Zatoichi

Original title: Zatôichi

2003
12
1h 56m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Samurai Action Comedy Crime Drama Thriller

The blind masseur/swordsman comes to a town in control of warring gangs, and while bunking with a farming family, he meets two women with their own agenda.The blind masseur/swordsman comes to a town in control of warring gangs, and while bunking with a farming family, he meets two women with their own agenda.The blind masseur/swordsman comes to a town in control of warring gangs, and while bunking with a farming family, he meets two women with their own agenda.

Director
- Takeshi Kitano
Writers
- Takeshi Kitano
- Kan Shimozawa
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

52K

YOUR RATING

Director
- Takeshi Kitano
Writers
- Takeshi Kitano
- Kan Shimozawa
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 24 wins & 15 nominations total

Photos80

+ 74

Top cast47

Edit

Takeshi Kitano

Zatôichi
(as Beat Takeshi)
…

Tadanobu Asano

Hattori Genosuke

Yui Natsukawa

O-Shino, Hattori's Wife

Michiyo Yasuda

Aunt Oume
(as Michiyo Ohkusu)

Taka Guadalcanal

Shinkichi

Daigorô Tachibana

Geisha Seitaro 'Osei' Naruto

Yûko Daike

Geisha Okinu Naruto

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

Director
- Takeshi Kitano
Writers
- Takeshi Kitano
- Kan Shimozawa
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

‘Snow White’ Stars Test Their Wits

Rachel Zegler, Gal Gadot, and director Marc Webb take our Ultimate Disney Quiz.

Watch now

9:57

More like this

7.7

Hana-bi - feux d'artifice

7.7

L'été de Kikujiro

7.5

Sonatine, mélodie mortelle

7.1

6.8

7.5

6.7

7.1

6.3

7.3

6.4

6.8

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
The blood in the film has been described by many as being "too CGI". Kitano did this intentionally, wanting to "soften the shock to the audience" due to the high body count. Kitano told the CGI artist he wanted the blood to "look like flowers blossoming across the screen."

Quotes
Zatôichi: Even with my eyes wide open I can't see a thing.

Connections
Featured in Car ils sont sans pitié (2006)

User reviews204

Featured review

Kitano doesn't fail to amaze!!

Zatoichi is definitely one of my favourite films and I consider it one of Kitano's best if not his best in terms of his acting and directing. I have the majority of Kitano's films and I was over joyed to hear that he was starring and directing Zatoichi and I was not disappointed when i saw it. Everything about the film is exceptional although a big disappointment for me was the fact that CGI blood was used which does look a bit fake in some scenes. That is the only criticism I can think of. The film is very violent but like Kill Bill it is comic violence. I was also pleased to see Tadanobu Asano(Kakihara from Ichi the Killer)who was very good and he also plays a reasonably similar role in Gohatto(also starring Kitano). Fans of Kitano and Japanese cinema should watch this as well as fans of the Zatoichi franchise.

Near flawless film!!

9.5/10