The final confrontation between Zatoichi and Sasa is short and ends as one could predict. The sword work in this film is only good, not great. The first hour works well, but the next 30 minutes or so sees the story meandering along with the introduction of another government spy (turned bad) that adds nothing to the main story. This is the longest film in the Zatoichi series (116 minutes) and it needn't be. At first these are hateful terms, but over the course of the film, they come to respect one another, and continue to use the same names for each other. Sasa tells Zatoichi to act more like a criminal, and Zatoichi, ever ready to please, pounds down a bottle of sake. The repertoire between Zatoichi and the Yojimbo (Sasa) is entertaining and funny. Or maybe not! The village is not the same and several bad characters plot to make themselves rich at the expense of the locals (and the Japanese Treasury in this case). Then he's off to the village to enjoy the plum blossoms and the sound of a babbling brook. Zatoichi is tired of killing and remembers a beautiful, peaceful village up in the mountains. ![]() ![]() ![]() Of course Mifune and Katsu together were guaranteed to draw a lot of attention when the film was released in 1970. Toho Studios has now taken over the Zatoichi franchise and this means a larger budget production. It has taken several viewings of this film to finally come around and enjoy it (for the most part).
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