Zatoichi movies are in the house. It’s this great Japanese samurai series of old about a somewhat goofy, boozing, blind as a bat, nomadic masseur who’s packing more than meets the eye. His cane is in fact a concealed sword and he’ll cut noses off if foolishly attacked. Sure he can’t see, but he can hear and sense any movement (swinging sword, launched arrow), so he’s often working ten to twenty heavies like no tomorrow. And DO NOT fight the guy at night. You’ll be extra dust.

But Zatoichi’s a good guy, almost a handicapped, loner Robin Hood of the feudal Japanese countryside. Shintaro Katsu inhabited the role from 1962-78 (and in ‘89), spanning some 26 movies and 100 TV episodes. (Beat Takeshi directed and starred in a pretty all right 2003 remake.)

The most common plot in the series is Zatoichi mowing down the Yakuza gangs that are oppressing the poor farmers. There’s usually a great gambling scene in which Zatoichi can hear that different dice are being used by cheating shmucks trying to pull the wool over him. At times, he slices the dice in half, and then goes apeshit.

Of note: Shintaro Katsu’s brother is Tomisaburo Wakayama (different fathers?) who played the Shogun Assassin and also made an indelible appearance in The Bad News Bears Go To Japan.

So check out these Zatoichi movies. You’ll love ‘em. And savor the fact that Blind Fury with Rutger Hauer is a curious American take on the tale. Perhaps a better Western adaptation is the superhero Daredevil, who was also based on the character.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 11th, 2007 at 11:16 am and is filed under Movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.