Hey folks, Harry here... this time we have a fan of the original ZATOICHI chiming in on Kitano's adaptation and he is pleased! YESSS! Read on...
Well, I just came back from a screening of the film at the Elgin (beautiful theatre btw, they also filmed parts of Chicago in it) and as a fan of the original films/series with Shintaro Katsu, I must say that I am pleased.
My only complaint about the film is that Takeshi Kitano's Zatoichi is not nearly as charismatic or likeable as Katsu's. If you are able to overlook this, the film is quite good and holds up very well.
The swordfights are all bloodbaths, as they should be. There are quite a few good ones, the largest one having about 10-12 enemies in it, vs Zatoichi. Of course he makes a bloody mess of all of them. You really feel the weight of each blow, because the sounds and sights of people being cut-down are so intense. Blood squirts, spurts, and gushes with every blow. The movements are fast and crisp, and you really get a feel for how deadly Zatoichi is. Lots of clever choreography which had the crowd gasping in delight. Those are basically the things that stick out during the swordplay: the speed, the sound, and just the feeling of deadly force. About the sound, they paid a lot of attention to it in the film. It's as if they want you to hear what Zatoichi hears: You can hear the smallest most subtle things, such has blood being shaken off a sword with the flick of a wrist, all very crisp and clean and in high quality sound. It probably helped that the sound in the theatre was pumped way up too.
In terms of pace and narrative, the film is very similar to most, if not all, the original Zatoichi movies. Lots of little throw-away moments, flashbacks that flesh out characters in various degrees of detail, and the build-up to the inevitable showdown between Zatoichi and the yakuza thugs that must be slain. I must give special mention to Tadanobu Asano, who plays a ronin named Hattori, who takes a job for the yakuza in town. He has great screen presence, and has some wonderfully bloody battle scenes of his own. His stoicism during his confrontation with Zatoichi is memorable.
Towards the end of the film, there are some nice twists that I did not see coming, and which helped give the film a modern feel. Speaking of modern, the music and the musical numbers in the film work well. The crowd seemed to enjoy it. Also, certain characters and situations have a modern feel to them which has an interesting effect (good interesting, not bad interesting) given the historical context of the movie.
Also, the film just looks beautiful. I dunno much about cinematography, but I know a good looking film when I see one. Not to be missed.
-ss
