Zatôichi abare-himatsuri (1970)

Director:

Kenji Misumi

Writers:

Shintarô Katsu (writer)
Kan Shimosawa (story)

Release Date:

12 August 1970 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Adventure | Action

Tagline:

A legendary figure in Japan is Zatoichi - the blind masseur with healing hands and a swift sword.

Plot Keywords:

Zatoichi | Katana | Katana Sword | Sword | Martial Arts

Cast

Shintarô Katsu	...	Zatoichi
Tatsuya Nakadai	...	Jealous Ronin
Reiko Ôhara	...	Kiyo
Masayuki Mori	...	Dark Lord Yamikubo
Peter	...	Umeji
Kô Nishimura	...	Migi
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yoshitaro Asawaka
Ryutaro Gomi	...	Yakuza boss
Yuuji Hamada
Yukio Horikita	...	Kuroku yakuza
Shingo Ibuki
Ryunosuke Kaneda
Jun Katsumura	...	Yamibuko yakuza
Akane Kawasaki
Eizo Kitamura
Takuya Kitano
Kanae Kobayashi	...	Egg merchant
Yosuke Kondo
Gen Kuroki
Yasuhiro Mizukami	...	Yakuza boss
Osami Nabe	...	Mistress auctioneer
Jun Nagasawa	...	Egg slinging Kuroku yakuza
Tatsuya Nakayo
Junjiro Niida
Akira Nitta
Masaji Nunome
Osamu Okawa	...	Yakuza boss
Teruko Omi	...	Bath house manager
Jun Satomi
Akira Shimizu	...	Merchant with business burning down
Takumi Shinjo	...	Yakuza boss
Reiji Shoji	...	Tea house owning husband
Utae Shoji	...	Tea house owning wife
Kenzo Tabu	...	Wealthy mistress auction buyer
Tadashi Takadera
Kazue Tamachi
Kunie Tanaka	...	Drunken horse puller
Kazuko Taniguchi
Yoshio Yoshida	...	Mistress of auction yakuza boss
Kazuko Yoshiyuki	...	Unfaithful wife

Directed by
Kenji Misumi

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Shintarô Katsu		writer
Kan Shimosawa		story

Produced by
Shintarô Katsu	....	producer
Hiroyoshi Nishioka	....	assistant producer

Original Music by
Isao Tomita

Cinematography by
Kazuo Miyagawa

Film Editing by
Toshio Taniguchi

Production Design by
Yoshinobu Nishioka

Art Direction by
Yoshinobu Nishioka

Costume Design by
Yoshio Ueno

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Toshiaki Kunihara	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Masao Oosumi	....	sound engineer

Production Companies

• Daiei Motion Picture Company
• Katsu Production Co. Ltd.

Distributors

• AnimEigo (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Artsmagic (UK) (DVD)
• Artsmagic (UK) (VHS)
• Daiei Studios
• Dainichi-Eihai (1970) (Japan)
• Madman Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Blind Swordsman's Fire Festival
Zatôichi 21 (Japan) (informal title)
Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival (USA)
Zatoichi at the Fire Festival (UK) (video title)
Zatoichi: The Festival of Fire (Australia)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Australia:M

Company:

Daiei Motion Picture Company

Movie Connections:

Follows Zatôichi to Yôjinbô (1970)

Sweet, often interesting and potently exiting entry in the long running chanbara series

I revisited this one last night, after not thinking over much of it on a first viewing some years ago. Unlike some of the more exploitative of openly deranged and violent old school swordplay outings, the Zatoichi films were it seems, pretty serious minded and fairly mild when it came to grue or craziness. This one has a tiny bit of blood splatter but its basically pretty dry. I'm more naturally suited to watching films like the Lone Wolf and Cub movies or Shintaro Katsu's own Hanzo movies, but I found myself having a good time with this film. Its definitely a mood thing but also I think that the Zatoichi films have a cumulative effect, in that the more you watch the more you come to know his character and appreciate the style of film, so each movie builds upon the last. This film sees Zatoichi arouse the jealousy of a mysterious wandering samurai and the wrath of a blind Yakuza boss, in a tale that seem almost languid in the first hour or so, before gearing up for a cracking conclusion. Of course, when I say languid I don't mean boring, the film has a variety of fun characters and a vibrant, kooky sense of humanity to it that is always oddly compelling, as well as splashes of swift and sweet swordplay as Zatoichi dispatches all comers. There are also a few moments of wacky humour like Zatoichi landing buckets on attackers heads during a pitched naked swordfight in a bath house and some eye opening moments, like Zatoichi's encounters, and near very close encounter with a gay (I assume) pimp. This last is played by the cult performer Peter in an early role. He later became a bit more known to trash fans for playing the titular role in Guinea Pig 6: Devil Woman Doctor. Also of note cast wise are veteran actor Tatsuya Nakadai, who appeared in the likes of Ran and Kagemusha, grimly determined and righteously ticked off as the jealous samurai, beautiful Reiko Ohara as a bit of a love interest for our mighty blind swordsman, and Masayuki Mori as the seemingly wise, ultimately sinister blind boss, who really comes into strikingly malign form in the finale. The last 20 minutes or so are tight and thrilling, as the earlier sense of fun and near frivolity switches into mean intensity, climaxing with a couple of fine and memorable fights and a bit of trademark bleak philosophising from Zatoichi. Everything knits together well and the film acquires a real good punch. Though I think I'll have to come back to this film after seeing more of the series down the line to appreciate it more, I can still see it as a fine film with a lot going for it for fans of this kind of cinema. I'd say its probably the second best, or maybe even the joint best of the ones I've seen thus far, parring with or slightly lesser to Zatoichi The Outlaw. So, Zatoichi fans will undoubtedly dig this one and newcomers will probably find it a good entry into the series. Those looking for faster and grislier things will likely be put off, as I initially was, but its rewarding stuff and something that definitely repays repeat viewings. Ultimately, if it looks like your sort of thing and you've read to the end of this review without being put off, why not check it out? You could do far worse, and you might really dig it.