Zatoichi : Shintarô Katsu
Director : Shintarô Katsu
IMDb : 7.1
Grade : C+
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Shintarô Katsu tries his hand at directing.
Zatoichi meets an old women on a bridge, and then she falls off into the river. Zatoichi finds her stringed instrument and goes looking for the daughter sh talked about who is in a brothel. Zatoichi buys the girl's freedom thinking he owes it to her mother.
The movie doesn't have the feel of a standard Zatoichi movie. The music is definitely 1970's and there are some very strange scenes, as Katsu tried to make a more artistic kind of movie. Shaky cameras, lot of close-up shots and different camera angles make the effect a little more disturbing.
Local yakuza are taking over the local fishing industry. They have a serious ronin working for them who is really good with the sword.
Zatoichi meets the ronin and makes short work of him,
Zatoichi is caught without his cane, and the yakuza put a spear point through both hands. Later the yakuza's men visit Zatoichi to finish him off. Zatoichi, even with his injured hands, finishes off about a dozen and then the rest run off.
Not one of my favorites.
