Zatoichi Challenged (Zatoichi chikemuri kaido)
Directed by Kenji Misumi
Written by Ryozo Kashahara; story by Kan Shimozawa
1967/Japan
IMDb link
First viewing/Criterion Channel
[box] There are only two forces in the world, the sword and the spirit. In the long run the sword will always be conquered by the spirit. — Napoleon Bonaparte[/box]
Number 17 in the series about my favorite blind swordsman is one of the better entries.
The basic plot outline is always the same: Zatoichi is honor-bound to protect women and children against the predation of evil yakuza gangs and kicks ass while doing so. Â In this one, a woman on her death bed asks Zatoichi to bring her small son to his father, an artist. En route, the two run into a troupe of actors that Zatoichi must also protect. Â Turns out the father has been blackmailed by the gang into producing highly illegal pornographic images.
This moved along at a good clip and has some awesome swordplay. Â It also looks really handsome and Shintaro Katsu is up to his usual superb standard. Â Does continue the unfortunate trend of saddling the hero with an annoying comic-relief kid but mostly just great.
