La légende de Zatoïchi - Un nouveau voyage

I recently rewatched The New Tale of Zatoichi (1963) on a random streaming service. The storyline follows Zatoichi as he returns home seeking peace. However, he finds anything but-his hometown is threatened by a local mob, the brother of a man he killed is tracking him down, and two women fall in love with him. Can Zatoichi save himself and his townspeople from these challenges?

Directed by Tokuzô Tanaka (The Haunted Castle), the film stars Shintarô Katsu (*Hanzo the Razor), Mikiko Tsubouchi (Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters), Seizaburô Kawazu (Yojimbo), and Fujio Suga (The Master Spearman).

Shintarô Katsu is fantastic in all of these movies, but it's especially fun to watch a younger depiction of his character. Zatoichi is an easy character to root for-always noble and righteous. I always hope he'll get the girl in the end, even when you know how things are likely to conclude. The female lead in this film is both compelling and complex, making her someone you can root for and against. The overall storyline is intricate, well-written, and a pleasure to watch unfold. The choreography is top-notch, with a thrilling opening fight at a bar, a dynamic battle when he first arrives in town, and a final samurai showdown that could go either way. There's a lot to appreciate here.

In conclusion, The New Tale of Zatoichi is another worthwhile entry in this series and an absolute must-see. I would score it a 7.5/10 and strongly recommend it.

In terms of plot, the third Zatoichi is no better than the previous two films. Cinematically, it is a vast improvement. Every shot is fantastic, and the score is as good as it gets. The change in Director really shows. Oh, and it's in colour. I do love black and white photography, but the colour adds so much in a film like this.

Like the previous film, it's a little melodramatic in places, but it works in the films favour. The lead actor is as great here as he was the last two times round, and the actor playing his master is perfectly cast. There is a lot of character development in this one. A little more about Zatoichi's past is revealed, as is his desire to leave the yakuza life, and the shame he feels for his past deeds. As someone else said, there is a great scene in which he plays a game of odds and evens. Maybe I'm just a softy, but after a scene like that I find it impossible not to rank this film higher than the previous two. I love it when villains have a change of heart. Very impactful scene. Admittedly, the character Zatoichi befriends in the first film and their relationship is stronger overall... but that odds and evens scene... Love it.

This film also has a great ending; a far cry from the abrupt ending of the previous, which felt as though they ran out of time and cut it short. I'm all for stylish abrupt endings (Sword of Doom), but the second film's ending felt almost accidental, almost as if they had an allocated time slot and were running over. This one ends with style. In fact, for a film like this I'd say it's a perfect ending (though not as good as Sword of Doom's ending, obviously). In a way it reminded me of some of the Sharpe (Sean Bean series) endings, and that non-detrimental melodrama reminded me of Sharpe, too.

I've not seen all the films in the series yet. I'm working my way through and rating them as I go, but so far Zatoichi 3 is the clear winner. Stylish and impactful.

EDIT - I'm now up to the ninth film. There have been films that surpasses this one overall, but I have to add that so far this film is still the best in terms of visuals and cinematography. Every shot is fantastic, so much so that the photo used for the actor is a still from this film.

Daiei's logo is impressively shown for the first time in colour, in this, the third Zatoichi adventure, released only five months after the second film, and eleven months after the original.

Well photographed in full colour, it's another beautiful looking film, and the director, and cinematographer, both know how to effectively use bright, vivid colours, contrasted with subdued tones, as the second film's villain's brother tries to avenge his death, while Ichi is dealing with a ruthless gang of thugs, but I must admit that I did prefer the monochromatic photography of the first two installments.

This is the third entry in the popular Zatoichi series, and as usual it features an outstanding performance from Shintaro Katsu as the blind masseur who is also a master of sword play. This time he takes on a gang of thieves who are marauding the countryside. Of particular note is Akira Ifubuke's brilliant and evocative score, reminiscent of his best work from kaiju.

'New Tale Of Zatoichi (1963)' sees its eponymous blind swordsman/masseur return to the town in which he was trained, followed by his reputation and the repercussions of the prior movie's events. Once again, it's a relatively meditative character study at heart. With flashes of fast-paced, decisive action and a background plot focused on a kidnapping, the picture ebbs and flows until it reaches its melancholic yet explosive finale. It's a little bit scatterbrained and doesn't have the strongest of central threads; the closest thing to a proper through-line is probably an ill-fated romance that brings out the best in Zatoichi but the worst in his master. In general, the movie is enjoyable. Plus, its shift to colour has little impact on its overall look and feel. Even if it isn't as solid as its two predecessors, it's still well-made and engaging. 7/10