The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi (2003)

I originally saw Takeshi Kitano's The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi (2003) in the theater without subtitles. It is essentially an action film so I think I got the main ideas and concepts, but I always thought I would go back and watch it with subtitles. This was the right timing since I have just finished watching all of the Shintaro Katsu Zatoichi films. Apparently this homage was suggested to Kitano by a colleague in the industry. The films has many of the subplots of the original stories including the subplot of the noble ronin who will be Zatoichi's 8Kitano sporting blonde hair as the sightless masseur) dueling partner. This time it Tadnaobu Asano plays Hattori Genosuke, a reluctant bodyguard who needs money to help his sick wife become cured. In another subplot there is a team of two murderous geisha that are bent on avenging the murder of their family by tracking down the murders and dispatching them after seducing them. Kitano uses CGI to enhance the bloody fighting throughout. There are familiar tropes such as Zatoichi's skill without sight such as when he helps the old woman with chores and stacks the wood without facing the pile. Then there is the obligatory fixed dice game that Zatocihi exposes. There are several incidents of comic relief throughout. Perhaps the main innovation that Kitano brings to the film is a sense of musicality and rhythm seen among the villagers working in the fields and later on a house which eventually leads to a tap-dance clog production number that closes out the film.This is probably Kitano's most successful film artistically as well as commercially.