 Zatoichi is the first antique movie of the director Takeshi Kitano. The difficulty has been to recreate all the atmosphere of the Japan’s XIXth century, by trying to remain the more faithful as possible to the reality.
The objective of the movie is to make known the legend of Zatoichi, fictive popular Japanese hero, to the young generation who doesn’t know him. Indeed, broadcasted on TV and cinema from 1962 to 1969, the adventures of Zatoichi were unknown from the youngest.
It’s Kitano (actor too) who interprets the role of Zatoichi in this new story. He has been bent on doing all the fighting scenes himself, without any special effect. That has been particularly hard because he had to act as a blind! Special effects have nevertheless been used to make for example the wounds graphically the realest as possible. |
Blind Zatoichi makes his living by gambling and giving massages. But behind his humble facade, Zatoichi is a master swordsman, gifted with lightning-fast draw and strokes of breathtaking precision. Zatoichi wanders into a town run by sinister gangs and a powerful samurai. He's destined for violent showdowns when he stumbles on two beautiful geishas avenging their parents' murder... Duels, wit and a touch of zen! Cult anti-hero Zatoichi is back in a sword-fighting adventure written, directed and starring Takeshi Kitano. 
