Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman

[poppachubby]

Since upgrading my H/T system, I have been digging out all of my sword themed movies. Nothing more bad-azz than a sword being unsheathed in digital 5.1.

This movie is a revival of the classic Japanese character, Zatoichi. He is a blind swordsman who wanders quite aimlessly, meeting people and getting into adventures. If you want to try something different, watch this movie. It has everything you could possibly want and the storyline will have you hanging onto your seat.

I don't know how to review a movie. I will say this is a great one...

[Worf101]

Why the new one? Why not the classic from the 50's and 60's? Everything new isn't better.

Da Worfster

[poppachubby]

Why the new one? Why not the classic from the 50's and 60's? Everything new isn't better.

Da Worfster

Hahhahaha.....Worf!!! I'm not sure how you read into my post's meaning as: new is better. There are probably a good 15 old school Zatoichi flicks of which I own about 7. However, I just got done watching this, and it's great. Secondly, most people have a difficult time with asian movies, dubbing/subbing, etc. This 2003 version is extremely watchable.

Have you seen it??

[Worf101]

But it's in the cue.

Da Worfster

[poppachubby]

But it's in the cue.

Da Worfster

Good man, if you enjoy that and would like some other Asian gems, let me know. Dynamite Warrior was also alot of fun, Thai flick. Sometime ago on AR I was pushing Born to Fight, good story and action. And finally , if you want something truly different, pick up Versus, Japanese flick.

Let me know what you think of Zatoichi.

[Stone]

IFC was showing Samurai/Kung Fu/sword movies on Saturday mornings for quite a while and I got into them, including the Zatoichi movies. I had no idea they did a remake of this one. Did you like watching this better than the originals?

[poppachubby]

IFC was showing Samurai/Kung Fu/sword movies on Saturday mornings for quite a while and I got into them, including the Zatoichi movies. I had no idea they did a remake of this one. Did you like watching this better than the originals?

Tough question Stone, but a good one. As a hardcore fan, I watch older movies with more than just a zeal for what I'm seeing on the screen. I also appreciate what certain movies did for the genre at a certain time, influence and this type of thing.

For straight up entertainment, the remake is brilliant and I would have to say far better than the originals. For one, any sword flick with 5.1 will certainly put any predecessor to shame. Visual effects are now what the old movies wanted to do, but never could.

Essentially, when an arm gets sliced off now, it looks and sounds like the real deal. Zatoichi still uses an effect which has cartoonish qualities, but is none the less entertaining.

My real love is for Kung Fu, but I am a fan of Samurai cinema and Japanese action too. If you want to see a real classic, watch The Seven Samurai. This movie was one of the first real "epic" flicks in terms of scale. 2.5 hours long with all kinds of great cinematography and action. A real undertaking considering it was made in the 50's!! This came before alot of the big budget films of the 60's like Ben-Hur (1959) and such.

As I already mentioned, one of my favorite directors right now is Ryuhei Kitamura. If you want a truly unique movie, get Versus. If you like that, try Death Trance. These movies are everything a good flick should be, particularily if you are a classic "guy".

In short, the remade Zatoichi is a great movie whether it's compared to it's predecessors or not. Hopefully this answers your question Stone. I love discussing Asian film, any other questions or reccomendations, feel free to post here or PM me.