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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful: Nice mix of drama, action, and humor, 28 February 2005 Author: Tom (bighouseaz) from United States
I have enjoyed Samaritan Zatoichi from the first viewing. If you enjoyed Zatoichi's Cane Sword, I believe you will like Samaritan Zatoichi as well.There is a great combination of drama, action, and humor. Very early in the film, we are introduced to another traveling yakuza named Shinsuke. Shinsuke is a real lively, interesting guy and the only character in the series who is easily identifiable as a person from Kansai (Osaka region). Early on in the film we also learn that Zatoichi does not have infinite patience. Don't call him a blind bastard more than twice!But the main attraction in this film is the complex and emotional story between Zatoichi and Sode. Zatoichi kills Sode's brother. He soon regrets the part he played in the killing and takes on a guardian role to Sode as she makes her way back to her aunt's home.The action scenes in Samaritan Zatoichi are good, but not the best you will see in the series. Zatoichi also does more than simply running his usual scam in the gambling scene. Did you know that he also carries a pair of loaded dice? Zatoichi comes close to paying the ultimate price for such behavior, but manages to pray to the right buddha as he is all bundled up and manages to escape. Samaritan Zatoichi is a fun journey full of twists and turns that leads to the requisite showdown with a samurai. A quick word of warning to the samurai. Zatoichi is most dangerous when he is on the ground!
4 out of 4 people found the following review useful: A little different mood in this one, 3 May 2003 Author: masercot from Manassas, Va
Here was a little glimpse into yakuza Ichi; throughout the series it is stressed that he is a yakuza; however, he behaves like a fine upstanding citizen in every other movie. In the first part of this movie, the blind massaur is one of several men sent to collect a gambling debt. It's the yakuza code...Then, Ichi repents and takes care of the sister of his victim. I think that we see this seedy side of Ichi as a parallel to himself having to see and deal with what he has done.This is one of the better Zatoichi movies. It broke the rules of Ichi movies EXCEPT for the woman falling in love with him. There was no child, no sword trick and no hostage rescue. I think that every series needs to break its own rules from time to time...
3 out of 3 people found the following review useful: One of the better Zatoichi films, 30 July 2005 Author: spider63 from United States
Having seen a number of the Zatoichi movies, I think that this is one of the better entries in the series. Like all of the best, Samaritan Zatoichi has more story. The background characters are fleshed out and get a decent amount of screen time.Like often happens, Zatoichi ends up pitted against the local corrupt Yakuza Bosses because he is defending an innocent victim, Shinsoke Osode (played by Yoshiko Mita), the sister of the Samurai that Zatoichi killed. The film has a straightforward plot. Zatoichi is recognized as a brother Yakuza at the beginning, and he does not start out as some hated fugitive. Zatoichi also meets a sympathetic Samurai, Sosuke Saruya (played by Kô Nishimura who was in more than one Zatoichi movie) who almost plays the role of Zatoichi's sidekick in a few scenes and then bails out after telling Zatoichi there is too much danger.Zatoichi is seen taking a job as an assassin, and I found that realistic touch made the movie more interesting. After all, Zatoichi has always been a Yakuza, and yet in most of the movies he is fighting against them. In this film, Zatoichi is also shown cheating at dice, and he gets caught. Seeing Zatoichi's sleazier side was refreshing. It also gave his character more depth.The movie winds up with the usual slash-fest, as all of the villains get what they deserve. Like all of the better Zatoichi movies, this one has a rival Samurai character, Yasaburo Kashiwazaki (Makoto Satô) who wants Shinsoke for himself. Unlike other movies where Zatoichi's Samurai rival has been an honorable swordsman, this time the Samurai (Makoto Sato) is an unprincipled killer who is being hunted by others. The final showdown is one of the better ones in this series. It is far from a cakewalk, and Zatoichi gets sliced and diced.
2 out of 2 people found the following review useful: Zatoichi tarnished, 21 November 2007 Author: jofus224 from Foxborough, Ma. U.S.A.
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
I'm fairly new to the Zatoichi films, having just discovered them on I.F.C. early Saturday mornings. Thus far I've seen five of them and loved them all.This one however, seemed different. Ichi starts out as one of a band of Yakuza that has come to collect a debt. When the man refuses to come out and face them, Ichi goes in and kills him. The man's sister returns home then with money to pay the debt and Ichi defends her when it becomes obvious that it was she that was wanted, not the money. From there it follows the usual formula. I think what bothered me was the cold-blooded way that Ichi dispatched the debtor and the revelation that Ichi was using loaded dice to gamble. In the other movies he seems to follow a strict code despite his being a gangster, he doesn't seem to be as nice a guy as I thought. Still love the movies, but this puts a little tarnish on his image
4 out of 7 people found the following review useful: a bit more complex zatoichi, 22 December 1999 Author: freakus from San Francisco, CA
The moral quandary that both Ichi and Osode find themselves in adds a bit more dimension to this entry in the series. Ichi has done a great injustice and seeks Osode's forgiveness. The action is first rate as always but we see that Ichi has to wrestle a bit more than usual with himself about his life and his action effects on others.
1 out of 2 people found the following review useful: Ichi versus the bumblers, 5 January 2006 Author: Brian Ellis from Chantilly, VA
This film contained the best Zatoichi one on one fight for me yet. Mainly because the fight lasted more than a few minutes. Of course, the fact that Ichi was deafened at the time probably is the reason the fight lasted as long as it did. In this film, the fact that Zatoichi is Yakuza is made clear, but he seems to belong to a band of bumblers. Zatoichi is very serious in this movie. It seems that among the hundreds of people Zatoichi has killed only once did he kill someone under false pretenses and boy does he regret it. His efforts to make amends with the sister of the man he killed come across more like stalking, but he saves her from a horrible fate. This movie does have one unusual thing - a government official that isn't corrupt! It figures that he doesn't last long. Zatoichi's fights aren't as good in this one, though the plot was more complex than the standard Ichi flick. The problem that I had is that it seemed Shintaro Katsu just can't muster the enthusiasm he has had in his other films. Highlight - trussed-up Ichi and armed only with a hairpin still manages to fend off his attackers, the above mentioned bumblers, but still fun to watch.
0 out of 4 people found the following review useful: sometimes Zatoichi is just too nice a guy!, 30 June 2005 Author: planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida
I love the Zatoichi movies, though I have found that because they made so many and the plots tended to blend together so often, it is hard to distinguish them apart. I would give all of them about the same score of a 7 or an 8--with a few exceptions (the return of the original in 1989 was a TERRIBLE and depressing movie, while the new Zatoichi movie starring Beat Takeshi is probably the best of any Zatoichi movies).The main theme of this movie is Zatoichi's attempt to undo the wrong he supposedly committed by killing the man who wants to earn the reward money to buy his sister out of prostitution. However, given that Ichi has no choice but to kill this guy (it was a fair fight), it is inexplicable why he feels so much remorse for this death. I mean, if you total together all the people killed by this blind swordsman in all his movies, it probably would have resulted in the extinction of feudal Japan!! Despite this, it's a great movie to watch--full of life and action. Plus, it's one of the few films in which Zatoichi actually gets hurt--he ISN'T "the man of steel" in this installment.
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