Zatoichi And The Doomed Man Review

Zatoichi And The Doomed Man

Year: 1965

Director: Kazuo Mori

Writer: Shozaburo Asai,(based on a short story by Kan Shimozawa)

Starring: Shintaro Katsu, Kanbi Fujiyama, Eiko Taki, Masako Myojo, Kenjiro Ishiyama, Koichi Musihara,

It’s about time Zatoichi ended up in prison and that’s exactly where this 11^th feature film takes place. Luckily for him it’s on teh charge of gambling and nothing more serious than a few lashings is his punishment. However, he also encounters a man in the cell next to his who claims to be innocent and is facing the death penalty. He begs Zatoichi to travel to his hometown and find a man who will vouch for him. It’s a simple and effective set-up for yet another fun and entertaining adventure, which also switches things up a bit in terms of setting and characters, but only slightly.

Adventures Of Zatoichi Review

Adventures Of Zatoichi

Year: 1964

Director: Kimiyoshi Yasuda

Writer: Shozaburo Asai,(based on a short story by Kan Shimozawa)

Starring: Shintaro Katsu, Eiko Taki, Miwa Takada, Mikijiro Hira, Kichijiro Ueda, Akitake Kono, Koichi Mizuhara, Ikuko Mori,

Once again our blind swordsman finds himself wrapped up in a dark caper he probably would have rather avoided. This time he even laments towards the end how he thought this would just be a pleasant journey. Adventures Of Zatoichi is actually just a single adventure, but suggests that this is Zatoichi’s life. The word ‘adventure’ also underplays all the pain and suffering brought about by the complexities with which Zatoichi gets entangled with. This time he is asked to pass a letter to a lady in an inn. Of course, a simple message delivery doesn’t exist for Zatoichi, and he is forced to protect the recipient (Taki) after she is targeted by a gang.