Zatōichi (2003 film)

Zatoichi (座頭市, Zatōichi) (released in the US as The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi) is a 2003 Japanese Jidaigeki action film, directed, written, co-edited by and starring Takeshi Kitano ("Beat" Takeshi) in his 11th directorial venture.[2] Kitano plays the role of the blind swordsman.

Zatoichi
Japanese theatrical release poster
Directed byTakeshi Kitano
Screenplay byTakeshi Kitano
Based onZatoichi (novel)
by Kan Shimozawa
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyKatsumi Yanagishima
Edited by
  • Takeshi Kitano
  • Yoshinori Ota
Music byKeiichi Suzuki
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 2 September 2003 (2003-09-02) (Venice)
  • 6 September 2003 (2003-09-06) (Japan)
Running time
116 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
Box office$32.3 million[1]

The film is a revival of the classic Zatoichi series of samurai film and television dramas. It premiered on 2 September 2003 at the Venice International Film Festival, where it won the prestigious Silver Lion for Best Director award, and went on to numerous other awards both at home and abroad. It also stars Tadanobu Asano, Michiyo Okusu, Yui Natsukawa, Guadalcanal Taka, Daigoro Tachibana, Yuko Daike, Ittoku Kishibe, Saburo Ishikura and Akira Emoto.

Plot

The film's plot follows a traditional theme, with Zatoichi (a blind swordsman) coming to the defense of townspeople caught up in a local yakuza gang war and being forced to pay excessive amounts of protection money. Meanwhile, Zatoichi befriends a local farmer and her gambler nephew and eventually offers his assistance to two geisha siblings (one of whom is actually a man) who are seeking revenge for the murder of their parents. The siblings are the only survivors of a robbery and massacre that was carried out on their family estate ten years ago. They soon discover the people responsible for the murders are the same yakuza wreaking havoc on the small town.

After slicing his way through an army of henchmen with his sword, Zatoichi defeats the yakuza's bodyguard, a powerful rōnin, in a duel. Zatoichi later wanders into town and confronts the yakuza bosses, killing the second-in-command and blinding the elderly yakuza boss (who had been masquerading as a bumbling old waiter up until this point) after surprising him by opening his eyes. The film ends with a dance number led by noted Japanese tap dance troupe The Stripes, and Zatoichi walking down a trail and tripping over a rock, saying "Even with my eyes wide open, I can't see anything."

Cast

Production

Kitano revealed that he was approached by others to create the film and therefore differed from his own techniques and followed the common filmmaking process in order to please them and make a pure-entertainment film.[3]

This film marks Kitano's first collaboration with composer Keiichi Suzuki, ending an 11-year streak with Joe Hisaishi. The director said he made the decision feeling that the film needed percussion-based music and that Hisaishi is not a flexible composer, and also suggested that Hisaishi had become too expensive for him. Costumes were created by Kazuko Kurosawa.[4]

Kitano used digital technology to increase the gore of the fights.[5]

Reception

Box office

The film grossed US$23.8 million in Japan.[6]

Critical response

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, Zatoichi had a approval rating of 87% based on 127 reviews and an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's critical consensus states: "Colorful, rich with action and wonderfully choreographed, Takeshi Kitano takes on the classic samurai character with his own brand of cinematic flair".[7] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 75 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generaly favourable reviews".[8]

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave Zatoichi 4 out of 5 stars.[9] Jasper Sharp of Midnight Eye praised the film as "pure cinematic magic".[10] Allan Tong of Exclaim! said, "when Zatoichi is on screen, the film erupts with brilliant fury in unforgettable action sequences".[11] The Washington Post praised the film while comparing it to Yojimbo, Sanjuro and Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance.[5]

Awards

References
  1. "The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi". Box Office Mojo.
  2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2009-08-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Takeshi Kitano Interview". The A.V. Club. 2004-08-11. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
  4. "Midnight Eye interview: Takeshi Kitano". Midnight Eye. 2003-11-05. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
  5. Hunter, Stephen (August 6, 2004). "Blind Fury: A New Vision Of Zatoichi". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  6. Mark Schilling (May 18, 2015). "Japan Box Office: 'Cinderella' Wins Fourth Weekend". variety. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  7. "Zatōichi (2003 film)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  8. "The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi". Metacritic.
  9. Bradshaw, Peter (19 March 2004). "Zatoichi - Film". The Guardian.
  10. Sharp, Jasper (6 October 2003). "Midnight Eye review: Zatoichi (2003, Takeshi KITANO)". Midnight Eye.
  11. Tong, Allan (October 2003). "Zatoichi - Directed by Takeshi Kitano - TIFF Reviews - exclaim.ca". Exclaim!.
  12. "ドメインパーキング". web-jpn.org.
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