22nd April 2004, 10:21 AM
I was mainly speaking to GR, since just like me he is a fan of Asian cinema. Frankly I don't give a damn if most of American knows what I'm talking about or not. ;) I kid, I kid.
Zatoichi is a famous cinematic figure in Japanese history, as there were 26 movies and 100 tv episodes in his series from the early 60's to 1989, and then a remake directed and starring Takeshi Kitano in 2003. And unbelievably, only one man played Zatoichi (not counting the 2003 version) in all 26 movies and 100 tv episodes, the great Shintaro Katsu (who died in 1994). And even more unbelievable than that is that each and every movie (and all of the tv episodes that I've seen) is excellent. Try maintaining that level of quality for so long, Hollywood!
Anyhow, Zatoichi is the most popular anti-hero in Japanese film, a blind swordsman who, like many blind people of the time, wandered from village to village, giving massages to people (the occupation of nearly all blind people in the Edo period) and gambling for money, as well as saving innocents from corruption and oppression. Even though he was blind he possessed amazing swordsmanship skills. In Asian fiction it's common for a hero to have a disability such as blindness but become more powerful thanks to other senses or functions, such as hearing in Zatoichi's case. It's a very entertaining series, and if you're a fan of Sergio Leone westerns you'll probably love Zatoichi as well.
Zatoichi is a famous cinematic figure in Japanese history, as there were 26 movies and 100 tv episodes in his series from the early 60's to 1989, and then a remake directed and starring Takeshi Kitano in 2003. And unbelievably, only one man played Zatoichi (not counting the 2003 version) in all 26 movies and 100 tv episodes, the great Shintaro Katsu (who died in 1994). And even more unbelievable than that is that each and every movie (and all of the tv episodes that I've seen) is excellent. Try maintaining that level of quality for so long, Hollywood!
Anyhow, Zatoichi is the most popular anti-hero in Japanese film, a blind swordsman who, like many blind people of the time, wandered from village to village, giving massages to people (the occupation of nearly all blind people in the Edo period) and gambling for money, as well as saving innocents from corruption and oppression. Even though he was blind he possessed amazing swordsmanship skills. In Asian fiction it's common for a hero to have a disability such as blindness but become more powerful thanks to other senses or functions, such as hearing in Zatoichi's case. It's a very entertaining series, and if you're a fan of Sergio Leone westerns you'll probably love Zatoichi as well.