Zatoichi the Outlaw (1967)

Let me get those not familiar with the blind swordsman series up to speed about the character.  Zatoichi is a blind masseuse that also happens to be a deadly swordsman in spite of being blind.  He wanders the countryside finding himself in situations where he feels the need to set things right.  Here he wanders into the middle of a feud between two different gambling houses.  While the boss of one of the houses seems to be an honorable man, the other is clearly a crook.  When Ichi ends up killing a couple of harmless peasants that are forced to attack him by the crooked boss it is the final straw.  He tracks the crooked boss down and kills him, becoming a target for the man’s powerful allies.  This forces him to flee the area and hide out in one of Japan’s larger cities.  Later Zatoichi finds out he was used by the supposedly honorable boss to eliminate the competition and returns to make things right. 

This is another great entry into the Zatoichi series that should please all the fans.  The story here is the basic revenge plot with an interesting twist.  While trying to “fix” the mistake he made by killing the peasants Zatoichi actually makes an even bigger mistake by helping an evil man take complete control of the area.  This puts the people that Zatoichi is trying to protect into an even worse position.  This brings him back to the area to do anything possible to atone for his mistakes and to help the villagers that he wronged, even if it was unintentional.  The supporting cast is very good, but this is Shintarô Katsu’s movie.  He is, as always, brilliant in the role of Zatoichi.  Watch his body language as the knowledge of how he was deceived sets in.  The man uses his entire body to create the character and performance. 

Speaking of physical performances you can’t have a samurai movie without some swordplay and fight choreography.  Not that I would have expected any less, but Zatoichi the Outlaw delivers the goods.  The entire movie is filled with some of the best fights that you will ever see in a Samurai movie.   Toss in some great camera work during the fights and you have an exciting movie to watch.  But then the camera work isn’t only great during the fight sequences.  The movie was shot on some really beautiful outdoor locations, which are captured wonderfully on film.  It is easy to miss this sort of thing in a movie that is filled with so much action.  But really I encourage the viewer to pay attention and appreciate what the camera captures.  

This is hands down one of the best entries in what is without a doubt one of the best series of films in Japanese cinema.  I can’t encourage people enough to pick up this movie, which is available from AnimEigo as both an individual DVD and as part of the 7-disc Blind Swordsman collection.  Check them out at www.animeigo.com/ for more information.

3 ½ out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer

© Copyright 2008 John Shatzer