Home
search
more | tips
IMDb > Zatôichi (2003)
Zatôichi
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotes
Overview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv schedule
Awards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage board
Plot & Quotes
plot summaryplot synopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotes
Fun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQ
Other Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDesk
Promotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo gallery
External Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clips

Zatôichi (2003) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 23 | slideshow) Videos (see all 2)
Zatôichi (2003) -- US Home Video Trailer from Miramax
Zatôichi (2003) -- The blind masseur/swordsman comes to an town in control of warring gangs, and while bunking with a farming family, he meets two women with their own agenda.

Overview

User Rating:
7.6/10   18,805 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 18% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Takeshi Kitano
Writers:
Takeshi Kitano (screenplay)
Kan Shimosawa (novels)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
6 September 2003 (Japan) more
Genre:
Action | Drama | Crime | Comedy more
Tagline:
His Sword Made Him a Hero... His Courage Made Him a Legend. This Summer, Justice is Blind.
Plot:
The blind masseur/swordsman comes to an town in control of warring gangs, and while bunking with a farming family, he meets two women with their own agenda. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
21 wins & 10 nominations more
NewsDesk:
Toronto Awards Top Trophy to Japan
 (From Studio Briefing - Film News. 15 September 2003)

User Comments:
Flawed but still very enjoyable more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Takeshi Kitano ... Zatôichi / Ichi (as Beat Takeshi)
Tadanobu Asano ... Hattori Genosuke
Michiyo Ookusu ... Aunt Oume
Gadarukanaru Taka ... Shinkichi
Daigorô Tachibana ... Geisha Seitaro 'Osei' Naruto
Yuuko Daike ... Geisha Okinu Naruto
Yui Natsukawa ... O-Shino, Hattori's Wife
Ittoku Kishibe ... Boss Inosuke Ginzo
Saburo Ishikura ... Boss Tashichi Ogi
Akira Emoto ... Tavern Owner Pops
Ben Hiura ... Tavern Gramps
Kohji Miura ... Lord Sakai
Hideboh ... Dancing Farmer (as The Stripes)
Ron II ... Dancing Farmer (as The Stripes)
Suji ... Dancing Farmer (as The Stripes)
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Takeshi Kitano's Zatoichi (International: English title) (informal title)
The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi (USA)
Zatoichi (International: English title)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for strong stylized bloody violence.
Runtime:
116 min
Country:
Japan
Language:
Japanese
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
It was during the filming of "Zatoichi" in 1988, that one of the greatest tragedies in the history of Japanese film occurred. Shintaro Katsu's son, Ryuutaro Gan, thinking he was using a prop, accidentally used a real blade by mistake and killed stuntman Yukio Kato with a stab wound to the neck. more
Quotes:
Shinkichi: I'll have a bath.
Geisha Seitaro 'Osei' Naruto: Me, too.
Shinkichi: No! Men first!
Geisha Seitaro 'Osei' Naruto: I am a man!
more
Movie Connections:
References O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
51 out of 93 people found the following comment useful:-
Flawed but still very enjoyable, 13 March 2004
Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK

Zatoichi is a good humoured blind man who travels making his living from being a masseur. He arrives in a small village, keeping secret his ability as a swordsman. The village is split with rival gangs, one of whom hires a troubled but talented samurai to wipe the others out. Meanwhile two beautiful geisha sisters are more than they appear. Into the middle of the impending bloody conflict walks Zatoichi.

One of the good things about Kill Bill may well be that it brings a wider audience to the martial arts genre from the Far East on a bigger scale. If that is the case then this is one of the films that they will likely come to first in the cinema, as it is about to have a full UK release. I was able to see this as part of the Birmingham Screen Festival 2004, so I was in a full audience that was ready and willing to be entertained and this may have helped me enjoy it more than a half full cinema of people who have just drifted in. With or without this atmosphere I found this to be an enjoyable, stylish, funny and violent film - but not without flaws.

The biggest flaw is the plot sadly. At it's heart it is a good story, but the manner of delivery really hamstrings it's ability to engage and grip. I have read that it was meant to be a homage/spoof of operas, and my very astute (and beautiful!) friend told me that the way of having lots of minor characters to almost cover costume changes for the main actors is a musical thing and that the film reminded her of that. While I accept that may be the reason for the way the film is, it doesn't change the fact that it didn't work for me. The films starts with difficulty - it is hard to follow with so many characters and gangs of which we are given no history to work with. This continues for much of the film, with minor characters coming and going, partly contributing to the overall story but also breaking up the flow with subplots that are never really explained or understood.

This trend continues, with the film never getting a real tension or pace to it. The conclusion of the film is a bit of a letdown - although I may have been conditioned to expect `the big showdown' in this genre. It still works pretty well but I just had a pretty big problem with the way the story flowed (or didn't). This is not to downplay how much I did enjoy it. The film has a great thread surrounding Osei where he acts as a comic relief - all his stuff is very funny and it really helps to break the tension; it's just the things like the bodyguard's subplot - nothing explained yet quite a lot of weight put on him. While it does lack pace, tension and punch, it still works well enough to hold the action together.

The fights are bloody, stylish and enjoyable although I fear that those weaned on Kill Bill's excess will not accept it as gory enough. The use of CGI blood may be a problem as well - personally I found it to compliment the otherworldly effect of the film by being almost more pronounced than `real' blood would be. The fights are enjoyable, although they are perhaps a little too brief - certainly some of the more important fights were over way too quickly and without ceremony. Generally though, the film looks amazing. Each shot is framed really well and, where the characters are still or set against a big background, many of the shots would look great on a poster. The sets are fantastic and really capture the sense of period and place. As director, Takeshi really has done well even if he could have done with a bit more help on the action front.

The cast are roundly superb even where the are let down by the material a little bit in terms of their characters. Takeshi plays his character with an easy going humour that contrasts nicely with his sudden, violent movements at key moments. Easily the standout performance though is from Taka, who brings so much to the film with his likeable, comic fool. He is very funny throughout the film and his lack of background is not a problem as none of his strands call upon that like the others do. Asano's bodyguard is interesting but sadly poorly served by the material. The two sisters are OK but again their performances are overshadowed by the fact that their sections of the film are not as strong as need be - the slightly corny CGI ending involving them is only corny because I didn't have sufficient buy in to their characters to care that much. The various villains fail to impose themselves on the film but enough is done by Takeshi and Taka to keep the audience engaged.

Overall I did really enjoy this film. It was visually very stylish, funny, engaging and enjoyable. It has flaws with the structure, the plotting in regards characters and suffers from a lack of real excitement or consistent tension but it is still more than worth seeing.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Zatôichi (2003)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
YES he's really blind suriak-3
Name top 5 samurai flicks you've seen LoneWolf6
Ginzo **spoilers** pingvuiini
wait.....what?! Cressida_du_Coudray
What was Zatoichi doing there? ZatoIchigo
::Spoiler::About the geisha...ahem..you know which one empathy44
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
Kataude mashin gâru Furyô anego den: Inoshika Ochô Opera Dèmoni Lo squartatore di New York
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb Action section IMDb Japan section
Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.