Zatoichi on the Road

I'm a sucker for the Zatoichi movies. This is a somewhat early installment and not quite as developed as some that follow. Shintarô Katsu is a bit younger in this one. The story, fights, and humor are somewhat underdeveloped compared to some of his later films. Still, it's worth watching and another must-see film for Zatoichi fans.

Zatoichi meets a dying stranger on the road, and tries to fulfill his last request to return a young girl to her family in Edo, even though it puts him squarely in the middle of a yakuza turf war. The quality of the swordplay takes another step up in this film, with great choreography and Katsu displaying incredible skill at dispatching up to a dozen enemies in a single continuous take. Beautifully shot with several visual references to Yojimbo.

Everyone talking about feuding gangster bosses like somehow Yojimbo has the monopoly, last I checked most of this genre is sad angry men fighting over the same patches of scorched earth for no other reason. On that note this installment hits a particular retributive quality, with the men using a woman as a pawn and, with Zatoichi as the great equalizer, they don’t seem to survive very long. The choregoraphy in this outing shines through the melodrama.

Somewhat less visually appealing than it's predecessors, but a simpler, tighter plot allows for further development of it's main character and it's overall a satisfying chapter in the saga.

The choreography seems to get better with every installment.

The climactic battle may seem strangely familiar, but this is my favourite Zatoichi since the first one (watching them in order).

One could say a playful homage to Kurosawa's Yojimbo, while another could say a money grabbing rip-off. But one must definitely say that this is the most action packed film of the series so far. Zatoichi is definitely in bad ass mode for this outing.

Nice twist on the Yojimbo plot with a fun script.

Good film.