Zatôichi (1989)

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1. 

   essaywhu

   I think this one is my least-favorite Zatoichi film. Characters are introduced for no reason, such as the female boss at the beginning of the film (unless you count her as a reason Zatoichi to get laid and who really wants to see that?) as well as the prisoner who helps Zatoichi, who seemed like he might have had more of a part that may have ended up on the cutting room floor. I was never confused by the plots of any of the 25 original films, but I was here at multiple times. For some reason, the film also reuses plot points from some of the old ones with no new angle such as the gambling bit where he cons the house out of a bunch of money. Also, the music is pretty bad with especially horrendous English-language theme song that plays throughout. 8 years 9 months ago
2. 

   Siskoid

   I should have left well enough alone... The thrilling possibility of a proper ending for, or at least a late-career meditation on, Zatoichi made me watch the 1989 film, co-written and directed by Katsu. There is a certain melancholy to the film in that, in his 50s, Ichi is still getting up to the same old scams, but the movie is more concerned with nostalgia than it is making any kind of statement about the aging anti-hero. Katsu's direction is much more conservative than it was in Zatoichi in Desperation, though it sometimes achieves an intriguing phantasmagoria and does something with the windblown motif of the character. But as with the other entry co-written by Katsu (Fire Festival), it is a disjointed mess. Quite beyond the indulgent use of imagery that is supposed to evoke many of the other chapters for audiences who haven't seen the films since they were in theaters, the plot vanishes characters it introduces as important - most notably the female boss Ichi has a bizarre romance with - and I was frequently asking who someone was, why they were doing what they were doing, and just what was happening. Ladle on 80s synth music and an egregious English-language theme song, and I'm reaching for the aspirin. And it ISN'T an ending for the character - there may have been hope to turn it into a modern-day series - so no added relevance. Katsu is as good as he ever was - this character is his second skin - but he didn't really advance the character any since he'd last played him ten years prior. 3 years 7 months ago

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