Studio: Koch International Release Date: 01/25/2005The collision of Japan’s two most famous cinematic swordsmen–Shintarô Katsu’s blind masseur, gambler, and rascally hero Ichi and Toshiro Mifune’s unnamed wandering mercenary and scruffy antihero who goes by the appellation Yojimbo (which means, simply, bodyguard)–makes this one of the most riveting chapters in Zatoichi’s long-running saga. Not quite friends and not really enemies, the rival swordsmen meet in a once-peaceful village caught between rival gangs, a swarm of government spies, and a fortune in stolen gold. Director Kihachi Okamoto gives Yojimbo a marvelous ambiguity that Mifune invests with a grubby sense of honor, whether growling and drinking and stirring things up or fearlessly strolling through the climactic gang war, dispatching attackers with a swipe and a grimace. But if the story belongs to Yojimbo, the film is Zatoichi’s: his minor scams and clowning demeanor hide a reluctant warrior and a tragic hero. –Sean Axmaker
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May 8, 2010
#1
This Zatoichi movie is not THAT good.
I’ll tell you why:
Good:
* Good cinematoghraphy.
* Cool snow scenes.
* Cool short fight at the begining.
* Thank god!! this movie cost 20$ instead of 30$.
Bad:
* Bad and short fight between Toshiro Mifune and Zatoichi!!
* Zatoichi have to fight with his sword broken apart all the time.
* There is a fight when Zatoichi use only his swordcane intead of his blade.
* Zatoichi’s movements were not that fast.
* Most of the movie is blah,blah,blah and there is not much action!
Adios!
May 8, 2010
#2
First things first, for those that are concerned (and I’m sure you will be as I was), Toshiro Mifune is NOT playing the Yojimbo character from the Kurosawa movies. The title is purely a cash-in, though I’m not sure if it is for the modern Western market or the original title translates as such and was designed to con the Japanese market. The only other film I know of where Mifune genuinely plays the Yojimbo character is “Ambush at Blood Pass” which was the film the both actors completed after this one. In all respects, this is a bad film sadly. It has a few nice moments but its clear this was a commercial venture utilising the two most famous male Japanese actors and characters at the time. In all honesty, I know little about the Zatoichi character, but imagine that the original film must be far superior to this. I couldn’t really recommend this film to anyone unless you’re a hardcore fan of Japanese Cinema or of the two actors. There are many, many better films of the genre to choose from. Even “Ambush at Blood Pass” which is not a great film is still significantly superior to this one. “Zatoichi versus Yojimbo”, like many Japanese films of the time seems confused over what audience its aiming at. The result is an unsatisfactory soup of part comedy, part slasher, part period drama, part morality tale which limps from moment to moment. As said previously, some of these scenes are nice in themselves, but the overall effect is somewhat bland with some scenes almost cringe-worthy. For the uninitiated, always try a Kurosawa film first, if not (and you are interested in Samurai films from an historical perspective) then you may prefer to look at the films of Mizoguchi or Kobyashi. If you just want to see a good samurai flick with Mifune in it, then you may want to look at films such as “Red Lion”, “Samurai Assassin” or “Samurai Banners” which are more rounded films and are currently available. As said, I don’t know much about Zatoichi, but I would imagine the original and early films are better than this one and worth the effort. Still, I hope this proves useful, it would have saved me money!
May 8, 2010
#3
The only reason i like this film is to see one more time Toshiro Mifune replace his old yoijimbo, Toshiro for me is the greatest actor of the story of Japan.
May 8, 2010
#4
You would expect a movie like this to be much more interesting. Two renowned actors playing their seminal roles, meeting each other in an action movie reminiscent of the Clint Eastwood-Lee Van Cleef era. Instead, the movie is tedious, dwelling on a depressed and irascible Yojimbo and a character conflict that is more annoying than significant. When Yojimbo and Zatoichi square off against each other, it’s hard to explain why they’d really want to — it certainly isn’t for bragging rights or honor or to ensure that the good guys win. The ultimate resolution of the story and discovery of the hidden treasure is somewhat interesting, I suppose, but hardly makes it worthwhile to sit through the length of the movie. The only real reason to see the movie is for the curiosity factor of catching Zatoichi and Yojimbo together. I understand there is one other movie that pairs the two of them — perhaps it is more worth seeking out.
May 8, 2010
#5
The fact that this movie exists, and that it is actually good, is a rare surprise. When two characters are as popular and famous as Katsu Shintaro’s Zatoichi and Mifune Toshiro’s Yojimbo, the temptation to throw them together into a single film is often too great to resist for movie studios, but the results are usually a disaster. They are gimmick films at their hearts.
Fortunately, this one was done right. The 20th installment in the 26 film Zatoichi series, “Zatoichi meets Yojimbo” (original title “Zatoichi to Yojimbo”, meaning “Zatoichi and Yojimbo”, the “meets” was thrown in there for Western audiences), teams up two of the titans of the samurai genre, three if you count director Okamoto Kihachi (The Sword of Doom). There is an easy comradeship between them, and Mifune’s star power does not overshadow Katsu’s lead.
The story is pretty typical of the series. Zatoichi is weary; he has broken his famous cane sword, and seeks refuge in a village he passed through some years ago. In a nod to the original Yojimbo film, the once-peaceful village finds itself in the middle of a gang war where two rivals fight for control of the town. Zatoichi’s appearance makes him a wildcard, as both sides bid for his service. But then into town comes a rough and ready character and apparent drunkard willing to also sell his sword to service. The two play off of each other, circling around for the inevitable battle. Of course, there is more to the story: The beautiful prostitute Umeno (Wakao Ayaka Red Angel, Manji) is capturing both rival’s hearts, a secret stockpile of gold is to be found and fought for, and a third rival comes to town in the form of Kishida Shin (Kill! ) as gunslinger Kuzuryu, the nine-headed dragon.
Admittedly, the plot isn’t going to win any major awards, but one doesn’t really watch the Zatoichi series for the plot. They watch it for Katsu’s easy charm, and the fun familiarity that only comes with a long-running series. Mifune’s drunken swaggering is a great counterbalance to the Zatoichi character. This isn’t exactly the same character from Kurosawa’s classic films, but close enough. There is one nice in-joke, where he is referred to as Shijuro (forty-year-old), setting the character ten years after Sanjuro (meaning thirty-year-old). The showdown between the two isn’t quite as dynamic as I was hoping for, but the ending was very satisfying.
Mifune and Katsu would meet again just a few months later after the release of “Zatoichi meets Yojimbo”, in the Inagaki Hiroshi flick Incident at Blood Pass. Mifune would again reprise the Yojimbo character for this film, although Katsu was a mountain-bandit Gentetsu. Mifune clearly was not opposed to a good team-up, as he would meet The Magnificent Seven actor Charles Bronson a year later in the Western Red Sun.