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Masseur Ichi, the Fugitive

Play trailer Masseur Ichi, the Fugitive 1963 1h 26m Action Adventure Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 2 Reviews 83% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
A blind swordsman (Shintarô Katsu) finds a community where rival criminals engage in a violent feud.

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Masseur Ichi, the Fugitive

Critics Reviews

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Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 3/5 Jul 16, 2005 Full Review Brian Mckay eFilmCritic.com Although there is a dearth of action in the first two acts, the final showdown is exciting stuff, and has some of the best sword choreography in the series to date. Rated: 4/5 Jun 16, 2003 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Christopher B Another solid Zatoichi film, Zatoichi The Fugitive once again follow Zatoichi as he is pursued and must do the right thing in order to protect and help the helpless and defend himself from those wanting him dead. This entry is a little slow paced in the first half but picks up and introduces a very formidable enemy that, for a while, is Zatoichi's equal in battle. There is some great and very well done battle choreography in the grand final duel that is simply awesome! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/26/22 Full Review Audience Member This film was great. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member The fourth film in the series really cements my interest in them and the overall charm, as they seem very interconnected and are building an interesting backstory for our lead. Here we meet an old lost love of our hero and find him in the middle of yet another conflict between outside forces. What can I say? These are formulaic but very fun, give it a rental! Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member Zatoichi the Fugitive is a well told story with plenty of action. The colour film brings about a different look at a character who had had a life in black and white previously. Fans of the series should easily enjoy this entry into the Zatoichi mythos. While not as good as some of the previous films, it does have many strong aspects. The fight choreography in this one may be the best up to this point. What I didn't like as much as the previous Zatoichi films is the somewhat loose and rather pointless story. Zatoichi doesn't seem inquisitive, he doesn't seem to truly care, and so there really is no motivation for him to stay... and yet he does. Sure there are plenty of possible motivations presented throughout the film and each would have been sufficient for Zatoichi to be involved in the goings on but I never felt like he was staying there for a particular reason. He just seemed to be there, perhaps moving from one motivation to the next. But outside of a better presentation of Zatoichi's motivations (and thus a reason for the flim to take place) Zatoichi 4: The Fugitive still manages to entertain. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member This is the first Zatoichi film that I have truly admired, the other installments are generic. While relaxing, Zatoichi kills an assassin and discovers there is a bounty on his head. While visiting the assassin's mother to appease everything, he gets involved in a family dispute with some criminal bosses who are fighting over territory. What follows is a tragic yet action packed tale with Zatoichi being at his most vulnerable, emotionally and physically. The finale battle is very cinematic and well done, for one of the best entries in the Zatoichi series. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member Another strong entry to the fine samurai series. At the beginning's a hilarious moment in which it's discovered he's also quite good at sumo wrestling, by defeating five opponents. He finds there's now a price on his head from past exploits and misunderstandings, and his battle for love and peace still goes painfully unfulfilled. Beautifully scored, shot, acted and directed, and very highly recommended. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Masseur Ichi, the Fugitive

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis A blind swordsman (Shintarô Katsu) finds a community where rival criminals engage in a violent feud.
Director
Tozuko Tanaka
Screenwriter
Seiji Hoshikawa
Genre
Action, Adventure
Original Language
Japanese
Release Date (Streaming)
May 22, 2017
Runtime
1h 26m
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