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Original film series. The original series of 26 films featured Shintaro Katsu as Zatoichi. The first film was made in 1962 in black and white. The third film, in 1963, was the first to be filmed in color. The 25th film was made in 1973, followed by a hiatus of 16 years until Katsu's last film, which he wrote and directed himself in 1989.
- Jeremy Urquhart
- Senior Author
- 'Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo' (1970) Yojimbo is one of the most well-known Akira Kurosawa samurai films, perhaps ranked only behind movies like Seven Samurai, Ran, and Rashomon.
- 'Zatoichi the Outlaw' (1967) The Zatoichi series slowly got more violent as it went along, with Zatoichi the Outlaw representing a step-up in the blood department.
- 'Samaritan Zatoichi' (1968) Samaritan Zatoichi was the 19th movie in the series, and was the final Zatoichi film released in the 1960s. The series took a long hiatus by its standards after the release of this film, seeing as no Zatoichi film came out in 1969, and audiences had to wait until 1970 for the 20th entry in the series.
- 'Zatoichi’s Vengeance' (1966) Zatoichi got revenge in 1965, with Zatoichi's Revenge, and then in 1966 (during the 13th movie), he decided he wanted to get some vengeance as well.
A list of the 25 original films with Shintaro Katsu from 1962 to 1973 and the 5 contemporary remakes, including the unaffiliated American film. Keep track of the Zatoichi films you've seen!
- The Tale of Zatoichi. Directed by Kenji Misumi • 1962 • Japan. The epic saga of Zatoichi begins. As tensions mount between rival yakuza clans, one boss hires a formidable but ailing ronin as his clan’s muscle, while the other employs a humble, moral blind masseur named Ichi.
- The Tale of Zatoichi Continues. Directed by Kazuo Mori • 1962 • Japan. THE TALE OF ZATOICHI proved so popular that a follow-up went into production the same year.
- New Tale of Zatoichi. Directed by Tokuzo Tanaka • 1963 • Japan. Zatoichi is back, and in color! Hoping to leave violence behind, the blind masseur wanders to a village, where he meets an old friend fallen on hard times.
- Zatoichi the Fugitive. Directed by Tokuzo Tanaka • 1963 • Japan. Zatoichi triumphs at a village wrestling match, much to the chagrin of his yakuza opponents.
- The Tale of Zatoichi. April 18, 1962. The adventures of a blind, gambling masseur and master swordsman. Zatoichi targets a yakuza-controlled village, because war with a neighbouring town's smaller gang is brewing.
- The Tale of Zatoichi Continues. October 12, 1962. Returning to the village where a year before he had killed Hirate, a much-admired opponent, Zatoichi encounters another swordsman and former rival in love.
- New Tale of Zatoichi. March 15, 1963. Wishing to find peace, Zatoichi travels to his old village but only finds trouble when he ends up in a love triangle and finds old scores have followed him home.
- Zatoichi the Fugitive. August 9, 1963. After arriving in the town of Shimonita, Ichi finds that a price has been put on his head by a local yakuza boss. He's drawn into a trap, but after hearing of the slaying of a former love, Ichi furiously fights his way through the entire clan to face the killer, a hired ronin.
Sep 16, 2015 · We look at the best of the famous, long running Zatoichi series…. With the 2013 release of Criterion’s impressive Zatoichi box set, it seems that the adventures of blind swordsman and masseur Ichi have finally found their way into Western pop culture. Before, the series had already been enormously popular in Japan.
The colossally popular Zatoichi films make up the longest-running action series in Japanese history and created one of the screen’s great heroes: an itinerant blind masseur who also happens to be a lightning-fast swordsman.
