The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi /Sonatine Double Feature
by Takeshi Kitano
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Akira Emoto, Hideboh, Makoto Ashikawa, Tadanobu Asano, Yuuko DaikeDirector: Takeshi Kitano
Brand: MIRAMAX
Primary Contributor: Tadanobu Asano
Primary Contributor: Takeshi Kitano
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Japanese (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 210 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-11-09
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Miramax
Movie Reviews of The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi /Sonatine Double Feature
Movie Review: The Terminator in Edo Japan
Summary: 3 Stars
In early 2004 I saw Takeshi Kitano's ZATOICHI in the local cinema, intrigued by a Japanese feature but knowing nothing of the long tradition of films with Zatoichi, the blind swordsman. I never did see the earlier films with Shintaro Katsu, but I continue to enjoy Takeshi Kitano's take on the character. The plot is fairly basic, rival gangs are fighting for control of a small town, and the locals are obliged to pay increasing amounts protection money. Into this steps Zatoichi, played by Takeshi himself, as well as another itinerant swordsman who seeks to do the dirty work of one of the gangs in order to help his sick wife. Zatoichi falls in with a poor farmer, as do two geishas who are traveling about to get revenge on the gang members who killed their parents. Over the course of the films, Zatoichi proceeds to slay an enormous amount of people, with some vivid CGI blood painted over each fatal sword blow. In spite of the generic setup, the production values and a few of the twists in the story make this an enjoyable film.
I know that Takeshi has been criticized for completely doing away with the back story around Zatoichi. Here the only sign that he has a past at all is when a gang member says, "Could this blind man be Zatoichi", and a flashback where he silently kills a group of nameless foes. Instead, Takeshi brings the character between the two extremes of charming, but taciturn, old blind man and unstoppable killing machine. But nonetheless, I like how universal the Zatoichi character is, even when he is as mechanical as Kitano sometimes makes him. The archetype of the man of piercing intelligence who fains disability or madness appears in Western art from Hamlet to Russian holy fools, so all audiences will respond to Zatoichi. And sure, the action is sometimes hard to believe, but Takeshi knows this and has injected a level of grim humour into the film.
My only complaint about the film's action is that the final battle between Zatoichi and the bodyguard is anticlimactic. After building up the polarity between them for over an hour, there could have been more to it than a single blow. In addition, the soundtrack strikes me as exceedingly lame until the nice taiko drumming that closes the film.
I cannot comment on SONATINE, as in my market the two films were not released together.
Summary of The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi /Sonatine Double Feature
ZATOICHI: THE BLIND SWORDSMAN stars Japanese screen legend Beat Takeshi in an action-packed, award-winning film that has been compared to "Kill Bill Volume One." SONATINE also stars Beat Takeshi in a fast and furious gangland thriller with an edgy "Pulp Fiction" attitude. Both of these films include bonus DVD features, including an introduction to SONATINE by Quentin Tarantino, acclaimed director of such film favorites as "Pulp Fiction" and "Kill Bill" Volumes One and Two.Action & Adventure DVD Video
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