Synopsis
Blind traveler Zatoichi is a master swordsman and a masseur with a fondness for gambling on dice games. When he arrives in a village torn apart by warring gangs, he sets out to protect the townspeople.
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Cast
- Takeshi KitanoZatoichi / Ichi
- Tadanobu AsanoHattori Genosuke
- Michiyo YasudaTante Oume
- Yui NatsukawaOshino
- Guadalcanal TakaShinkichi
- Daigorô TachibanaGeisha Seitaro O-Sei Naruto
- Yuko DaikeGeisha Okinu Naruto
- Ittoku KishibeBoss Inosuke Ginzo
- Saburo IshikuraOgi
- Akira EmotoPub Owner
Recommendations
- 80
Film Threat
As entertaining and surprising as the film is, however, nothing can prepare one for its rousing final fight scenes. - 80
Variety
Over-plotted and at times incoherent but never dull, this is a stylishly designed, highly entertaining bloodbath full of offbeat comedy and inspired musical moments. - 80
L.A. Weekly
Although Zatoichi may disappoint some Kitano purists, who might think it a vanity piece or submission to popular taste -- he's even begun moving his camera -- its pyrotechnics are still audacious and breathtaking. - 80
The New York Times
Like many musicals, The Blind Swordsman works better in individual scenes than as a whole. Mr. Kitano is not the most disciplined storyteller, and the plot meanders along tangents and stumbles into flashbacks, losing momentum for long stretches in the middle. - 75
Rolling Stone
Kitano is a riveting spectacle. So's the movie. - 75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
It feels like one long non-sequitur -- like closing a Charles Bronson film with a disco medley -- but there's an emotional consistency to Kitano's boisterous celebration of movement. - 75
Entertainment Weekly
The movie, quite simply, goes to sleep whenever Zatoichi isn't fighting. When he is, it's a pulp dazzler. - 75
Christian Science Monitor
Stylishly directed and smartly acted, especially by the filmmaker-star, who gives one of his best performances as the unerring swordsman.
