As always, Zatoichi never disappoints. I enjoyed Samaritan Zatoichi even though it didn't try too hard to tread new ground. Yet somehow they always manage to present the Zatoichi films in such a way that its fresh and not a complete replicate of the previous films.
There are a few things the viewer should look out for, I'll try and describe them without giving away the story:
1) The outcome of the dice game is unexpected and isn't consistent with what we have learnt from Zatoichis' abilities in the previous entries in the series. I was puzzled by this scene...
2) In the final fight of the movie, Zatoichi's opponent makes the funniest most unexpected grunt right before he places the rag in his mouth!
3) Zatoichi's last sword move in this film is the fastest move I have ever seen in a Zatoichi film, I replayed that 3 second scene almost 20 times to actually try and figure out how he cut his opponent. Shintaro Katsu is the man! A worthy addition to the acclaimed Zatoichi series.
Samaritan Zatoichi
1968 [JAPANESE]
Action / Adventure / Drama
80%
TOMATOMETER
80%
AUDIENCE
· 500 ratings
7.2/10
1.3K
Plot summary
Zatoichi is forced to kill a young man who owes a debt to a yakuza boss. Moments later, his sister Osode arrives with the money she earned (prostituting herself) to pay his debts. The bosses true motives are revealed and he attempts to steal Osode even though the debt is paid. Zatoichi realizes his grievous error and protects the girl from the gang. Osode and Zatoichi are caught in a dilemma as she must rely on her brother's killer for protection and Zatoichi wrestles with the injustice he has caused.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
July 04, 2020 at 06:40 AM
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3 amazing and puzzling things to look out for in this movie
sometimes Zatoichi is just too nice a guy!
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.