His sword made him a hero, his courage made him a legend.
19th Century Japan... Zatoichi (Takeshi "Beat" Kitano) is a blind wanderer who makes a living by gambling and giving massages. But behind his humble façade, Zatoichi is a master swordsman, gifted with lightning-fast draw and strokes of breathtaking precision. Zatoichi discovers a remote mountain town at the mercy of the Ginzo gang. The ruthless Ginzo dispose of anyone who gets in their way, quicker than ever since they recruited mighty samurai ronin Gennosuke Hattori (Tadanobu Asano). In a gambling joint, Zatoichi and trustworthy young friend Shinkichi (Gadarukanaru Taka) meet up with a couple of geishas. As dangerous as they are beautiful, O-Kinu (Yuuko Daike) and her sister O-Sei (Daigorô Tachibana) have come to town to avenge their parents' murder. With their only clue being the mysterious name Kuchinawa, the geisha sisters have lots of tricks up their sleeves. Sinister henchmen are soon hunting down Zatoichi. With his legendary cane sword at his side, Zatoichi's path is destined for many violent showdowns...
Special Agent Matti
Zatoichi is a hard-core samurai flick that uses the traditional Hollywood Western story of the stranger who rides into town and cleans up the trash, then rides out again leaving only a silver bullet.
"Who was that masked man?"
There are some funny bits, too. And some tap dancing. Where would a samurai flick be without tap-dancing peasants?
MA 15+ (High level violence)
115 minutes (1:55 hours)
Film: 2 September 2004
DVD rental: 16 February 2004
