Zatôichi to Yôjinbô (1970) Online

It has taken several viewings of this film to finally come around and enjoy it (for the most part). Toho Studios has now taken over the Zatoichi franchise and this means a larger budget production. Of course Mifune and Katsu together were guaranteed to draw a lot of attention when the film was released in 1970.

Zatoichi is tired of killing and remembers a beautiful, peaceful village up in the mountains. Then he's off to the village to enjoy the plum blossoms and the sound of a babbling brook. Or maybe not! The village is not the same and several bad characters plot to make themselves rich at the expense of the locals (and the Japanese Treasury in this case).

The repertoire between Zatoichi and the Yojimbo (Sasa) is entertaining and funny. Sasa tells Zatoichi to act more like a criminal, and Zatoichi, ever ready to please, pounds down a bottle of sake. The two call each other idiot and freak. At first these are hateful terms, but over the course of the film, they come to respect one another, and continue to use the same names for each other.

This is the longest film in the Zatoichi series (116 minutes) and it needn't be. The first hour works well, but the next 30 minutes or so sees the story meandering along with the introduction of another government spy (turned bad) that adds nothing to the main story.

The sword work in this film is only good, not great. The final confrontation between Zatoichi and Sasa is short and ends as one could predict. This film could have really been a gem if the film concentrated on the development of Zatoichi and Sasa's relationship. The two characters are entertaining and the film will please most chambara aficionados.

This film brings together two of the greatest characters created in Japanese cinema. Zatoichi (Shintaro Katsu) is the blind swordsman who goes back to a village that he remembers as peaceful and tranquil. It has been two to three years since his last visit and he longs to get away from the constant attacks that plague him on a daily basis, as he has a price on his head. But all is not as he remembers. When he arrives to his beloved village, he finds it is torn between a father and son that have their own gangs involved in their own family feud. As a result, the village is torn between the two men as the son seeks his father's gold (which may or may not exist).

As the blind masseur becomes involved in the midst of this feud, the son's hired bodyguard (Toshiro Mifune) is introduced. Mifune ever-so-slightly reprises his role from the Akira Kurosawa films, Yojimbo and Sanjuro. It's not the exact same character, but only the most devout film buffs would see the subtle differences. As the Yojimbo discovers just who Zatoichi is and the price on his head, the two banter back and forth with threats and insults and even a few sword fights as the plot thickens.

The film keeps you guessing until the very end as to whether or not these two samurai masters will end up friends or foes. All the while, Shintaro Katsu and Toshiro Mifune give master performances in their roles as usual. What Toshiro Mifune brings to this long running series of films is a stark contrast to Shintaro Katsu's simple and quiet Zatoichi. Toshiro Mifne's Yojimbo is harsh, loud, and aggressive when comparing the two. Putting these two great actors together, while playing off one another, results in a well balanced and enjoyable opposition. We all know who the hero is but what happens between these two? Do they find resolution or does it all end in a bitter and bloody sword battle? The only way to find out is to watch.

I enjoyed this film immensely. I cannot recommend it enough to fans of Japanese period films, Zatoichi fans, or Toshiro Mifune fans. If any of those appeal to you, then you owe it to yourself to watch this film. You will find nothing but sheer delight in this great masterpiece. This is also a great entry into the Zatoichi films. Even though this is a sequel you will not be lost by starting with this film in the series. This marks the 20th film of the Shintaro Katsu Zatoichi films. It was originally shot in 1965 in color and is in Japanese with the optional English subtitles. The transfer to DVD has been masterfully handled by AnimEigo and the translation is great. I was amazed at how crisp the picture and the sound was for being such an old film. Again I cannot recommend it enough. If you have any inclination to see this movie do not hesitate. I'm sure you will enjoy it as much as I did.

As one of the other reviews mentioned, you should really start with the original "Yojimbo" to fully appreciate the Mifune character here. However, this was my first Zatoichi story, and I enjoyed it immensely.

The two characters have a great repertoire, an uneasy adversarial partnership, further complicated by the appearance of a third mystery agent, and the various dealings of Mifune and his boss.

This particular storyline allows Mifune especially some time to explore the farther corners of his Yojimbo/Sanjuro character. We see some comedy, and even some romance... though Sanjuro might be loathe to admit it. The ending even makes sense, in a strange way, providing a possible closure on the character's fate.

Ichi and Sanjuro are funny together, and their chemistry is really entertaining. Katsu Shintaro sketches Zatoichi as both a master swordsman, and a bit of a klutz. He treads a fine comedic line between having fun at Ichi's expense, and portraying Ichi as a cleverly self-deprecating tactician.

Finally, the Chambara Entertainment version (released recently) had an excellent transfer, was widescreen, and came with a very informative little insert, explaining some of the more esoteric terms and puns. The subtitling was superb as well, using different colors to denote who was talking.

I highly reccomend this movie for fans of chambara, and especially for fans of Mifune and Shintaro! Mind you, it's not Kurosawa, but it's decently-made, and the actors are very entertaining.

Mifune spends half of the film on the floor sleeping or drunk. Katsu outwits Yojimbo beautifully when he isn't eating everything in sight. Their first meeting is classic comedy. A drunken Mifune plunges his sword into Zatoichi only to find that he has actually returned it to it's sheath. In a hilarious scene, Zatoichi, blind and afraid of heights has to climb four flights of stairs to see his patron. Somewhat friendly enemies, constantly harassing each other and both on the fringe of lawlessness these two oblique characters defeat the bad guys, Mifune gets the girl and Zatoichi staggers off into the sunset. You really have to watch closely to catch some of this films subtle humor. It is well worth the concentration. Delightful all around.

this may not be the best zatoichi title, hindered by a complicated plot and an unusually long runtime (116 mins), but it's easily an 8/10 compared to other zatoichi films (1989's 'zatoichi' being the worst and a 1 out of 10). if you're a zatoichi fan you are not allowed to miss this one or you're out of the club.

shintaro katsu and toshiro mifune are in excellent form and their presence alone makes it worth seeing. both of them look great. mifune is in his post-kurosawa days, but still in his prime and his face is aged to perfection.

don't expect a kurosawa film––this series was made as entertainment, not art. of course yojimbo is a better film, but this is every bit as funny and entertaining.

I love Akira Kurasawa films. Of all his films, one of my personal favorites is Yojimbo. I have also seen most of the Zatiochi films and enjoy them very much. So, you'd think that a crossover that COMBINES the two would be an exceptional film. However, it was, at best, an average Zatoichi vehicle--perhaps even a little below average. First, because expectations will very likely not be met. Secondly, because Mifune's character seems too selfish and inconsistent to be the same Yojimbo from the Kurasawa flick.

Now having Mifune's character POSE as a hired assassin/body guard was not a bad thing. But, his loyalty to the Shogun and to Zatoichi seemed unimportant compared to his love for a woman. Towards the end, this lady is shot AND Zatoichi is attacked by a group of about a dozen warriors. Mifune doesn't lift a finger to helps him but takes his beloved to try to revive her. YES, he should have tried to help her, but as a samurai it just seemed rather disloyal and cowardly to forget about everything else at this point. Also, Zatoichi trying to pilfer a small amount of the stolen gold dust for himself seemed a little out of character as well (unless he was going to give it to some starving orphans or something--now THAT'S like Zatoichi).

I dunno. The movie just didn't make me as excited as I'd hoped it would. Sorry.

I've seen about 7 or 8 zatoichi flicks and both of yojimbos. This is probably the best of zatoichi's films not just because of mifune but the story and craftsmanship of the film as well. The two stars work well together, although the yojimbo character is more p***ed off then the previous two films. I could be wrong but I think we find out who mifune's yojimbo is really working for which would explain why he acts like a scoundrel but in the end serves justice. The movie sports great swordplay and keeps the tradition of both characters

Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo was good as a throwaway movie-of-the-night to watch with friends (friends who were into Zatoichi and old samurai movies), but in the sense of it being something worthy of its stature, it didn't quite deliver. A big chunk of the problem, as many of reviewers as well as author Stuart Galbraith, was Toshrio Mifune wasn't really playing the character really as he was in the Kurosawa films. In the original Yojimbo and Sanjuro, Mifune crafted a true anti-hero bad-mutha samurai, who was grungy with his scratches, but also very cunning in how he could play both sides or act a little uncouth in his manipulations. Here, one just sees him acting like a stumbling drunk, and even a little like a scummy caricature of Yojimbo. Truth be told, it's meant more for Zatoichi fans- he was a HUGE title character, as played by its star Shintaro Katsu. But the problem there as well is that there have been better Zatoichi movies (I haven't even seen many, but the few I've seen, and as repetitive as they can get, aren't shoehorned plot-wise like so). And this isn't totally to put the movie down, as a cash-in flick it does attempt at making some entertaining segments (and I do like how the two of them decide at first to combine forces, so to speak). But it's all not very memorable, as many franchises end up doing when trying to combine their vehicle-makers, except for real die-hard fans of the stars or the genre. It's even sort of lackadaisically shot and edited, in a very formulaic manner.

In making my way through the Zatoichi films, I was both trepidatious and excited to arrive at 'Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo'. On the one hand I was worried, once we get into the crossover films, that's a sign they're starting to run out of ideas. On the other hand, how can you go wrong with a film that unites Katsu and Mifune? It's also directed by Kihachi Okamoto (The Sword of Doom, Kill!), the only real name director the series has had besides Misumi. And besides, after nineteen instalments there has yet to be one I thought was less than great; the series hasn't shown any sign of slowing down yet.

Alas, though, I think this is the first Zatoichi film I thought was merely 'good'.

The movie sees Zatoichi returning to his home town, a town that looks very similar to the one in Yojimbo, and here he meets the titular bodyguard. For a while at the beginning I was trying to figure out if this was in fact supposed to be the town from Yojimbo, if the old man in this movie was supposed to be the same old man from that film, and just what the hell Mifune's yojimbo was doing still there considering the ending of that film. Mifune's character also seemed quite different from his character in that film, despite some surface similarities; here he plays kind of a drunken bastard. I soon realized, the best way to approach this film is, it's a different town, and Mifune plays a different character: it's just another Zatoichi adventure, with no connection to Kurosawa's film save a few nods here and there.

Really, this is what I was hoping for. Those less familiar with Zatoichi may have been hoping for a true crossover that takes place as much in the Yojimbo universe as the Zatoichi universe, but in the context of the Zatoichi series, this wouldn't feel right. But even just as a regular Zatoichi flick, I was still slightly disappointed in this effort. At nearly two hours this is, I believe, the longest Zatoichi film, but it just lacks the storytelling economy that makes the other entries so enjoyable; this one seems over-complicated and uncompelling by comparison.

Further, there were other little things that bothered me about this movie. Katsu seemed less competent than usual - struggling with normal stairs, and apparently unable to gauge the distance of a sound... This film continues the trend of the last few entries towards a darker side of the character, but Zatoichi's aspiration to becoming a 'villain', and simultaneous contempt towards 'spies' just seemed kind of random. And as much as I love Mifune, his performance here really didn't impress me.

There are good points to the film though. It's one of the more visually stunning entries in the Zatoichi series, with some beautiful sequences. And the finale is quite satisfying (even if it borrows a bit too blatantly from Treasure of the Sierra Madre). It's a solid film, but considering the talent involved, it could have been something really special, and instead it gets my vote as the weakest entry in the series so far.

A classic of Japanese cinema, Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo, is an all around good time, with great performances, bloody samurai action, and a plot reminiscent of Kurosawa's original Yojimbo.

Zatoichi, tiring of life on the road, returns to a village of which he has fond memories. Only to find out that the last three years have changed the landscape considerably. Two years ago, Boss Eboshiya took over the town with his sons, one of which has gone against his father. Eboshiya's son Masagoro has enlisted the aide of a money grubbing Yojimbo named Sasa (Mifune) to find out the town's secret of the hidden gold. A secret only Eboshiya knows, a secret everyone is dying (literally) to find out.

Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo features two legendary Japanese actors in two of their greatest (recurring) roles. Zatoichi played by Shintaro Katsu and Yojimbo played by Toshiro Mifune. Both actors are as great as their characters are eccentric. Mifune plays his standard swaggering, drunken, sheisty Yojimbo, while Katsu utilizes his traditional sputtering, honorable, blind swordsman. One of the strenght's of the film is that both characters stay true to the previous works of the same characters, and the interaction between Mifune and Katsu is the stuff of cinematic legend. Although, Mifune's Yojimbo is a little more jaded than in the original Kurosawa flicks, but considering the life of the fictional character... this difference is understandable.

As I've mentioned the plot resembles that of the original Yojimbo; two gangs, one town, and scandalous samurai playing the clans against each other. Only in Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo, it's two samurai, who not only are working the gangs but each other as well. ZMY also adds the element of a third assassin named Kuzuryu (played devilishly by Shin Kishida) a man who helps to stir the proverbial pot.

Of Course, Zatoichi is loaded with awesome chambara action, the kind that was exclusive to the mid 1960's, an era in Japanese cinema when samurai films were still making the transition from the black and white samurai epics of Kurosawa's days, to the exploitational samurai films of the 70's (such as Lone Wolf and Cub). Which, in laymen's terms means it's bloody, just not outrageously bloody.

The film does have it's faults though. Ayako Wakao is great as Umeno, a beautiful prostitute who falls in love with Yojimbo, but her role is underdeveloped, thus the romantic aspect of the film kinda falls flat on its face. Other than that, the ending is abrupt and jarring but these are minor issues for this type of film.

Bottom Line- This film should be seen just for Mifune's and Katsu's brilliant acting. If that's not enough (and it should be!), then watch it for the great old school chambara action!

Funnily enough a few years ago I wrote this (...BUT): First things first, for those that are concerned (and I'm sure you will be as I was), Toshiro Mifune is NOT playing the Yojimbo character from the Kurosawa movies. The title is purely a cash-in, though I'm not sure if it is for the modern Western market or the original title translates as such and was designed to con the Japanese market. The only other film I know of where Mifune genuinely plays the Yojimbo character is "Ambush at Blood Pass" which was the film the both actors completed after this one.

In all respects, this is a bad film sadly. It has a few nice moments but its clear this was a commercial venture utilising the two most famous male Japanese actors and characters at the time. In all honesty, I know little about the Zatoichi character, but imagine that the original film must be far superior to this. I couldn't really recommend this film to anyone unless you're a hardcore fan of Japanese Cinema or of the two actors. There are many, many better films of the genre to choose from. Even "Ambush at Blood Pass" which is not a great film is still significantly superior to this one. "Zatoichi versus Yojimbo", like many Japanese films of the time seems confused over what audience its aiming at. The result is an unsatisfactory soup of part comedy, part slasher, part period drama, part morality tale which limps from moment to moment.

As said previously, some of these scenes are nice in themselves, but the overall effect is somewhat bland with some scenes almost cringe-worthy. For the uninitiated, always try a Kurosawa film first, if not (and you are interested in Samurai films from an historical perspective) then you may prefer to look at the films of Mizoguchi or Kobyashi. If you just want to see a good samurai flick with Mifune in it, then you may want to look at films such as "Red Lion", "Samurai Assassin" or "Samurai Banners" which are more rounded films and are currently available. As said, I don't know much about Zatoichi, but I would imagine the original and early films are better than this one and worth the effort. Still, I hope this proves useful, it would have saved me money!

Now after seeing it again I'm surprised with myself. I've seen so many more Japanese films since and I realise how wrong I was. It must be stressed that it is NOT "Yojimbo" from the Kurosawa films but taking the point that this film is purely "entertainment" then it really is a good film, I watched it with harsh critical eyes when I wrote this and I was wrong! The Zatoichi films vary a great deal in quality, and the character has grown on me a great deal since seeing the recent Takishi film. This is by far one of the best from the original set.

So I guess I should now say, if you want a high-art samurai flick, then you'll still be disappointed as with my previous comments; but if you want to see a good, well structured, entertaining film with a very good insight into human nature than I would certainly say give it a whirl.

Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo is the twentieth film in the Japanese franchise about the blind masseur, skilled swordsman and lowly yakuza. Yojimbo's character is inspired by Akira Korusawa's critically acclaimed Yojimbo and even played by famous actor Toshiro Mifune. The movie tells the story how Zatoichi grows tired of having blood on his hands and retires to his peaceful hometown. Upon arriving, he realizes that the town has lost its charm over the past three years. After a terrible drought, the leader of the village seeked the protection of yakuza against people from other villages who were trying to steal reserves. Since then, two bosses are controlling the territory. The delicate thing is that one of them is the wise father and the other one his impulsive son. The former decides to hire Zatoichi as protector while the latter hires Yojimbo as his bodyguard. In addition to the familial and territorial conflict, there are rumors of an important quantity of gold hidden by the older boss for his second son. Zatoichi's and Yojimbo's interests, paths and swords cross multiple times until a dramatic showdown during a storm.

Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo looks great on paper but turns out being the weakest film in the franchise so far. The movie overstays its welcome with a length approaching two hours and especially the middle section is plodding and at times hard to sit through. The sword fights aren't as sepctacular as in several previous movies. The film is filled with boring, repetitive and stereotypical dialogues. The addition of odd comic relief in certain scenes also drags this movie down and makes characters like the younger boss look ridiculous. The plot is a times hard to follow because it focuses on too many characters and side stories at the same time. Yojimbo is a one-dimensional character in this film who is busy swearing, sleeping and drinking. Even the usually sympathetic Zatoichi isn't quite convincing as he aimlessly walks around, occasionally cooperates with dumb thugs and often swears and drinks in his ambiguous relationship with Yojimbo.

There are only very few redeeming qualities in this movie. The poor Japanese village certainly has its exotically rural charm. The viewers get to know a little bit more about Zatoichi's background and past even though this option wasn't exploited enough in my opinion. The story line is more developed than usual but also confusing at times.

To be honest, Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo is the movie in the franchise that I've enjoyed the least so far. The characters are often one-dimdensional, the comic relief doesn't fit in and the plot is plodding. I would neither recommend this film to fans of the brilliant Zatoichi franchise nor to those who loved Korusawa's Yojimbo. Don't get fooled by the seemingly intriguing concept of combining two of Japan's greatest chambara characters. This film doesn't deserve the acclaim and attention it gets.

After a year-long hiatus, I return to the Zatoichi saga. There's not many movies left in the original run, and this one in particular is interesting because, as the title indicates, it's a crossover between Zatoichi (Shintaro Katsu) and Yojimbo (Toshiro Mifune).

Now, I don't really know if this is even the same Yojimbo (bodyguard) character as in the two Kurosawa films, but if he is, then he's under a different name here. Anyway, not only is Toshiro Mifune present, but the film happens to be directed by Kihachi Okamoto (who made The Sword of Doom) and there's also a role by Ayako Wakao, the notable actress from many a Yasuzo Masumura New Wave film.

Unfortunately, this movie isn't anything to write home about. It utilizes every single trope of the Zatoichi franchise. Really, every single one. There's a town that got taken over by bad guys, there's an old flame of Zatoichi's (just how many towns across Japan does he have an ex-lover in?), there's Zatoichi briefly ruminating on his violent ways, there's a mysterious thug wearing a black kimono, there's a Chō- Han gambling game again, some comical moments, and finally a duel.

The one thing that sets this apart from the rest (besides Mifune) is the 2-hour long runtime. Certainly excessive for a Zatoichi film, especially when the plot is so convoluted such as in this one. Visually, there's the dull gray + brown palette again, but there are some nice shots, especially during the final duel which is quite atmospheric despite the outcome being obvious. The music is pretty good in this one, too.

Highlight of the film: the duel between Zatoichi and Yojimbo, naturally.

The title is kind of misleading. In some translating, the title reads as Zatoichi Vs Yojimbo and others as Zatoichi meets Yojimbo. The blind swordsman Zatoichi (Shintaro Katsu), whom real man is Ichi. Zatoichi return to a village of his past, only to find it besieged by Eboshiya Yasuke's oldest son, Masagoro and his evil Kobotoke Clan. A huge embezzlement scheme is on, as the Kobotoke Clan is scheming to skim gold from the federal treasury. Toshiro Mifune is Imperial Shogunate Secret Agent Sassa Daisaka employ by the gang mostly spends most of his days drinking. Yojimbo spends far too much time moping around and the film made out Yojimbo to be a slave of the system. He acts as the son's Yojimbo (bodyguard). He longs to be with a local whore who's been forced into the sex trade by a debt she owes the merchant. What misleading by the title is that Toshiro character isn't the one from the original Kurosawa movie, yet the film tries to make homage to those films. Also this movie doesn't even follow close to the storyline from the other Zatochi's films. Viewers who went to see the film to see the film tied up the loose ends of the previous films would be disappointed. At 155 minutes, it's longer than any of the Zatochi films that came before yet Ichi is barely on film here. Ichi is caught up in the middle of a rivalry between two gangs who are led by an at-odds father and son. After becoming indebted to the father for springing him out of jail, Zatoichi goes to work for him as a bodyguard. Ichi meets the son's yojimbo. Naturally, the two begin as adversaries, before forming a kind of strange fellowship and an uneasy alliance to find out where the money is and take it for them. The script is bog down by the pacing from time to time as both characters have agendas within agendas what to do with the money. The plot is needlessly complex, involving many characters and twists. The exchanges between the drunk, yelling Yojimbo and quiet Zatoichi are consistently amusing and funny. The film misused the time by adding too much local plot points with Eboshiya Yasuke's two sons. It's amazing that they found the time to have Ichi and Sassa fight in the same scene, but it happens in the last five minutes of the movie and only lasts for one minute. From all the Zatoichi films, it's not too bad, just not that great. The film may benefit from a second viewing so you can get a better grip on the characters' various (sometimes changing) motivations, but But a single viewing will very much need you to pay attention. All of this is a setup for Mifune and Katsu to go at each other hammer and tongs, each playing serious mind-games with the other, culminating in one serious bad-ass sword fight. Ichi's fighting skill is incredible, with his sword-grip in inverse manner; this, combined with his keen ear and sense of smell and proprioception, renders him a frighteningly formidable opponent. While Mifune's fighting style is brutally efficient, yet at the same time stunningly graceful. There is no wasted motion in his sword strokes as he attacks with lighting-quick strikes, but at times it looks like he's just wildly hacking at anything that moves. His blows are ruthless and powerful, and he rarely requires more than one or two strikes to bring down any foe. Sadly it's only a minute. The cinematography is gorgeous. The colors on this release are pretty vibrant. It's weird seeing Toshiro Mifune in color still. Leone based his style on these types of movies on these Japanese noodle westerns. There's almost no music until the last reel when we get some nice cues from Akira Ifukube, it seems recycled from another film. The subtitles of the newer DVD are wonderful. It provide a simple translation of dialogue and Japanese text that appears throughout the film, which is also color coded to display when more than one person is talking on screen. The other set of subtitles will provide background information to some of the Japanese terms. If watching—get the newer DVD version.

It's important to see Yojimbo or a Zatoichi film before viewing this stinker. Otherwise you might ascribe guilt by association. The progenitors are wonderful. Yojimbo gave rise to the vehicle which brought Clint Eastwood to stardom - A Fistful of Dollars. Zatoichi films are the mold for the current Xena and Hercules series. Unfortunately, Z... to Y... lives up to none of the promise of its title. It may possibly be the worst film featuring Zatoichi. The surprising thing is that Katsu and Mifune reprise their roles from the original. If you happen to see this one first, don't despair - the originals are real gems.

I originally got this movie before I saw any other Zatoichi movie, whereas with the Yojimbo movies I know very well. So I decided to sit down and watch at least one of them and I did. By this point I am very glad I did watch the Zatoichi movie I did but it seems like this Yojimbo character is a completely different character to the character you will see in the Kurosawa movies, that and Zatoichi is the hero of the movie.

The plot is that Zatoichi decides to spontaneously go to a village he hasn't been to for three years, This kind of puzzles me - How does he know where he is for point of reference? Once he gets there he finds the town is under attack by 2 gangs, both led by an estranged father and son. They are fighting to find gold which is hidden somewhere. Zatoichi helps the gang lead by the father and a nameless gangster who's Yojimbo to the son and sensei (who's also a secret agent) tries to kill Zatoichi for 200ryo.

The biggest problem is the seemingly false advertising you get. After I watched the Zatoichi movie I thought "So this movie is going to be a crossover of what is at the time 2 of the most beloved samurai movies of all time? Hell yes, I'm in", well - with Yojimbo he seems like less of an intelligent yet slightly cynical bad-ass and more of an assassin who takes contracts for the highest price to buy booze. Even when he's revealed he didn't seem like Yojimbo. Even if it was the same character though, why couldn't he just ask Ichi to go out of town where nobody will see or hear them and say what his intention's are.

So people who enjoyed Yojimbo, if they want to see the character again may seem disappointed (although to be fair, as typical of Toshiro Mifune, his acting is excellent). So if you watch a Zatoichi movie and like that then the question is "Will I get my fill on that?"... Yes. It almost seems to me that the writers wanted to go about and make a Zatoichi movie but thought because there's a bodyguard who also fights for good and they got Mifune they thought "screw it, we got Toshiro Mifune - one of the greatest Japanese actors of all time, lets slap 'Yojimbo' on the title to give the producers more money".

Aside from that I'll go onto the points that didn't disappoint me. It kind of goes without saying but the acting from all involved is great, the father-son struggle is good even if they down-play it a little and the love relationship between Mifune and Umeno is also something I liked. The action is really fun to watch and the cinematography is so much better than the other movies now that it's in colour among other things like the final scene when the wind is blowing during the sword-fight between gangs.

So, at the end, this is just another Zatoichi movie. I am really sorry if you guys sat down and watched this expecting another movie with the character in Yojimbo. I do think that if you can get over the false advertising the movie is actually a decent watch. Is it as good or anywhere near what the title suggests? No. But I will safely say, it does in many respects come close.

My earlier comments about Z...to Y... were meant to convey the idea that Zatoichi films are a genre unto themselves. Like the Chinese films of myth and legend, rich with the mystical and supernatural power of its heroes (on which the current Xena and Hercules are molded) Zatoichi films have a certain style which sets them apart.

I could suggest the Clouseau-esque qualities of the everyman protagonist who is handicapped and endowed with with preternatural ability. But that would be but a Western approximation (and a poor one at that) of an Eastern (perhaps uniquely Japanese) archtype.

Words do not suffice - see any other Zatoichi film and it will be apparent why Zatoichi has reached cult status.