Masseur Ichi and the Chest of Gold (Zatoichi senryo-kubi, 1964)
Ikehiro Kazuo
Japan
90 mins, color, Japanese (English subtitles)
This is my first Zatoichi film, so I can't compare it with others, but must judge on its merits alone. I don't know that the premise of a blind and nearly invincible swordsman is interesting enough to warrant an entire series, but it is damn entertaining for sure. Although Ichi (Shintaro Katsu) is larger than life, he is one dimensional to the point of being somewhat boring. He's just way too good with everything: killing (and regretting it), helping farmers in distress, and being all too honorable about the reputation of another great samurai. It is inevitable that one would think of Sanjuro when he sees a film like that, but this one does not hold a candle to Mifune's disillusioned and fun-loving character.
It's always much better if the protagonist is a bit more human, with a weakness or two, but Zatoichi is perfect to a fault. Since he is blind, it's quite hard to relate to him anyway. The film is nowhere near the cinematography of Inagaki, let alone Kurosawa or the other masters. The camera sits mostly still but, and that's a big but, the some of the fights are superb. The blindingly fast, pun intended, draw of Zatoichi's sword will warm up the heart of any samurai-loving film buff. The women are beautiful even if one is irredeemably evil, and the other mostly clueless. There's even the requisite grand duel at the end, except this time the opponent was hardly honorable in his conduct.
In this episode, Zatoichi helps farmers recover the chest with tax payment stolen from them by the evil governor. He atones for the wrongful death of a villager, saves a child, defends the honor of another samurai, and kills about thirty people, some of them while carrying said child on his back. You have to see it to believe it.
All in all, an entertaining film, but with significant flaws in the premise and execution. The music was quite cheesy and that did not help matters. Finally, the translation was inadequate. It was alright in terms of English and grammar, but some of the choices were just bad. For example, the retainers are always called "henchmen"! I will see other Zatoichi films for sure, if for nothing else, then to see him banter with pretty women.
April 15, 2001. BLS