Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold

When a chest containing the tax payment for a group of villages is stolen, Zatoichi is blamed, forcing him to find the thieves and retrieve the gold to prove his innocence and save the farmers. The plot is well traveled territory, but the action is excellent and (for the first time in the series) pretty bloody, plus you get to see Katsu dance like a goof and play the drums. Tomisaburo Wakayama also appears as an evil whip-wielding ronin, and has a pretty unique fight with Ichi at the end.

This is a pretty average Zatoichi outing with some confusing plotting bogging down the proceedings. The highlight is Tomisaburô Wakayama, the brother of star Shintarô Katsu and star of the then future "Lone Wolf and Cub" series, as the chief thug that Zatoichi faces off against in the film's climax.

Highly stylized compared to previous entries. This embraces a pulp punk dynamism that bridges A- and B-movie sensibilities, which masks its noticeable threadbare plot - the story has a jarring cadence and odd segues. But what stands out (besides Wakayama, who I had no idea was Katsu’s brother before the Wikipedia) is the deneument after the final standoff - Ichi spends the film getting the shit kicked out of him and walks away in clear distress, alone. Yet the drums beat for him all the same.

Right off the bat this distinguishes itself from it's predecessors with a move to a more hectic, dynamic directing style (previously it's all mostly been standard, if pretty, long shots). Also the story is a bit different than the story told five times before and it has learned to disperse the action set pieces throughout the story rather than saving it all for the end. The best Zatoichi so far in my humble opinion.

2nd viewing

The most stylish and violent film up to this point, for the first time featuring explicit gore. The cinematography is remarkable (Kazuo Miyagawa, after all). It's also pretty funny, with Katsu really playing up the blind and bumbling mannerisms.

Cinematically, a big departure from previous installments; it's hard not to think of Sergio Leone at times. Katsu also seems to have further developed Zatoichi's mannerisms, and the villains are more stylized too. The story isn't very good, but that's really not a major problem.

The sixth installment in the Zatoichi series is an action packed mess of a film. It drags at times, and the plot is pretty threadbare, I mean, c'mon, with Ichi's superb hearing, how could he not hear the chest falling from the ridge, and also the ronin who eventually spirit it away? Great opening title sequence though.

zatoichi 6 sees an increase in action! and no decrease in story! solid samurai flick

A departure for the series, with a darker more cinematic tone. Somewhat meandering, with a huge plot hole (how could Ichi NOT hear a money chest rolling down a hill?) but despite its lackluster plodding it caps it off with one of his most suspenseful final duels.

Good film.