Zatoichi, the famed blind swordsman, returns to his home village for the first time in many years. He is befriended by Omiyo, who had the same wet-nurse as Zatoichi. He also encounters a boyhood friend, Shinbei, who now is wealthy and appears not to remember Zatoichi. Shinbei seems to be interested in repaying the villagers’ debts, but is in reality manipulating the ownership of a now-valuable rock quarry. Zatoichi learns of the subterfuge and confronts his old friend, who has a score of yakuza swordsmen backing his play.
Length 88 minutes
Shintarō Katsu | Yukiyo Toake | Takashi Shimura | Eiji Okada | Kei Satō | Yoshio Tsuchiya | Rie Yokoyama | Tatsuo Endô | Shiro Kishibe | Goro Kumon
Date Viewed | Device | Format | Source | Rating |
---|---|---|---|---|
10/24/2013 | TV | DVD | Library | 7 stars |
(Average) 7 stars |
Picked off another Shintarô Katsu Zatoichi flick primarily because Takashi Shimura is in this one, albeit a fairly small role. Another decent installment that has me craving that upcoming blu-ray set from Criterion. It will be glorious.
This has a great final sequence in a closed quarters storage room filled with bales of rice. Before that Zatoichi does a pretty awesome sword maneuver clipping the top of a candle. Good stuff. Looking forward to that upcoming B&N sale!
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