Own the rights?
15 out of 16 people found the following review useful: A very disturbing Zatoichi movie, 4 May 2002 Author: panicwatcher from Arden Hills, Minnesota, USA
Most Zatoichi movies are like simple fables where the underdog stumbles into a problem and uses his sword to defeat the almost cartoonish villains and make things wonderful again. The stories are unbelievable, but the movies are enjoyable because Shintaro Katsu brings so much humility and charm to his role.This film is much different from the other Zatoichi films that I have seen. Through deceit, murder, and trickery the village leaders have forced villagers to incur debts they are unable to repay in any way except to put their daughters to work in the brothel. The brothel is owned by the village leaders. If the daughters attempt to escape or do not cooperate they are beaten, locked in a storehouse and starved. The movie graphically depicts the abuse in the brothel. There is a very disturbing scene where Zatoichi is giving a brothel customer a massage and in the background you can hear the screams of a reluctant new girl being beaten.Zatoichi gets involved in this situation when he goes to visit his old teacher and discovers that the teacher had been killed and the teacher's daughter had to work at the brothel to repay the teacher's debt.The corruption in the village goes very deep and affects many people. The more trouble the corrupt leaders get into, the more they plot killing and framing people for the killings. The corrupt leaders are able to get honorable men to do almost anything to keep or get their daughters out of the brothel. This rampant corruption makes it impossible for Zatoichi to trust anyone fully. To fix the problem, Zatoichi seems to have to fight an entire army. When the movie ends, you wonder if there are any able bodied men left alive in the village or if Zatoichi has killed them all.If you are looking for a typical light Zatoichi movie, you will not like this one. If you are looking for a dark, powerful, thought provoking move, this is the one.
2 out of 3 people found the following review useful: These guys make Zatoichi angry!, 27 January 2005 Author: Tom (bighouseaz) from United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
The yakuza boss and the government official (Intendant) are truly despicable characters in this entry of the Zatoichi series. Zatoichi doesn't need to say anything about the situation. His body language and facial expressions tell you directly that he has had enough with this rabble. You see, Zatoichi has a weak spot for the weak. He will do just about anything to help women and children. In this case, young women are forced into prostitution and Zatoichi puts a stop to it in the only way he knows how, with the sharp edge of his blade!Now ten films into the series, the sad nature of Zatoichi's life is fully exposed. Zatoichi is a good guy. He makes friends along the way, but can never stay in one place because both the government and the yakuza are looking for him. In Zatoichi's Revenge, Zatoichi befriends a dice handler named Denroku the Weasel and his cute daughter. Denroku learns some lessons from Zatoichi and promises to lead a more honest life. The share a cup of sake before the final scene and you know they would be great friends, if only it was possible.Zatoichi might have a few laughs throughout the film and some good company, but in the end, he marches away alone with blood on his hands.
It offers many unique twists and turns....though at heart it's still good old Zatôichi., 11 June 2009 Author: planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida
If you are looking for a completely original Zatôichi, you won't find one. There are many givens that you will always find no matter how much you may want to see something different. Zatôichi is blind and has god-like skill with his sword. Zatôichi always finds a person or group of people being taken advantage of and goes about protecting them from an evil "boss". This blind swordsman is kind and has a soft spot for children, ladies and nice folks. In the end, although our hero, Zatôichi, may be cut and bruised, the bad guys are invariably dead and the day is saved. So, if you are looking for a selfish Ichi who loses or a bad man who continues breathing once the film is over, you'll be out of luck! Despite these many givens, the series is quite popular--even if you know there is a fundamental pattern to the films.What makes this film better than most of the other almost 30 films is that although these story elements are there, there is enough novel material to make the film atypical of the series. One difficult to watch difference was mentioned in another excellent review on this site. Zatôichi is asked to give a massage to the boss and all the while a woman who was tricked into prostitution is being beaten in the next room. It's very disturbing but considering that much of the brutality ISN'T shown and the film's central message is about the evils of forced prostitution, it was necessary. These women are NOT enjoying themselves and this is NOT a victimless crime. So, it's up to Ichi to free the women and settle the score. And, speaking of score, there is a lot to settle. Not only did the two evil bosses in the film force innocent people into prostitution, but they murdered--even a high government official--whose murder they tried to pin on Zatôichi! Another wonderful difference in the movie was the excellent supporting character of the crooked dealer. He was NOT 100% bad and had some redeeming qualities--it just took Ichi to bring this out of the man. And, in one of the funnier scenes in the series, the gambler turns out to be a sort of action-hero himself at the end of the film--surprising himself with his swordsmanship! Also, while the parallels between the Zatôichi and spaghetti westerns is pretty obvious, here the film makers deliberately accentuate this. Much of the music sounds like it's from these Italian films AND this is one of the few films in the series that have a guy issue a challenge to Ichi for a showdown! I almost expected him to say it was at "high noon"!! Overall, despite following the formula, the film has an awful lot that's novel and exciting. It is one of the best films in the series and should not be missed.
0 out of 3 people found the following review useful: Rather humorless, 5 January 2006 Author: Brian Ellis from Chantilly, VA
A minor entry in the series with a few exceptions. Zatoichi plays it relatively straight; this time the humor is handled by Denroku the Weasel (the subtitles have him as the Fox). His scenes with Ichi were entertaining, especially when Ichi confronts the Weasel at the noodle stand over Ichi's missing sword. The Weasel's sword fight left me wishing that there might have been a series for him. Alas, it was not to be. This left Shintaro Katsu free to be very serious. The villains in this movie are more despicable than usual and I took satisfaction seeing their fate at the hands of Zatoichi. The film was little more realistic with it's depiction of prostitution but not very exciting, unfortunately.
Add another review
