Zatôichi kenka-daiko (1968)

Note Générale:

7,6/10   

Réalisateur:

Kenji Misumi

Scénaristes:

Kiyokata Saruwaka (writer)
Kan Shimosawa (story)

Date de sortie:

28 décembre 1968 (Japan)

Genre:

Drame | Action | Aventure

Intrigue:

Zatoichi is forced to kill a young man who owes a debt to a yakuza boss. Moments later, his sister Osode...

Plot Keywords:

Zatoichi | Yakuza | Character Name In Title

Avis des utilisateurs:

One of the better Zatoichi films

Ensemble

Shintarô Katsu	...	Zatoichi
Yoshiko Mita	...	Osode
Makoto Satô	...	Yasaburo Kashiwazaki
Kô Nishimura	...	Sosuke Saruya
Takuya Fujioka	...	Shinkichi
Chocho Miyako	...	Ohaya
Akira Shimizu	...	Kumakichi
Ryoichi Tamagawa	...	Chohachi
Machiko Soga	...	Osen
Ryutaro Gomi	...	Sashichi
Osamu Okawa	...	Tokuji
Rokko Toura	...	Choji
Kazue Tamachi	...	Aburaya no Banto, the oil shop clerk (as Kazue Tamaki)
Yukio Horikita	...	Isokichi
Takeshi Date	...	Kinzo

Autre(s) titre(s):

Samaritan Zatoichi (literal English title)
The Blind Swordsman Samaritan
The Blind Swordsman and the Drums
Zatôichi 19 (Japan) (informal title)
Zatoichi and the Drum
Zatoichi: Fighting Drums
Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman Samaritan

Durée:

84 min

Pays:

Japan

Langue:

Japonais

Couleur:

Couleur (Fujicolor)

Rapport de forme:

2,35 : 1

Son:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Société:

Daiei Studios

Anecdotes:

This was the nineteenth "Zatoichi" feature film.

Connexions:

Suite de Zatôichi abare tako (1964)

One of the better Zatoichi films

Having seen a number of the Zatoichi movies, I think that this is one of the better entries in the series. Like all of the best, Samaritan Zatoichi has more story. The background characters are fleshed out and get a decent amount of screen time.

Like often happens, Zatoichi ends up pitted against the local corrupt Yakuza Bosses because he is defending an innocent victim, Shinsoke Osode (played by Yoshiko Mita), the sister of the Samurai that Zatoichi killed. The film has a straightforward plot. Zatoichi is recognized as a brother Yakuza at the beginning, and he does not start out as some hated fugitive. Zatoichi also meets a sympathetic Samurai, Sosuke Saruya (played by Kô Nishimura who was in more than one Zatoichi movie) who almost plays the role of Zatoichi's sidekick in a few scenes and then bails out after telling Zatoichi there is too much danger.

Zatoichi is seen taking a job as an assassin, and I found that realistic touch made the movie more interesting. After all, Zatoichi has always been a Yakuza, and yet in most of the movies he is fighting against them. In this film, Zatoichi is also shown cheating at dice, and he gets caught. Seeing Zatoichi's sleazier side was refreshing. It also gave his character more depth.

The movie winds up with the usual slash-fest, as all of the villains get what they deserve. Like all of the better Zatoichi movies, this one has a rival Samurai character, Yasaburo Kashiwazaki (Makoto Satô) who wants Shinsoke for himself.

Unlike other movies where Zatoichi's Samurai rival has been an honorable swordsman, this time the Samurai (Makoto Sato) is an unprincipled killer who is being hunted by others. The final showdown is one of the better ones in this series. It is far from a cakewalk, and Zatoichi gets sliced and diced.