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Zatōichi (座頭市^?) is a 2003 Japanese samurai drama and action film, directed, written, co-edited, and starring Takeshi Kitano ("Beat" Takeshi) as his 11th film. ^[1] Kitano plays the role of the blind swordsman himself.
The film is a high-budget revival of the classic Zatōichi series of samurai film and television dramas. It premiered on September 3, 2003 at the Venice Film Festival, where it won the prestigious Silver Lion award, and went on to numerous other awards both at home and abroad. It also stars Tadanobu Asano, Michiyo Okusu, Yui Natsukawa, Guadalcanal Taka, Daigiro Tachibana, Yuko Daike, Ittoku Kishibe, Saburo Ishikura, and Akira Emoto.

Plot

The film's plot follows a traditional theme, with Zatōichi coming to the defense of townspeople caught up in a local Yakuza gang war and being forced to pay excessive amounts of protection money. Meanwhile, Zatōichi befriends a local farmer and her gambler nephew and eventually offers his assistance to two geisha siblings (one of whom is actually a man) who are seeking revenge for the murder of their parents. The siblings are the only survivors of a massacre that was carried out on their family estate in order to obtain large sums of money ten years ago. They soon discover the people responsible for the murders are the same Yakuza wreaking havoc on the small town.

After slicing his way through an army of henchmen, Zatōichi defeats the Yakuzas' bodyguard, a powerful ronin, in a duel. Zatōichi later wanders into town and confronts the Yakuza bosses, killing the second-in-command and blinding the elderly Yakuza boss (who had been masquerading as a bumbling old waiter up until this point) after opening his eyes for the first time and giving the boss the impression that he has been able to see the entire time. The film ends with an unexpected dance number led by noted Japanese tap dance troupe The Stripes, and Zatōichi walking down a trail und unexpectedly tripping over a rock, saying "Even with eyes wide open, my world is one of darkness."

Production

The film features computer-generated blood throughout. Yet, unlike most other instances of this in recent films, Kitano often utilizes it in a very stylized manner, in order to bring more visual beauty to the scenes of violence.

This incarnation of Zatōichi, going along with Kitano's desire to modernize his figure, has peroxide-blonde hair (which Kitano dyed around New Year), and the sheath of his cane-sword is blood-red: a warning (actually, Kitano wanted it to make up a three-color palette for his Zatoichi, as he appears dressed in blue throughout the movie).

Cast

• Beat Takeshi as Zatōichi
• Tadanobu Asano as the ronin Hattori Gennosuke
• Michiyo Okusu as O-Ume, the farmer
• Yui Natsukawa as O-Shino, Hattori's wife
• Daigoro Tachibana as O-Sei
• Taichi Saotome as young O-Sei
• Yuuko Daike as O-Kinu
• Guadalcanal Taka as Shinkichi

Note: Michiyo Okusu costarred with the original Zatōichi, Shintaro Katsu, in the 14th film, Zatoichi's Pilgrimage.

Staff

• Director and writer: Takeshi Kitano
• Original work: Kan Shimazawa
• Planning: Chieko Saitō
• Editing: Takeshi Kitano, Yoshinori Ōta
• Cinematography: Katsumi Yanagijima
• Music: Keiichi Suzuki
• Art: Norihiro Isoda
• Costumes supervisor: Kazuko Kurosawa
• Costumes design: Yohji Yamamoto
• Assistant director: Takashi Matsukawa
• Tap dance performance: THE STRiPES
• Producers: Masayuki Mori, Tsunehisa Saitō
• Distribution: Shochiku, Office Kitano
• Production: Bandai Visual, Tokyo FM, Dentsu, TV Asahi, Saitō Entertainment, Office Kitano

Awards

• 2003, September 6, Venice Film Festival, Silver Lion for Best Director, Venice ^[2][1]
• 2003, Audience Award Leone Del Pubblico, Venice ^[1]
• 2003, September 14, 28th International Toronto Film Festival, Audience Award AGF People's Choice Award, Toronto ^{[2] [1]}
• 2003, London Film Festival ^[1]

References

External links

• Official Website on Miramax.com
• Zatoichi at the Internet Movie Database
• Zatōichi at Allmovie
• Zatoichi at Rotten Tomatoes