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SUMMARY

Ichi is a traveling "Annma" or masseuse during the Tokugawa Era of Japan's history.  Few people know that Ichi is also a skilled swordsman, who uses his superior senses to defeat the strongest of foes.   Tired of fighting, Ichi decides to visit some old friends at a nearby village, and take a rest.

When he arrives, he discovers that many things have changed.  Yakuza rule the streets.  Old friends have become cold and unfriendly.  The town is destitute and people die every day.  Ichi also meets Sasa, a Yojimbo (bodyguard) in service to Masagoro, head of the renegade Kobotoke Clan.

As he investigates the cause of the towns misfortune, Ichi discovers a dangerous secret.  Eboshiya Yaskue, the head of the town is, stealing gold from the Tokugawa Shogunate.  He also learns that Eboshiya's sons, Masagoro and Sanyemon are trying to get all the gold Eboshiya has stolen.

Ichi must find a way to right the wrongs inflicted on the town, and not get killed by the battle hungry Yojimbo.

DVD VISION TEST

VIDEO: AnimEigo has done an excellent job with the restoration. The colors are solid, with no color bleeding, wrinkles, or pixels to be seen.  They have also cleaned up the dust and film grain from the original transfer, making this one great looking Samurai Eiga.

AUDIO: The Japanese 2.0 track is very well done.  There is no mono hiss, and they found the right balance for the music and dialogue.

EDITS: None. That's right, none. This is unedited at its best.

EXTRAS: Some liner notes, character biographies, and a "Lone Wolf and Cub" trailer are the extras.

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

STORY:  Okamoto Kihachi and Yoshida Tetsuro have given us a fairly typical "Samurai Cinema" film.  Like American westerns, a lone hero arrives in town, and quickly learns that all is not well.  Trying to make things right, he unravels a mystery that can lead to his death.  Along the way, he has to deal with upstart swordsmen, gangsters, and Sasa, his rival.  If you have seen a Samurai Eiga movie before, you have seen this one.

ACTING: The acting is very well done.  While Shintaro Katsu may not be the most convincing blind man, he is still pretty cool.  You can tell that his character is holding back, wishing he could just cut loose.  Problem is, he can't with out people finding out about his abilities.

I absolutely love Toshiro Mifune.  His Yojimbo is a crass drunk, passionate lover, and a total bad ass.  You can tell that Mifune has a lot of fun with this character.  You would not want to meet him in a dark alley.

FAN SERVICE: None that I know of.  

CONCLUSION

While I am no stranger to Samurai Eiga, I was not familiar with the "Zatoichi" films.  Many people have said that this was one of the best series ever made.  Based upon the glowing recommendation from the folks at AnimEigo, and because of Toshiro Mifune reprising his role as Yojimbo, I decided to give this film a try.

For me, it wasn't the cookie cutter story that drew me in, but the characters.  I liked how Zatoichi used his blindness to trick people.  Upon first glance, people thought he was nothing more than a stupid, helpless, and blind old fool.  Totaly undestimating him, he was able to get in close with the greedy and corrupt Eboshiya Yaskue, and pit his sons Masagoro and Sanyemon against him at the same time.

Then there is the awesome Yojimbo. He is such a bad ass, and so convinced of his superior skill, he thinks that nothing or no one can stop him.  Not that he is wrong on that account.  What he fails to realize, that Zatoichi doesn't want to stop him in a direct confrontation.  Instead, Ichi-san very carefully manipulates Sasa to not only help him stop Eboshiya and his family, but nudge Yojimbo and the lovely Umeno together.

Regal is the only word to describe Umeno.  Despite her questionable occupation, she still maintains her dignity.  Why she has a thing for the rude and crude Yojimbo is beyond me.

Even minor characters like the goofy Yogo and the hard as steel Kuzuryu leave an impression.  Don't worry about the simple story, it's the characters that make this movie good.

I was quite impressed with the amount of love and care AnimEigo put into this release.  Never have I seen a Japanese film as old as this look so good.  There was no film grain, nicks or scratches. While there wasn't much in the way of color, it didn't look washed out, as most of these films do.  AnimEigo's claim that the DVD "rivals the original theatrical presentation" is a spot on remark.

While I may not be one of the films strongest converts, "Zatoichi Meet Yojimbo" is pure Samurai gold.  With it's interesting characters and a beautiful restoration, this is a good Samurai film to start with.  If you are already a fan, then get going an pick up a copy!

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