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Zatôichi
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Zatôichi (2003) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 23 | slideshow) Videos (see all 6)
Zatôichi (2003) -- US Home Video Trailer from Miramax
Zatôichi (2003) -- The blind masseur/swordsman comes to an town in control of warring gangs, and while bunking with a farming family, he meets two women with their own agenda.
Zatôichi (2003) -- AllTrailers.net - Trailer (Flash)

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Overview

User Rating:
7.6/10   20,254 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 9% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Takeshi Kitano (screenplay)
Kan Shimosawa (novels)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
6 September 2003 (Japan) more
Genre:
Tagline:
His Sword Made Him a Hero... His Courage Made Him a Legend. This Summer, Justice is Blind.
Plot:
The blind masseur/swordsman comes to an town in control of warring gangs, and while bunking with a farming family, he meets two women with their own agenda. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
21 wins & 10 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(9 articles)
Thor’s Warriors Three Confirmed
 (From Screen Rant. 17 November 2009, 9:01 AM, PST)

Marvel Locates The Warriors Three for Thor
 (From FilmSchoolRejects. 16 November 2009, 9:45 PM, PST)

User Comments:
Totally convincing Kitano more (168 total)

Cast

  (in credits order)

Takeshi Kitano ... Zatôichi / Ichi (as Beat Takeshi)
Tadanobu Asano ... Hattori Genosuke
Michiyo Ookusu ... Aunt Oume
Gadarukanaru Taka ... Shinkichi
Daigorô Tachibana ... Geisha Seitaro 'Osei' Naruto
Yûko Daike ... Geisha Okinu Naruto
Yui Natsukawa ... O-Shino, Hattori's Wife
Ittoku Kishibe ... Boss Inosuke Ginzo
Saburô Ishikura ... Boss Tashichi Ogi
Akira Emoto ... Tavern Owner Pops
Ben Hiura ... Tavern Gramps
Kohji Miura ... Lord Sakai
Hideboh ... Dancing Farmer (as The Stripes)
Ron II ... Dancing Farmer (as The Stripes)
Suji ... Dancing Farmer (as The Stripes)
Noriyasu ... Dancing Farmer (as The Stripes)
Makoto Ashikawa ... Carpenter
Tsumami Edamame ... Carpenter
Kosuke Ohta ... Carpenter
Yoshiyuki Morishita ... Carpenter
Naomasa Musaka ... Yakuza Boss on the Country Road
Shoken Kunimoto ... Rival Swordsman
Daigaku Sekine ... Ginzo's Henchman I
Koji Koike ... Boss Funahachi
Koji Kiryu ... Dice Dealer at Funahachi's Joint
Taigi Kobayashi ... Funahachi's Bodyguard
Ayano Yoshida ... Young O-Kinu
Taichi Saotome ... Young O-Sei (Seitaro)
Kanji Tsuda ... Playboy at Home
Ikki Goto ... Kuchinawa Underling 1
Yoshio Nakamura ... Kuchinawa Underling 3
Hiroaki Noguchi ... Kuchinawa Underling 5
Shinichi Nakatsu ... Kuchinawa Underling 2
Toru Yonezu ... Kuchinawa Underling 4
P. Man ... Tavern Customer 4
Al Kitago ... Farmer Boy 1
Omiya Nomatsu ... Farmer Boy 2
Tsutomu Takeshige ... Farmer Boy 4
Gambino Kobayashi ... Farmer Boy 5
Sammy Moremore Jr. ... Farmer Boy 6
Muhomatsu ... Farmer Boy with a Spear
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yasushi Higuchi
Masayoshi Ohzeki
Kenji Takechi ... Yakuza
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Directed by
Takeshi Kitano 
 
Writing credits
Takeshi Kitano (screenplay)

Kan Shimosawa (novels)

Produced by
Shinji Komiya .... line producer
Jack Maeby .... producer (english language version)
Masayuki Mori .... producer: Office Kitano
Chieko Saitô .... planner
Tsunehisa Saitô .... producer: Saitô Entertainment
Masanori Sanada .... co-producer
Takio Yoshida .... co-producer
 
Original Music by
Keiichi Suzuki 
 
Cinematography by
Katsumi Yanagijima 
 
Film Editing by
Takeshi Kitano 
Yoshinori Ôta 
 
Casting by
Takefumi Yoshikawa 
 
Production Design by
Norihiro Isoda 
 
Costume Design by
Yohji Yamamoto 
 
Makeup Department
Kakusei Fujiwara .... special makeup effects artist
 
Production Management
Kensei Mori .... production manager
 
Sound Department
Senji Horiuchi .... sound designer
Akira Nakano .... sound recordist
Kenji Shibazaki .... sound effects
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Hitoshi Takaya .... lighting director
Toshio Watanabe .... still photographer
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kazuko Kurosawa .... costume supervisor
 
Other crew
Hideboh .... choreographer: tap dancing (as The Stripes)
Richard Lormand .... publicist: international
Noriyasu .... choreographer: tap dancing (as The Stripes)
Ron II .... choreographer: tap dancing (as The Stripes)
Haru Shôbara .... script supervisor
Suji .... choreographer: tap dancing (as The Stripes)
 

Production CompaniesDistributorsSpecial EffectsOther Companies
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Takeshi Kitano's Zatoichi (International: English title) (informal title)
The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi (USA)
Zatoichi (International: English title)
Zatoichi (Argentina) (Chile) (Spain) [es]
Zatoichi - Der blinde Samurai (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Zatoïchi, le samurai (Canada: French title) [fr]
Zatoichi (Brazil) [pt]
Zatoichi (Poland) [pl]
Zatoichi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Zatoichi - Sokea samurai (Finland) [fi]
Zatoichi, o tyflos samurai (Greece) [el]
more
MPAA:
Rated R for strong stylized bloody violence.
Runtime:
116 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
"Zatô" was the lowest of the four official ranks (kan'i) within the Tôdô-za - the Kyôto-based guild for the blind established early in the Muromachi Period (1392-1573), and abolished in 1871 (the fourth year of the Meiji Restoration). The three other ranks, in ascending order, were "kôtô", "bettô", and "kengyô" - as in Shiranui kengyô (1960). more
Quotes:
Aunt Oume: This must be quite a sight! I'm guiding a masseur, who's carrying my vegetables.
Zatôichi: Wish I could see that!
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Grindhouse (2007) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
3 out of 5 people found the following comment useful.
Totally convincing Kitano, 2 June 2005
Author: Atavisten from Tellus

Beat Takeshi does a remake of one of the most popular film series in Japan about the blind swordsman Zatoichi and this is what a remake should look like, not like those crappy stars-sfx-and-nothing-else Hollywood remakes.

Having seen only the first of the series I didn't recognize many references in the movie, but the few I spotted were very clever, not copying, but putting it in new context.

The story is good, coupled with many funny excursions about hancho gambling, a crazy man running around in his undies and so on, and the actors are all well picked and does a very good job. This turned me into a big Kitano fan.

Some complain about the blood looking to cgi, I think its for the better. Its not a film about the horrors of sword fighting.

Kitano's usual partner in crime Joe Hisaishi was dropped in favour of Keiichi Suzuki and for the better of it IMO. What a wonderful and funny score that syncronizes with the sound from the film (or is it the other way around?), takes traditional sounds into the future and fuses them with African and South American rhythms very successfully. The final song is a real frenzy of samba, tapdancing and I can swear that he quotes the house club classic 'The Bomb' by 'The Bucketheads' an alias for Kenny Dope of the 'Masters at Work'. Fantastic. How can you not smile?

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more (168 total)

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