Zatoichi, zatoichi is a fictional character featured in one of japans longestrunning series of films and a television series that are both set during the late edo period 1830s and 1840s. To download a list of 35 titles created 08 may 2018 zatoichi a list of 29 titles. Their confrontation is predictable, but zatoichi takes out a host of yakuza to eventually confront his childhood friend. And the use of very attractive japanese actresses in main roles really sets off zatoichis character as the blind, bumbling, almost unkempt, masseuse and master samurai swordsman who cannot resist any game of. The second half of the film is fast paced and has an interesting story. The character, a blind masseur and blademaster, was created by novelist kan shimozawa. With shintaro katsu, yukiyo toake, eiji okada, kei sato. This list tries to track down not only the greatest, but also the most essential zatoichi films which brought this formula to live, tried to improve it or varied it intelligently. Zatoichi tv series collection 1 6disc collection of the first zatoichi tv episodes. Everything comes full circle when zatoichi returns to his hometown. In this japanese actioner, the brave blind swordsman zatoichi runs across a childhood comrade who has grown up to be a cruel and powerful.
Katsu directed, produced and cowrote this finale, concocting a mishmash of familiar zatoichi plot elements. Watch zatoichis conspiracy english subtitled prime video. This is a list of all the zatoichi movies starring shintaro katsu. The first, the tale of zatoichi known as zatoichi monogatari in japan, appeared in 1974 and ran for 26 episodes.
The colossally popular zatoichi films make up the longestrunning action series in japanese history and created one of the screens great heroes. Blind masseur zatoichi travels from town to town gambling, drinking, and fighting off the local gangs. Zatoichis conspiracy 1973 zatoichi returns to his hometown and learns a childhood friend has become a feared crime lord, keeping the locals in debt and bilking them of their rice. Janus films is proud to present a touring retrospective spanning abbas kiarostamis nearly fivedecade career. After being released from jail on charges of petty theft, ichi finds himself caught between two rival bands of yakuza, one of whom has obtained a cache of guns from crooked policemen.
The video presentation here is all right, but lacks the normal polish one associates with the company. Capping off zatoichis feature film era before he made the transition to television in 1974, this chapter is suffused with melancholy, closing the series on a note of. Zatoichi on the road, zatoichi and the chest of gold, zatoichi meets yojimbo. I enjoyed the slow buildup and the payoff is nice, but ultimately this is quite forgettable. In japanese w english subtitles the blind swordsman continues on his journey and encounters a dying pregnant woman. Shintaro katsu in zatoichi monogatari 1974 shintaro katsu and yukiyo toake in. Zatoichi returns to his home village for the first time in over ten years to find much has changed and that corruption abounds. Zatoichi, the latest film from director kitano takeshi and his most commercially successful to date on home turf, is always going to play differently to a western audience than a japanese one. Capping off zatoichis feature film era before he made the transition to television in 1974, this chapter is suffused with melancholy, closing the series on a note of seriousness and. Zatoichis conspiracy zatoichi at the blood fest 1974. Since then, with the cute but cloying kikujiro, the entertaining but.
Capping off zatoichis feature film era before the transition to television in 1974, this entry is suffused with melancholy, closing the series on a note of emotional heft that it has well earned. After zatoichi learns of his senseis murder he uncovers a horrible conspiracy involving the local government and crime family. Zatoichis conspiracy 1973 the criterion collection. Zatoichis conspiracy 1973 directed by kimiyoshi yasuda. From 1974 to 1979, the television series zatoichi was produced, starring katsu and. Zatoichis conspiracy kimiyoshi yasuda on the 25th of his many journeys, the blind swordsman zatoichi shintaro katsu comes upon a village from his past where he is greeted by various people from his past, including a childhood friend who is fleecing the residents of its valuable reserves. In this japanese actioner, the brave blind swordsman zatoichi runs across a childhood comrade who has grown up to be a cruel and powerful yakuza who mercilessly steals everything the peasants have. Zatoichi, zatoichi is a fictional character featured in one of japans longestrunning. Extras include liner notes by tom mes, a foldout mini poster and trailers for zatoichi and the fugitives, samaritan zatoichi and an overall promo for home visions zatoichi series. Road house 1948 ida lupino, cornel wilde, richard widmark, celeste holm duration. The blind swordsman 1989 page 1 of 1 previous next page. Zatoichi tv series volume 1 finally, the famed tv series is now available for u. He also encounters a boyhood friend, shinbei, who now is wealthy and appears not to remember zatoichi. I would say the consistently excellent first eight, plus zatoichi and the chess expert and zatoichis cane sword, form the essential core of the.
Shintaro katsu, yukiyo toake, eiji okada, kei sato, yoshio tsuchiya, shiro kishibe, rie yokoyama, tatsuo. He finds that a childhood friend has become a feared crime lord, keeping the locals in debt and bilking them of their rice. Shintaro katsu, shintaro akatsuki, renji ishibashi. Shintaro katsu took his final bow as zatoichi, the nomadic blind swordsman, in this martial arts action saga from japan. Zatoichis conspiracy is not the worst film in the series, but its a bit blah. Many of the earliest films in the series had wonderful. At the time of its release, this became the twentysixth episode in the saga of zatoichi, and the first theatricallyreleased zatoichi episode since the 1973 zatoichis conspiracy. Although you cant go wrong with any of the katsu originals, now i think the earlier ones tend to be the cream of the crop.
Five, 1hour episodes comprise this first dvd volume. Older, wiser but still a wandering loner, the blind, peaceloving ichi seeks a peaceful life in a rural village. This series includes new restorations, undertaken by the criterion collection and mk2, of the koker trilogy, taste of cherry, the wind will carry us, and rarely screened shorts and documentaries. Capping off zatoichis feature film era before the shift to television, this entry is suffused with melancholy, closing the series on a note of emotional heft that it has well earned. When hes caught in the middle of a power struggle between two rival yakuza clans, his reputation as a defender of the innocent is put to the ultimate test in a. Zatoichi, the famed blind swordsman, returns to his home village for the first time in many years. Capping off zatoichis feature film era before the transition to television in 1974, this entry is suffused with melancholy, closing the series on a note of emotional. Directed by kimiyoshi yasuda writing credits yoshi hattori, kan shimozawa produced by shintaro katsu, hiroyoshi nishioka, ikuo kubodera music by akira ifukube cinematography by chishi makiura film editing by yoshiharu hayashi production design by seiichi oota. Frequently asked questions how many zatoichi films were made. Ten years after the zatoichi television series ended in 1979, shintaro katsu brought his iconic character back to the cinema for one last hurrah. The blind swordsman movie videos for the full length movie and video clips on mefeedia.
This was followed by a second tv series in 1976, new zatoichi or shin zatoichi, that ran for three more seasons 29 episodes in 1976, 19 episodes in 1978 and 26 episodes in 1979. That same gambling scene weve seen 24 times before. On dvd, the anamorphic widescreen transfer is great and the sound is in its original mono format. Zatoichis conspiracy 1973 is an action, drama movie starring shintaro katsu and yukiyo toake. Its interesting that the series pauses at this point. The original zatoichi films are as much part of japanese culture as bond films are to ours, and the best are every bit as highly regarded with good reason, i should add, whereas in the uk these films. He made 24 installments between 1962 and 1973, and made the last one 16 years later in 1989. Animeigos release of zatoichis conspiracy, the last film in the long running zatoichi series to go through toho, is sadly not up to snuff with the companys many other releases.
Zatoichi returns to his home village for the first time in over ten years to find much has changed and that corruption. So this film marks the 25th film in a period of 12 years. Zatoichi 58x subtitles download movie and tv series. Free download from source, api support, millions of users. Zatoichis conspiracy does a good job of injecting some gravitas through the exploration of home and delving into ichis origins, even if it plays loose with his previously established origins in the process. Is a fictional character featured in a longrunning series of japanese films and a tv series are. Its a story of greed and the story is being sown by zatoichis childhood friend, who has returned to the village at the same time as zatoichi. As this iconic figure, the charismatic and earthy shintaro katsu became an instant superstar, lending a largerthanlife presence to the thrilling adventures of a man who. It was originally released by the daiei motion picture company later acquired by kadokawa pictures zatoichis revenge is the tenth episode in the 26part film series devoted to the character of zatoichi. Movie and tv subtitles in multiple languages, thousands of translated subtitles uploaded daily.