View Larger Image |
Zatoichi the Blind Swordsman, Vol. 2 - The Tale of Zatoichi Continues Director: Kazuo Mori Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Letterbox Format: Black & White, Widescreen Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Running Time: 72 minutes Studio: Home Vision Entertainment Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Region Code: 1 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2002-05-14 Buy from Amazon |
 "ZEN WARRIOR ROCKS"Criterion in association with Janus Films has exquisitely remastered the first two of 26 sequels in the life and adventures of Japan's most popular and enduring cinematic hero, Zatoichi, the blind swordsman. A common man with an extraordinary skill and an even greater moral imperative. "THE TALE OF ZATOICHI CONTINUES" is Volume Two of The Blind Swordsman series. Features revved up action, a lethal love triangle and a freaky one-armed samurai. When Zatoichi realizes that the lord who has hired him is going insane -- a madness, that if made public would topple his empire and the livelihood of his samurai warriors -- he flees a wanted man pursued by the mad lord's samurais and hired yakuza mercenaries. Zatoichi manages to escape until he is forced to confront his old foe -- the one armed warrior (played by Kenzaburo, Shintaro Katsu's brother who changed his name to Tomisaburo Wakayama and starred as Itto Ogami in the "Lone Wolf and Cub" series). This is a great series that has been hotly desired by an eclectic group of samurai videophiles who call themselves "Ichi Freaks." With the release of the newly restored, widescreen DVDs and the smoother translated subtitles, their number will certainly grow.  "Quality Zatoichi"Wow... I have all the Zatoichi movies on VHS and I have never seen quality transfer like this. Its extremely hard to transfer older movies like this to DVD because of the picture quality on the originals.... They did an awesome awesome job! The movie on top of that is just plain amazing as well. If your looking at the review and wondering what Zatoichi is? Well these are genre films. Very well put together with quality acting and wonderful cinematography for its time. The way that Shintaro Katsu can create a character is beyond the capabilities of 99% of the actors today. Well thats just my opinion. "Series Gets Better and Better"This is the second in a series of 20-plus films about traveling masseur, petty gangster, and deadly swordsman Zatoichi. This film looks a tad better than the first one. HVE is to be commended for putting these films out in a widescreen format as well as trying to restore them to their original luster. After all, this is a nearly 40 year old movie! This film builds on some of the characters and situations from the first one so it's advisable to get that one first. One thing about this series is that it relies on as much dialogue as it does action. Zatoichi is a likable rogue, but he's not turned into a total scoundrel. If you're serious about collecting Japanese cinema, as well as good martial arts films, then the Zatoichi films are a must buy. Trivia Note: the one armed samurai in this film is played by Shintaru Katsu's real life brother-Kenzaburo Jo, who later took the name Tomisaburo Wakayama and went on to play the character Itto Ogami in the "Lone Wolf and Cub/Shogun Assassin" series. |
