fans and critical acclaim aplenty, and its influence can be felt across the history of rock 'n' roll. But why did mainstream success elude them? Why did Big Star flame out after only three albums? This doc tries to put the pieces together.

Why We're In: Even fans don't know the whole story about this cult band and its members, so this doc will help them fill in some of the blanks. Chris Bell died in 1978 as an unknown, and the late Alex Chilton was also not a huge fan of talking to the media. "Nothing Can Hurt Me" puts the band into context of the Memphis scene, and it has tons of interviews with everyone left who was involved with the band, rock critics, and...

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Nov. 26, 2013

Price: Blu-ray/DVD Combo $224.95

Studio: Criterion

Shintaro Katsu relies on his blade in 1963's Zatoichi on the Road.

The colossally popular Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman action-adventure films make up the longest-running action series in Japanese history and created one of the screen’s great heroes: an itinerant blind masseur who also happens to be a lightning-fast swordsman.

As this iconic figure, the charismatic and earthy Shintaro Katsu became an instant superstar, lending a larger-than-life presence to the thrilling adventures of a man who lives staunchly by a code of honor and delivers justice in every town and village he enters.

The films that feature him are variously pulse-pounding, hilarious, stirring, and completely off-the-wall.

This deluxe set features the string of 25 Zatoichi films made between 1962 and 1973, collected in one package for the first time.

Here’s a list of the films in the collection:

The Tale Of Zatoichi...

This week was a decent week of movie watching for me as I saw Lee Daniels' The Butler and Kick-Ass 2 in theaters and at home watched The Tale of Zatoichi and The Tale of Zatoichi Continues and will be finishing New Tale of Zatoichi and watching Short Term 12 later today. And, again, if you don't have a Hulu Plus account but are interested in checking it out, click here for a two week trial. This coming week I'll be seeing The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones and Closed Circuit, but my hope is to also watch a lot more at home if time allows. Finally, last week I know I said I hoped the Letterboxd partnership would be live by now, but it looks like it's going to be some time next week that it finally starts up so stay tuned... it's coming. Now it's your turn,...

After yesterday's announcement that Criterion would be bringing the 25-film Zatoichi series to Blu-ray this November I decided I would finally check a couple of them out as they had been sitting in my Hulu Plus queue for quite some time. I ended up watching the first two from 1962 -- The Tale of Zatoichi and The Tale of Zatoichi Continues. To no real surprise, I enjoyed them both and even posted on Twitter that The Wolverine would have been far better had it simply learned a little from The Tale of Zatoichi and just remade it. I mention this because I'm hoping over the weekend I can watch a couple more. None of them are very long, running right around 90 minutes if not shorter and Hulu's current presentations are quite nice. If you're interested and don't yet have a Hulu account you can click here for a free two week trial.

Got a fondness for a certain wandering blind swordsman? Turns out so does the Criterion Collection, who have just announced a massive 27 disc Zatoichi box set due to release November 26th. It's a dual BluRay / DVD affair spanning twenty five feature films with special features including: New digital restorations of all twenty-five films, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks on the Blu-raysThe Blind Swordsman, a 1978 documentary about Zatoichi portrayer and filmmaker Shintaro Katsu, along with a new interview with its director, John NathanNew interview with Asian-film critic Tony RaynsTrailers for all twenty-five filmsNew English subtitle translationsA book featuring an essay by critic Geoffrey O'Brien; synopses of the films by critic, novelist, and musician Chris D.; "The Tale of Zatoichi," the original short story by...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Criterion has announced its upcoming November 2013 titles and they include some highly coveted films, one of 2013's better films, an impressive box set and their new dual-format DVD/Blu-ray releases. To begin, it was a little bit of a shock to see they have abandoned releasing both DVD and Blu-ray versions of their film and instead will now release DVD/Blu-ray, dual-format editions. Note here it says dual format "editions", not "discs", which leads me to believe most releases will include both a DVD and Blu-ray disc. Consider in today's announcement the 27-disc box set of the Zatoichi films. This consists of nine Blu-ray discs and 18 DVD discs. On top of that Criterion confirms features will be available for on both DVD and Blu-ray formats. As far as this months titles are concerned, I'll begin with the upgraded Blu-ray release of Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Story, which was the December 2012 selection...

Yesterday the Criterion Collection launched its very own Hulu channel! Quoth Criterion: “Currently showing are The Tale of Zatoichi, The Tale of Zatoichi Continues, New Tale of Zatoichi, The Fugitive, On the Road,and Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold. All six films star Shintaro Katsu in his most iconic role, as the legendary blind masseur who lives by the yakuza code and answers his foes with a deadly cane sword.” Yes please times a hundred. Free things buffs will note that these films are not the first Criterion titles to appear on Hulu: Last March Whit Stillman’s The Last Days of Disco was uploaded six months before its Criterion release and is still available for your viewing pleasure.

I love the Zatoichi movies. Love 'em. One of my shelves has a pile of Zatoichi DVDs thirty cases high. The tale of a blind swordsman with amazing moves and a penchant for gambling certainly has no shortage of material for the dedicated fan: it spawned twenty-seven films and a one hundred and twelve-episode TV series. Zatoichi is remarkable for many reasons, but primarily because actor Shintaro Katsu played the character in every screen appearance but one. Now, thanks to a deal between Criterion and Hulu, you can watch six of the films, the first chapters in the long series, for free. This looks to be the first of a series of Hulu offerings from Criterion, and it's a great start.  Hulu is streaming the first six films in the series, beginning with the black and white films The Tale of Zatoichi and The Tale of Zatoichi Continues, and then...