It was originally released by the daiei motion picture company later acquired by kadokawa pictures zatoichi challenged is the seventeenth episode in the 26part film series devoted to the character of. Probably my most favorite character in all movies and film. The film summoned the most sequels of a samurai film. He starred in 24 more zatoichi films between 1962 and 1973, 100. The third film, in 1963, was the first to be filmed in color. Zatoichi in desperation has been ranked 504 times, wins 48. Always fighting for the underdog, noble zatoichi sets out to keep a girl from becoming a prostitute. The best martial arts movie series youve never heard of. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. Star shintaro katsu sits in the directors chair for this psychedelic and unremittingly bleak entry in the zatoichi series, which is unlike any other in its grindhouse grimness.
Zatoichi is one of the great characters of any medieval japanese film, and unusually he is not a samurai himself. The colossally popular zatoichi films make up the longestrunning. A tribute to the combat scenes and shintaro katsus deftness and all around awesomeness in the first 5 movies of the zatoichi series. The zatoichi films flourished during the extraordinary era in japanese filmmaking when the traditional period film was reconfigured in such masterpieces as akira kurosawas yojimbo 1961 and sanjuro 1962, masaki kobayashis harakiri 1962 and samurai rebellion 1967, kihachi okamotos the sword of doom 1966, hideo goshas goyokin. Zatoichi, while fighting off the usual group of gangsters, meets the apprentice of the swordsman who created his blade, who relays bad news about the sword. Well, unless the next and final one tops it, which would be difficult. Watch zatoichi s conspiracy full movie in hd visit movie 54307 zatoichi, the famed blind swordsman, returns to his home village f. Starting to work my way through the zatoichi movies a list of them in order is at ht. Zatoichi and the chess expert season 1, episode 12 122365 zatichi befriends a chessloving wandering samurai and helps a young girl accidentally wounded in a sword fight. The movie had an unusual start as zatoichi runs into a woman on a bridge who offers him some advice about where to go. Zatoichi returns to his home village for the first time in over ten years to find much has changed and that corruption abounds. Film, television and classical music download links zatoichi musical journey 1962 1973, vbr if this is your first visit, be sure to check out the faq by clicking the link above.
This is the th feature in the popular film series about the blind, swordslashing masseur zatoichi. On the road with zatoichi the current the criterion. Guys from bonn to buenos aires who nod off after 10 minutes of yasujiro ozus tokyo monogatari. Zatoichi in desperation, the penultimate film of the original film series, is definitely my favourite.
After a dozen years and 25 films, the blind swordsman transitioned to the small screen in 1974. Zatoichi is a criticallyacclaimed recent entry in a decadeslong japanese media franchise, but i regrettably found it to be rather poor, with limp, meandering pacing and fun yet uninteresting. The zatoichi series has long been an entry point for nonjapanese into japanese films. A tale of innocence corrupted by sadistic, sleazy criminality, the film is propelled by easy rideresque editing and a trippy seventies funk score by kunihiko murai. Zatoichi challenged, zatoichi chikemurikaido is a 1967 japanese chambara film directed by kenji misumi and starring shintaro katsu as the blind masseur zatoichi. Zatoichi in desperation 1972 directed by shintaro katsu. He enters a town controlled by an evil gang and decides to free the people from the mobs. Zatoichi by director takeshi kitano featuring himself in the classic role.
After accidentally causing an old ladys death, zatoichi seeks out her daughter to atone for the tragedy, consequently getting into all sorts of trouble. A list of the zatoichi films in chronological order. But zatoichi in his run of two dozen films stays good to the end. The 25th film was made in 1973, followed by a hiatus of 16 years until. Set in the 19th century, the film has kitano himself as the blind masseur and itinerant wiseguywarrior zatoichi, a legendary character familiar in japan from tv specials and movies starring.
Zatoichi in desperation 1972 the criterion collection. From the get go, this is very different film from its predecessors. Zatoichi, zatoichi is a fictional character featured in one of japans longestrunning series of films, as well as a television series. Usually when a film series starts getting long, most of the films in the series are mediocre at best, particularly in the later shows. The tale of zatoichi is the introduction to zatoichi, a blind yakuza swordsman with a code of honor. The blind swordsman zatoichi is a cultural icon in japan, with hundreds of television episodes and over twentyfive feature films devoted to the beloved character. A pop culture icon since his screen debut in 1962, zatoichi played by samurai film legend shintaro katsu was a matinee favorite throughout the 1960s.
Broken cane literal translation the legend of zatoichi. Star shintaro katsu sits in the directors chair for this psychedelic and unremittingly bleak entry in the zatoichi series, which is unlike any other. With shintaro katsu, kiwako taichi, kyoko yoshizawa, yasuhiro koume. The film has been released under alternate titles, including. Both are set during the late edo period 1830s and 1840s. Primarily for my own reference as i make my way through the films but may be useful to others also taking the. Zatoichi in desperation is the twentyfourth motion picture in the series, with star shintaro katsu back in the lead and behind the camera as director. Shintaro katsu appears on screen as zatoichi for the last time. It was released in the united states by toho international with english subtitles in september 1973. The character, a blind masseur and blademaster, was created by novelist kan shimozawa this originally minor character was developed for the screen by daiei film now kadokawa daiei studio. Finally, i watched zatoichi in desperation, which is easily the worst zatoichi film ive watched yet. The discs best aspect, without a doubt, is the audio presentation, which is featured here on a 2.
That high degree of unpredictability in the story line is the main attraction for me. It seems that the problem with zatoichi in desperation is a problem that plagues many series, and that is. This deluxe set features the string of twentyfive zatoichi films made between 1962 and 1973, collected in one package for the first time. Zatoichi, japans most popular cinematic hero, starred in over 25 feature films from 1962 through 1973. Filminfos zu zatoichi meets the onearmed swordsman 1971. After accidentally causing an old ladys death, zatoichi seeks out her daughter to atone for the tragedy, consequently getting into all sorts of. The best cuts 1967 1973 original motion picture soundtracks licensed to youtube by tunecore on behalf of red bitch music. Having said this, zatoichi in desperation cannot be called a terrible film. Zatoichi tries to save a maiden in distress in this sequel to the popular series about a blind samurai swordsman who moonlights as a masseur. The tale of zatoichi was released in japan on april 12, 1962. Zatoichi in desperation is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2. Most zatoichi films introduce a skilled swordsman of some sort whether samurai.
Since so many older films were being remade in the 2000s it was only natural that someone would do zatoichi. The zatoichi film franchise is comprised of 26 theatrical releases. Director kenji misumi made every scene look like a panel of manga, misumi, took its time with every scene, he never rush any conversation, he let the film breath so i could admire the beautiful black and white cinematography that outdoors. The first, the tale of zatoichi known as zatoichi monogatari in japan, appeared in 1974 and ran for 26 episodes. The editing is awful, there is hardly a story and there is even a scene where a gang of men chase down a mentally challenged young man and masterbate him until he orgasms, with his semen actually hitting one of the men in the face. These films had a variety of accomplished directors behind the camera, but they always starred shintaro katsu 19311997 in the role of the titular, blind and wandering masseur with a penchant for gambling, sake, and slicing up of bad guys. This was followed by a second tv series in 1976, new zatoichi or shin zatoichi, that ran for three more seasons 29 episodes in. Zatoichi faces a desperate battle to free a woman from a geisha house. Zatoichi was one of the classic period piece franchises in 1960s70s japanese cinema with over 20 releases and a tv series. With its lightningfast swordplay, sleightofhand dice games, and codes of honor upheld and betrayed, this first chapter sets the stage for all the zatoichi adventures to come.
A list of 26 films compiled on letterboxd, including the tale of zatoichi 1962, the tale of zatoichi continues 1962, new tale of zatoichi 1963, zatoichi the fugitive 1963 and zatoichi on the road 1963. Zatoichis conspiracy 1973 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Only film in the original series directed by zatoichi himself, shintaro katsu. The original zatoichi series had almost finished its run when zatoichi in desperation came out in 1972. One cannot predict the story line with the constant weave of plots and characters the viewer encounters as the story progresses. Once piecemealed a title at a time on vhs, then later on dvd in sometimes groups of three.