The Film
As I sit down to write this review, one word immediately leaps to mind. That word, of course, is pizza. The problem with living in New York - as I did for the first 23 years of my life - is that once you've had real New York pizza, everything else might as well be from Pizza Hut. The same can be said for samurai films. Once you've seen Akira Kurosawa's peerless Seven Samurai, it's pretty hard to be impressed by anything else.
Not to be confused with the Zatoichi films of the 1960's, The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi is Takeshi Kitano's 2003 attempt at shining a fresh spotlight on the blind, gambling, wandering samurai masseur. (How's that for a business title?) With the help of his trusty (and lethal) red cane, Zatoichi wanders the countryside and goes wherever the road takes him - usually a town in dire need of his unique skill set.
At the core of Zatoichi's plot is nothing new. Townspeople living in fear of the local crime boss seek the aid of a mysterious outsider in hopes of restoring their village to its prior greatness. What's odd about
Zatoichi is its uneven sense of tone. While the bulk of the film is gritty and serious, brief musical interludes and moments of goofy comedy are sprinkled throughout. And the kicker comes in the film's final ten minutes, where
Zatoichi abruptly takes on the vibe of a Bollywood musical. It's a strange dichotomy that just didn't work for me, but I'm sure the finale has its supporters. More upsetting for me was the utterly disappointing, anti-climactic final showdown between Zatoichi and his nemesis in the film. I won't go into detail, but don't sneeze when these two finally throw down - you may miss the entire scene.
Finally, I would be remiss if I did not give props to Takeshi Kitano. Not only did Kitano write and direct the film, he also stars as the blind swordsman himself. His nuanced performance is surprisingly affecting and represents the film's single biggest asset.
The Picture
Prior to this review, I had never seen this take on the story of Zatoichi. The Blu-ray's MPEG-4 AVC video struck me as average in terms of picture detail, delivering only a moderate sense of visual depth. Blacks could definitely be darker and there is a fair amount of detail being crushed in the frequent shadows.
The most notable thing about this transfer however is the color red. The MPAA gave Zatoichi an R rating for "strong, stylized, bloody violence." They're not kidding; geysers of blood and arterial sprays are frequent throughout the film, but they're such an unnatural shade of red that one has to wonder if this was the director's intended look. Also, footage shown during the one behind-the-scenes featurette seems to contradict the look of the film, adding fuel to the theory that some changes have been made - and not for the better.
Also worth mentioning are the special effects. Zatoichi's frequent use of CGI sword tips and blood spurts may have flown at the theater, but they really stand out at home and can look downright silly at times.
The Sound
Rule number one when bringing a foreign film to home video: always default to the native tongue. Rule number two: if you're going to deliver a high resolution soundtrack option, don't only offer it on the poorly-dubbed English track. Sadly, whoever assembled this Zatoichi Blu-ray missed both of those memos. Your choices are these: a goofy-sounding English track presented in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (the default option) or a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 mix in the original Japanese. I opted for the latter (using English subtitles) and although it's an active mix with solid bass, switching over to the DTS-HD track reveals its shortcomings. For example, during the chapter 14 "showdown," blade swishes were distinctively airier and the ambience of falling rain a lot more convincing on the DTS-HD track. Maybe next time they'll get it right and give us DTS-HD in the native Japanese.
The Extras
Extras are limited to twenty minutes of assorted interviews and a lengthy, well-executed featurette chronicling the film's production. English subtitles appear when necessary and overall it's a solid, worthwhile detour for fans of the film.
Final Thoughts
Takeshi Kitano's audacious attempt at resuscitating the famed Zatoichi is not without merit, but the film's cartoonish violence and hugely disappointing climax hold it back from becoming something greater. And unfortunately, mediocre video, head-scratching audio options and scant extras dull the edge of the blind swordsman's Blu-ray debut.
Product Details
- Actors: Takeshi Kitano, Tadanobu Asano, Michiyo Ookusu
- Audio/Languages: English DTS-HD 5.1, Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish 2.0
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
- Number of discs: 1
- Rating: R
- Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
- Blu-ray Disc Release Date: September 15, 2009
- Run Time: 116 minutes
- List Price: $39.99
- Extras:
- Behind-the-Scenes Special
- Exclusive Interviews with Crew
Also available as part of "The Ultimate Force of Four" Blu-ray Boxed Set.
