It was originally released by the daiei motion picture company later acquired by kadokawa pictures. Blind fury silent rage white line fever mill creek. Zatoichi the fugitive 1963, zatoichis flashing sword 1964, zatoichis conspiracy 1973, zatoichis spurting blood road 1967, new tale of zatoichi 1963, adventures of zatoichi 1964, zatoichis vengeance 1966, zatoichis canesword 1967, zatoichi and the fugitives 1968, zatoichi and the chess expert 1965. The blind masseurswordsman comes to a town in control of warring gangs, and while bunking with a farming family, he meets two women with their own agenda. With takeshi kitano, tadanobu asano, yui natsukawa, michiyo yasuda. Watch this movie with chinese and english subtitles. The gentle badass of blind fury film school rejects. Sep 30, 2011 beat takeshi kitano directs and plays the title role in this tribute to the wildly popular blind swordsman of japanese cinema who was the hero of more than 20 movies and a television series from. This dvd contains the first few episodes of season one. Sure, theres the obligatory blind swordsman wipes out two dozen samurai stuff in it.
Stuart galbraith iv is the kyotobased film historian and publishereditor of world cinema paradise. Trained a month with a blind man who taught me his handicap. A blind vietnam vet, trained as a swordfighter, comes to america and helps to rescue. Mar 31, 2016 a collection of some of the greatest moments from the world of zatoichi, the blind chinese man who uses a can opener to fight muslims. Just because rutger hauer says hes blind doesnt mean you should let him put. Zatoichi the blind swordsman was such a hit in japan with 26 movies from 196272 and one more in 1989 that it was eventually turned into a tv series. When it would have been easy to churn out a low budget action film, the producers of these movies took the high road and turned out films that are high quality in every way. His credits include film history books, dvd and bluray audio commentaries and special features. With rutger hauer, terry oquinn, brandon call, noble willingham. The character, a blind masseur and blademaster, was created by novelist kan shimozawa. The blind swordsman the blind swordsman s revenge 17 7. Takeshi kitano, tadanobu asano, yui natsukawa, michiyo yasuda. Shintaro katsus role as zatoichi was so successful that it led to a tv series running from 19741979. The swordsman, also known as swordsman, is a 1990 hong kong wuxia film.
Filmed in 1978, when katsu was producingwritingdirectingstarring in the third zatoichi television series, the show keenly captures katsu at his very best and worst. The film is adapted from louis chas novel the smiling, proud wanderer. Triple feature blind fury silent rage white line fever. See more ideas about japanese film, martial arts movies and samurai. The scheming princes plot backfires, however, when white dragon and the blind swordsman join forces to dethrone the prince and put an end to his nefarious plans. The blind swordsman is tasked with bringing franks son, billy. If ever a blade went snickersnack, it is surely zatoichis humble cane sword, drawn and resheathed so quickly that even the closest onlookers often have no idea it has been wielded at all. Zatoichi is a blind masseur who likes to gamble at dice and is a lightning fast swordsman that travels from town to town and is on the hit list of every yakuza gang he has ever crossed and eventually has to fight, usually a dozen opponents or more at a time and vanquishes them all. I was able to peel them off of the plastic and stick them onto the actual box. Lee monghak cha seungwon, an illegitimate offspring from a cadet family of the ruling dynasty, and legendary blind swordsman hwang jeonghak hwang jungmin were once allies who dreamed of stamping out the japanese invasion, social inequality and corruption, and creating a. You could just cut the side of the plastic open and. With an entirely new set of actors, this movie continues the story from swordsman 1990. King hu was credited as the director but allegedly left the project midway, and the film was completed by a team led by producer tsui hark. Rutger hauers character in blind fury is a blind modern day swordsman who manages to singlehandedly destroy a crime syndicate.
Beat takeshi kitano directs and plays the title role in this tribute to the wildly popular blind swordsman of japanese cinema who was the hero of more than 20 movies and a television series from. Zatoichi, zatoichi is a fictional character featured in one of japan s longestrunning series of films and a television series that are both set during the late edo period 1830s and 1840s. Directed by ching siutung, swordsman ii starred jet li, brigitte lin. Promising to make a delivery for a dying man, the blind swordsman zatoichi comes across the usual crime gangs but also meets a blind monk who brings into question his use of violence. The blind swordsman, a box set from the criterion collection, assembles the 25 films starring shintaro katsu as a samurai. The blind swordsmen movies are captivating in the way they are filmed. Swordsman ii, also known as the legend of the swordsman, is a 1992 hong kong wuxia film very loosely adapted from louis chas novel the smiling, proud wanderer. However, behind this humble facade, he is a master sw. Zatoichi is a 19th century blind nomad who makes his living as a gambler and masseur. But the difference between the two films is obvious. Loosely based on homers the iliad, the film follows achilles brad pitt, a literal demigod, in his quest to defeat hector and agamemnon along the way, achilles proves he is skilled with a sword, and due to his ancestry. Samurai fighting without his sight and he becomes a professional blind swordsman. Directed by ching siutung, swordsman ii starred jet li, brigitte lin, rosamund kwan and michelle reis in the leading roles.
On set katsu is like a man possessed, a tasmanian devil swirling. Zatoichis battles usually last only a few seconds and. In the first episode for example a yakuza gangster boss has taken control of a copper mine with the complicity of the authorities. Aug 23, 2017 shintaro katsus screen vision of the blind swordsman is a national treasure. 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. Go back several decades and one of japans most beloved heroes was the blind samurai. With shintaro katsu, masayo banri, ryuzo shimada, hajime mitamura. Starring beat takeshi kitano, tadanobu asano, michiyo okusa, and yui natsukawa. Zatoichi embodies the kinds of contradictory elements that make takeshi kitano japans most intriguing contemporary actordirector. Rutger hauer said of this movie on his official website. Film number 17 of the original series was remade in the us in 1990 by tristar pictures as blind fury, an action film starring rutger hauer.
From 1962 to 1989, zatoichi was walking the land doing battle and avenging new acquaintances. He is a swordsman who helps and saves hapless and protects a kid. Zatoichis cane sword, zatoichi tekkatabi is a 1967 japanese chambara film directed by kimiyoshi yasuda and starring shintaro katsu as the blind masseur zatoichi. The blind swordsman agrees reluctantly and in accomplishing the task. Blind fury 1989 was one of the most difficult jobs for me because of the combination with the swordplay. He plays, as usual, a man with an impassive face, few words, and sudden bursts of action that end in a few seconds. Rutger hauer plays a blinded vietnam vet who also happens to be an expert swordsman. Zatoichi was a blind swordsman whose adventures were celebrated in japan via a series of longrunning films and tv specials starring the legendary shintaro katsu. Shintaro katsu took his final bow as zatoichi, the nomadic blind swordsman, in this martial arts action saga from japan.
The wandering swordsman helps two geishas seek revenge in a town run over by criminal gangs. There are some scenes that go beyond what a standard person who is blind can do, but its supposed to be an overthetop samuraitype movie. The white dragon 2004 rotten tomatoes movie trailers. Just like in the movies the blind swordsman travels from place to place trying to right wrongs caused by the corruption in ancient japan caused by criminals and the government. In the late 16th century, the kingdom of joseon is thrown into chaos by the threat of a japanese invasion. Blind fury is a 1989 american action film directed by philip noyce and starring rutger hauer. Swordsman ii, also known as the legend of the swordsman, is a 1992 hong kong wuxia film very loosely adapted from louis cha s novel the smiling, proud wanderer. This criterion box set of all 25 of the early zatoichi movies is a bargain. The blind swordman best action chinese full movie 2018.
Reportedly an animated project based on the longrunning the blind swordsman. The blind swordsman is a dvd talk collector series title. Oct 09, 2012 the blind masseur and former samurai zatoichi takeshi kitano is drifting and arrives in a small village dominated by three tyrannical lords, inosuke ginzo ittoku kishibe, tashichi ogi saburo. Only weird thing was the goldblack white zatoichi sticker on the front, and the info sticker on the back, were actually stuck to the plastic wrap on the outside of the box. He has a code, but enforces it according to his own rules. Blademaster and his martial arts school decide to retire to a distant mountain. Classic b movie, but ive seen it so many times, i think ive got it memorized. The best of the supplements is the blind swordsman, a nearly hourlong documentary by director john nathan. The adventures of a blind, gambling masseur who also happens to be a master swordsman. He starred in 24 more zatoichi films between 1962 and 1973, 100 episodes of a zatoichi tv series between 1974 and 1979 and one final sendoff in 1989s zatoichi. But distributors in the west had their blind spots, and little of the vast, popular output. The tale of zatoichi continues is the second entry in the popular, longrunning zatoichi series.
Kitano totally vibes with that, and the result is as much a celebration of the character as it is a terrific modern. With kida khodr ramadan, blerim destani, susanne wuest, james biberi. It was originally released by the daiei motion picture company later acquired by kadokawa pictures zatoichis cane sword is the fifteenth episode in the 26part film series devoted to the character of zatoichi. Shintaro katsu who played zatoichi produced the show through his katsu productions.
The acting is superb and the photography is wonderful. It was from these that the modern samurai film was born. Yet, the first film to flash in my mind when i heard of hauers demise was not a. If the movie didnt have such good actors and especially hauer it would be. Blind fury best lines 1989 rutger hauer subscribe for more movie clips here. The movies are on nine discs in a sturdy slipcase along with a small book covering the zatoichi movies. Beat takeshi kitano directs and plays the title role in this tribute to the wildly popular blind swordsman of japanese cinema who was the hero.
After being released from jail on charges of petty theft, ichi finds. This originally minor character was developed for the. Zatoichi, the blind masseur and undefeatable swordsman, is caught in turf war between rival gangs, becomes a wanted man when he learns of a lords dangerous secret, returns home to discover his teacher has been working for kidnappers, and seeks vengeanceon a powerful ronin, dueling with his most skilled samurai. Zatochi is about a blind swordsman who comes to a town in control of warring gangs, and meets two women one that looks like a woman but is man with their own agenda. This collection has six discs and the last thirteen episodes of season 1. Zatochi is a artistic samurai film thatll leave some unhappy due to its distracting slow pace plot and action that moves too fast for some to enjoy. Gibson uses violence to oppress his people while kitano uses it to liberate his. A blind vietnam vet, trained as a swordfighter, comes to america and helps to rescue the son of a fellow soldier. With shintaro katsu, shigeru amachi, jun hamamura, mayumi ogawa. Before showrunning game of thrones, a show that confusingly features at least five of the best swordsmenwomen in westeros, david benioff wrote a movie called troy. The blind swordsman you are looking for exciting, tense and atmospheric movies about with samurai, martial arts, adventure, gangsters, crimes, village and gang themes of action and drama genre shot in japan.
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