Zatoichi

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Zatoichi

R

Released Jul 23, 2004

1h 55m

Action

Adventure

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Popcornmeter

87%

Tomatometer

124 Reviews

88%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Blind traveler Zatoichi (Beat Takeshi) is a master swordsman and a masseur with a fondness for gambling on dice games. When he arrives in a village torn apart by warring gangs, he sets out to protect the townspeople. He is also enlisted to help two sibling geisha, Okinu (Yûko Daike) and Osei (Daigorô Tachibana), avenge the murder of their parents, who were slaughtered in a massacre. Zatoichi must fight his way through numerous enemies before finally clashing with a heartless crime boss.

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Critics Consensus

Colorful, rich with action and wonderfully choreographed, Takeshi Kitano takes on the classic samurai character with his own brand of cinematic flair.

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Antonia Quirke

London Evening Standard

This film is a shebang, a full-scale show, complete with everything you would happily pay to see: costumes, tattoos, scratchy folk music, gambling in saki dens. You will eat it up.

Dec 20, 2017

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Christy Lemire

Associated Press

The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi begins life as a straight-up samurai movie, evolves into a slapstick comedy and ends as a rousing, tap-dancing musical.

May 27, 2011

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

This non-traditional samurai movie isn't for kids.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 28, 2010

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Bryant Frazer

Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus

A gorgeous and evocative piece of entertainment that takes a deliberately playful approach to its genre.

Rated: B+

Aug 13, 2020

Full Review

Dorothy Woodend

The Tyee (British Columbia)

If you're looking for a real hero you could really do no better than Takeshi Kitano's blind masseur, Zatoichi.

Aug 24, 2017

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Ryan Cracknell

Movie Views

Violent and bloody, carefully choreographed and filled with dry humor, Takeshi Kitano's modern take on the classic Japanese character is a unique vision that's told with confidence.

Sep 27, 2009

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M B

Excellent, well constructed and faithful revival of the character and the genre. Careful build up of the other characters and plot result in a satisfying watch with some ruthless action!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/13/25

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Audience Member

A samurai movie should not have CGI, or, in this case, unconvincing CGI. Classic or vintage special effects would have made this movie better. Bad special effects are a distraction.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

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justin t

There was lots of CGI blood flying around, would have preferred real fake blood. The story was confusing but the bits of it that I understood were really good and interesting. The ending was full of stuff happening. For all of the blood there wasn't much violence like people heads being ripped apart and the like. Worth watching and enjoyable fantasy film full of culture, that needs concentration. I love the musical montage bits and they actually fit into the story and the world. Fantastic film with brilliant characters and wonderful musical interludes... also blood!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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william d

The story is a typical "samurai comes to town, fights bad guys and saves villagers." The gimmick here is the samurai is blind. That's not enough to salvage the rambling plot or excuse the incredibly bad special effects, particularly the CGI blood splatters.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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s r

A bizarre one to say the least. It was almost good, but then it just couldn't decide what kind of film it was. The whole drum tap dance scene at the end just threw me for a loop. Coming back to the main story, it had a good premise and development, but then it ended hollowly, almost like a TV movie. The CGI swords and gore was comical. It was on paramount and I'm not sure why the rating were so high.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

Incredibly funny as well as quite dark film. Must see for everyone, even it looks quite old still it manage to captivate. The ending is just a MUST SEE.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

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Takeshi Kitano

Director

Takeshi Kitano

Zatôichi

Tadanobu Asano

Gennosuke Hattori

Michiyo Ohkusu

Aunt Oume

Yui Natsukawa

O-Shino

Yûko Daike

Geisha Okinu Naruto

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Synopsis

Blind traveler Zatoichi (Beat Takeshi) is a master swordsman and a masseur with a fondness for gambling on dice games. When he arrives in a village torn apart by warring gangs, he sets out to protect the townspeople. He is also enlisted to help two sibling geisha, Okinu (Yûko Daike) and Osei (Daigorô Tachibana), avenge the murder of their parents, who were slaughtered in a massacre. Zatoichi must fight his way through numerous enemies before finally clashing with a heartless crime boss.

Director: Takeshi Kitano
Producer: Masayuki Mori, Takio Yoshida
Screenwriter: Takeshi Kitano
Distributor: Miramax Films
Production Co: Bandai Visual Co. Ltd., Asahi National Broadcasting Company
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Adventure
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 23, 2004, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 8, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $853.7K
Runtime: 1h 55m
Sound Mix: Surround

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