Zatoichi and the fugitives is the 18th zatoichi film and it first appeared in the theaters august 10 1968. A yakuza gang targets the blind masseur zatoichi after he defeats their group in a wrestling match. Criterion reflections zatoichi and the fugitives 1968. The most comprehensive list of japanese movies ever. After having witnessed this soulshattering monster of a film, it truly seems unbelievable that zatoichi started as a family. Zatoichi and the fugitives dvd, 2004 at the best online prices at ebay. Shintaro katsu is back, and in great form in the fourth of the blind swordmans adventures. The fugitive is the fourth episode in the 26 part film series devoted to the character of zatoichi. Zatoichi seems to have totally pushed aside any hangups he had about being a murderer in zatoichi and the fugitives.
When a prominent merchant is murdered, zatoichi immediately casts suspicion upon matsugoro. Like every katsuscripted zatoichi film, zatoichi in desperation lacks a coherent plot, yet it is truly a film that has to be seentobebelieved and shows just how far the series as evolved from its initial outing. Film 1967, dvd 2004, color, 86 minutes, not rated, 2. The character, a blind masseur and blademaster, was created by novelist kan shimozawa. Recommendation engine sorted out serious, realistic, cult film and stylized films with plots about samurai, martial arts, heroes, master warrior, escapades, adventure and lone wolves mostly in action, drama and adventure genres. Zatoichi and the fugitives 1968 full movie download full. Beat takeshi kitano directs and plays the title role in this tribute to the wildly popular blind swordsman of japanese cinema who was the hero of more than 20 movies and a television series from the early 60s to the late 80s. With shintaro katsu, miwa takada, masayo banri, junichiro narita. Criterions handsome bluray set focuses on the first wave of zatoichi films, from 1962s the tale of zatoichi, to 1973s zatoichi and the fugitives. In japanese w english subtitles this outing places the blind swordsman against a corrupt official that is aided by fugitives. To further complicate matters, gen, the leader of the thugs, is the estranged, dissolute son of junan.
Zatoichi, the fugitive is the fourth entry in the franchise and the second film to be shot in color. Zatoichi and the fugitives msmichel the 18th film in the long running series is a rousing and exciting entry that finds our hero once again having to. Zatoichi and the fugitives, zatoichi hatashijo is a 1968 japanese chambara film directed by kimiyoshi yasuda and starring shintaro katsu as the blind masseur zatoichi. Katsu is still great and there is an interesting plot thread concerning a weak man who is placed in. I particularly like yuko shimizus for adventures of zatoichi and jhomar sorianos for zatoichi the outlaw, but all are interesting, capturing the. Mifune and katsu two great tastes that went great together. During his travels, ichi has a few runins with members of a gang of fugitives and eventually they all arrive in the same town. Zatoichi 2003 blind traveler zatoichi beat takeshi is a master swordsman and a masseur with a fondness for gambling on dice games. Zatoichi and the fugitives, the 18th installment in the series, is pretty solid overall, a wellmade and swiftly paced actionadventure that adheres pretty closely to the standard zatoichi formula. This lean and mean entry is packed with coldhearted villainy and rough justice, but it finds its heart in the great takashi shimura. Despite zatoichi being something of an unstoppable, seagalesque force of nature this time round, i enjoyed zatoichi and the fugitives a lot. He plays, as usual, a man with an impassive face, few words, and sudden bursts of action that end in a few seconds. Blind masseur and master swordsman zatoichi becomes involved with a gang of bandits hiding out in a small village. Once again, the everwandering blind swordsman gets drawn into a cruelly unbalanced conflict between merciless criminals and honest village folk who.
Zatoichi and the fugitives full movie 1968 youtube. Zatoichi and the fugitives 1968 the criterion collection. The fugitive, zatoichi kyojo tabi is a 1963 japanese chambara film directed by tokuzo tanaka starring shintaro katsu as the blind masseur zatoichi, originally released by the daiei motion picture company now known as kadokawa pictures. The movie starts with zatoichi being attacked by an inexperienced yakuza who wants to earn the bounty on zatoichis head. The blind swordsman zatoichi the fugitive english subtitled.
The wandering swordsman finds himself in a small village that serves as hideout for a band of fugitives who control the town officials and enforce brutal slave labor in the local silk mill. Hes a low ranking blind masseur who lives by the yakuza code and answers his foes with a deadly cane sword. Its the second of three films released within the same year. Zatoichi triumphs at a village wrestling match, much to the chagrin of his yakuza. Zatoichi the fugitive 1963 the criterion collection. Blind swordsmanmasseur ichi known as zatoichi, or masseur ichi angers a local yakuza gang when he defeats several of them in a wrestling match. Watch zatoichi and the fugitives full movie in hd visit zatoichi runs afoul of some evil fugitives, working for a. Then another dozen or so and then the show down with the leader. A yakuza gang targets the blind masseur zatoichi after he. Zatoichi, zatoichi is a fictional character featured in one of japans longestrunning series of films, as well as a television series.
The darkness is his ally 16 years after zatoichis conspiracy, effectively the final film in the series, and a decade after the tv series that followed, shintaro katsu returned to the character as both director and star in a twilight sequel as the final word on the. Zatoichi you are looking for exciting, humorous and atmospheric movies about with samurai, martial arts, one man army, violence, gang, good versus evil and gang war themes of action, comedy and crime genre shot in japan. People still havent learned to respect the mans skills and in this film they take it up a notch by putting a bounty on the poor yet skilled masseurs head. Best movies like zatoichi and the fugitives bestsimilar. The fugitives beat the doctor to find out where zatoichi is. Simultaneously zatoichi tries to rescue a young woman from the sweatshop conditions of the mill. Not to be confused with episode four, zatoichi the fugitive, this one is about ichi tangling with a gang of six vicious thugs on a murderous crime spree. Zatoichi the fugitive 1963 directed by tokuzo tanaka. A letter of challenge is the eighteenth film in the series. Also known by the alternate titles zatoichi the blind swordsman or zatoichi.
Zatoichi embodies the kinds of contradictory elements that make takeshi kitano japans most intriguing contemporary actordirector. Zatoichi, zatoichi is a fictional character featured in one of japans longestrunning series of films and a television series that are both set during the late edo period 1830s and 1840s. Zatoichi and the fugitives 1968 directed by kimiyoshi yasuda. This film is a shebang, a fullscale show, complete with everything you would happily pay to see. It includes a long essay on the series by geoffrey obrien, and notes on each film along with a short list of credits by japanese film scholar chris d. Another solid zatoichi film, zatoichi the fugitive once again follow zatoichi as he is. Watch zatoichi and the fugitives full movie in hd visit. Zatoichi 20 zatoichi meets yojimbo zatoichi to yojimbo 1970 2003 toho co. Both are set during the late edo period 1830s and 1840s. Zatoichi and the fugitives season 1, episode 18 080968 zatichi confronts a corrupt police official and an outlaw gang to free a young woman enslaved in a silk mill. When he arrives in a village torn apart by warring gangs, he. When he finds that his long lost love tane is nearby and romantically involved with a tough samurai in the employ of the gang, he remains in the village.
Zatoichi returns and cops down six of the fugitives. Zatoichi runs afoul of some evil fugitives, working for a corrupt law official. Zatoichi makes himself known to matsugoro, which only makes the yakuza more paranoid. Tokuzo tanaka, masaichi nagata, kan shimozawa, seiji hoshikawa. Ichi tries to rescue a young woman from the sweatshop conditions of the mill, and eventually battles both the leaders of the town and the outlaw gang. Nicknamed katsushin, he lived in the moment, and relied upon his feelings when acting. The blind swordsman box set gets our highest recommendation and damn well deserves it. Zatoichi stays with junan, a doctor, and his daughter oshizu. Take kurosawas yojimbo character a misnomer, i know and throw him up against katsus zatoichi and you get nothing but samurai goodness. Miller overview the colossally popular zatoichi films make up the longestrunning action series in japanese history and created one of the screens great heroes. This lean and mean entry is packed with coldhearted villainy and rough justice, but it finds its heart in the great takashi shimura ikiru, who plays a kindly country doctor caught up in a violent world.
But zatoichi in his run of two dozen films stays good to the end. The zatoichi film series was produced in the sixties but he appeared in film as late as the eighties. Will zatoichi fight to free his love, or will he search out the man who wants him dead. Most similar movies to zatoichi and the fugitives the list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Zatoichi and the fugitives is a 1968 japanese chambara film directed by kimiyoshi yasuda and starring shintaro katsu as the blind masseur zatoichi. Zatoichi shintaro katsu walks into a mess as the yakuza sects of a certain area jockey for position and a mysterious samurai arrives with an old flame of ichis in tow. Usually when a film series starts getting long, most of the films in the series are mediocre at best, particularly in the later shows. Zatoichi and the fugitives 1968 directed by kimiyoshi. The wounded zatoichi is still too much for the doctors son and he quickly chops him down.
Zatoichi is one of the great characters of any medieval japanese film, and unusually he is not a samurai himself. He has a code, but enforces it according to his own rules. While they hide in the attic of a silk mill, they manipulate the corrupt chief official of the town. This is the first film of the series that fails to completely satisfy me. Its written by kinya naoi and directed by kimiyoshi yasuda. Shintaro katsu is back, and in great form in the fourth of the blind swordman s adventures. Blind swordsman 4 the fugitive with 26 film sequels and upwards of 100 tv episodes, shintaro katsu is the legendary zatoichi. The story behind these fugitives is a mystery thats gradually revealed, so i wont go into much detail except to note that the coldblooded bastards dont hesitate to wipe out innocent families and murder children. It was originally released by the daiei motion picture company later acquired by kadokawa pictures zatoichi and the fugitives is the eighteenth episode in the 26part film series devoted to the.
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