Here he has taken an overly complicated plot – way too dense for a simple ‘let’s get the gold’ story – and has made it as easy to follow as possible for the purpose of mainstream entertainment.īut I seem to recall that this is not representative of Okamoto’s work. I don’t recall off-hand, but this may be the only Okamoto title that Peary lists ~which is good because at least Okamoto’s name gets introduced. Its strongest point is Kihachi Okamoto’s direction. Yes, but simply to have seen “Zatoichi the Blind Swordsman” in a film. Unlike Peary, I didn’t find Zatoichi’s whimpering or “fake modesty” annoying, but I do agree that Yojimbo spends far too much time moping around and getting drunk - you’re better off being introduced to his character in either Yojimbo (1961) or Sanjuro (1962). He temporarily teams up with bodyguard Yojimbo (Toshiro Mifune) to help rid the town of violence.Īs Peary notes, this cult film (clearly influenced by Sergio Leone) features “broad humor”, “extreme violence”, and “two of Japan’s most popular action heroes.” The story is slow-going at first but exciting by the end, and it’s tremendous fun watching Zatoichi and Yojimbo interact. Zatoichi the Blind Swordsman (Shintaro Katsu) returns to a once-peaceful village, only to find it overrun with gangsters who are battling each other for a stash of hidden gold. “It may be peaceful in my hometown, but it’s good to be prepared.”
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