Product Description

Experience the action and excitement of Takeshi Kitano's thrilling samurai action adventure as never before with this limited edition collectors' box set. 'Beat' Takeshi stars as the blind swordsman Zatoichi, who must defend the denizens of a remote mountain town against the murderous Ginzo gang and their latest deadly recruit, the mighty samurai ronin Hattori (Tadanobu Asano). Deluxe Presentation Limited edition embossed tin packaging 2 disc DVD loaded with extra features 35mm mounted film cell 3 exclusive art cards Colour booklet with production notes by Takeshi Kitano

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42792 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-01-24
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: Japanese
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 111 minutes

Synopsis
Takeshi Kitano, best known for such gangster films as VIOLENT COP, BOILING POINT, and BROTHER, makes his first period drama with ZATOICHI, an updating of the classic Japanese character portrayed by Shintaro Katsu in movies and television from 1962 to 1989. Zatoichi is a blind samurai who shuffles from town to town, righting wrongs with his remarkable sword hidden within his cane. He is also a masseuse who likes to gamble. Kitano serves as director, writer, co-editor, and star of the film, playing the protagonist under his acting name, Beat Takeshi. This version of Zatoichi, based on the stories of Kan Shimozawa, is more violent than the earlier series, as Kitano strives to make it more realistic. He has also infused a clever sense of humour, while cinematographer Katsumi Yanagishima adds beautiful depth of field to many scenes.
When Zatoichi arrives in a small town, he unknowingly walks into a classic tale of revenge, as two women plot to kill the men who murdered their family. As Zatoichi becomes more involved, an eventual showdown with young samurai Hattori (Tadanobu Asano, who excelled in Takashi Miike's very violent ICHI THE KILLER) is inevitable. ZATOICHI is thrilling filmmaking at its best, an endlessly entertaining samurai epic from a man who fully understands the genre and is not afraid to take it to the next level.

Customer Reviews

One of the greatest films of all time.
This edition of Takeshi Kitanos fantastic film is the ultimate PAL version with the addition of a DTS soundtrack. Colours are better in the Japanese release, but since I get lots of subtitled extras and a DTS soundtrack (and I prefer PAL speedup to NTSC pulldown) I went with this one.

It comes in a metal box with some nice prints of the publicity artwork, a booklet with plenty of Takeshi Kitanos thoughts on his work and a frame of 35mm film. I got one with the rather amusing subtitle "Did you kill everyone in the room?". One of the best collectors edition treats out there.

If you haven't actually seen the film then just buy it now. It's clever, funny, violent, moving, silly and thoughtful all at once. I have not seen such a complete work of cinematic art since Kurosawas films and yet this has a style all it's own. The music is clever, varied, and enhances the stunning visuals superbly. With this film Takeshi Kitano takes the step (in my eyes) from talented director to genius. I know people always exaggerate on the net and stuff but I don't. I'm serious. This is a truly awesome work of art.

Zatoichi the blind swordsman.
The director Takeshi Kitano plays the lead character Zatoichi the blind swordsman.
This is very much Kitano's film, Zatoichi has appeared in many Japanese films and the director/actor has brought his own style to tell us his tale of Zatoichi.
Dance: Comedy; Music and wonderful swordfights.
Extras explaining the character and Mr Kitano choice of style are told in the extras.

Several stories intwine on this journey of adventure and I will not spoil it for you but buy the DVD and relax at home. You can quickly replay the action if you missed it as the swordplay is fast. Enjoy !

Ultimate samurai
This is the ultimate samurai movie. Has it all...

It's what you'd expect from a movie like that, Takeshi Kitano (director and main actor) is perfect for his part and in my opinion this his a true masterpiece.