| Zatôichi monogatari (The Tale of Zatôichi)t (1962)
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| Front Cover |
Actor |
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| Shintarô Katsu |
Zatôichi/Blind Man Ichi/Masseur Ichi
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| Masayo Banri |
Otane/Tatekichi's sister/Seisuke's ex-lover
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| Ryuzo Shimada |
Shigezô of Sasagawa/Sasagawa yakuza boss
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| Hajime Mitamura |
Hanji of Matsugishi
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| Shigeru Amachi |
Hirate, Miki
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| Chitose Maki |
Yoshi/Hanji's wife
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| Ikuko Môri |
Yutaka/Shigezô's wife
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| Michio Minami |
Tatekichi/Otane's brother/Osaki's lover/Iioka yakuza member
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| Eijirô Yanagi |
Sukegorô of Iioka/Iioka yakuza boss
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| Toshio Chiba |
Masakichi/Iioka yakuza member (as Toshirô Chiba)
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| Movie Details |
| Genre |
Action; Adventure; Drama |
| Director |
Kenji Misumi |
| Writer |
Minoru Inuzuka; Kan Shimozawa |
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| Language |
Japanese |
| Audience Rating |
NR (Not Rated) |
| Running Time |
96 mins |
| Country |
Japan |
| Color |
Color |
|
| Plot |
| Zatoichi, the wandering masseur and master swordsman, is a mercenary hero with a difference: he's blind, and no less deadly for it. In his debut, Ichi shuffles into a gangster-run town like a wry con man, fleecing the dim-bulb gambling thugs and sponging off a local mob boss who wants the deadly Ichi on his side in an impending gang war. Released the same year Akira Kurosawa unleashed Yojimbo, stocky Shintaro Katsu's modest and soft-spoken Ichi couldn't be more different from the dynamic Toshiro Mifune's swaggering and arrogant Yojimbo. Director Kenji Misume can't match Kurosawa's searing cynicism or dynamic action, but when Ichi finally lets loose after avoiding conflict for the entire film, his spare, sudden attack makes a startling contrast to the usual flashing swords and furious movements. Zatoichi returned in 25 sequels and a long-running TV series, always played by Shintaro Katsu. The newly restored DVD features a small stills gallery, a fold-out insert with an essay by Tatsu Aoki (a self described "Ichi Freak"), and four collector cards. --Sean Axmaker |
| Personal Details |
| Seen It |
Yes |
| Index |
250 |
| In Collection |
Yes |
|
| Product Details |
| Format |
Divx |
| Region |
Any Region |
| UPC |
037429168226 |
| Release Date |
2004 |
| Nr of Disks/Tapes |
1 |
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Extra Features
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| Black & White Widescreen |
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