The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 22, 2024

Takeshi Kitano's "The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi" (2003) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by Sean Redmond; archival documentary on the making of the film; and archival crew interviews. In Japanese, imposed English subtitles. Reigon-Free.

A blind masseuse and master-swordsman known as Zatoichi (Takeshi Kitano) arrives in a small town run by the ruthless Ginzo gang. Guarded by the skillful ronin Hatorri (Tadanobu Asano), the Ginzo goons begin blackmailing the locals and demand that they pay them a daily tax. Zatoichi, also a good gambler, runs into the Ginzo goons and all hell breaks loose. The story culminates with a dramatic clash between Hatorri and Zatoichi where one of them is left in a puddle of blood.

Mixing comedy with flashy action, Takeshi Kitano, better known as “Beat” Takeshi, surprised many of his hardcore fans with the release of Zatoichi. A period piece with an uncannily abstract look, this is a film that tells its story through stylistic juxtapositions Hollywood directors will have a terrible time deciphering. This is also true in regard to the stylish camerawork, which gives the film with the type of period finesse American directors were last seen producing during the early 70s.

The story, however, is not very impressive. Almost immediately after Zatoichi appears, it becomes obvious that he will be a powerful character whose challengers will suffer. The fact that he is blind also tells us that he is intelligent and capable of reading people better than those who can see. So, when Zatoichi’s opponents are identified by Kitano, the only thing that is unclear is how exactly they will be punished.

While the punishment footage is very nicely shot, particularly the bloody fights from the second half, what makes the film very attractive is its witty, frequently unorthodox humor. Indeed, at times Kitano’s jokes become so raunchy that it almost begins to look like they are delivered to satirize his famous character and opponents. As a result, the progression of several conflicts and the drama they are part of becomes quite unpredictable.

Nevertheless, the film does not evolve into a parody. On the contrary, its impressive emphasis on detail provides its story with an epic feel that materializes only in the most ambitious period films.

The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films.

I have only one other release of this film in my library, which is this Region-B release that Artificial Eye produced in 2008. It is a decent release that offers a pretty good presentation of the film, but even then it was obvious that some areas of it could have been handled better.

This release offers a similar yet different presentation of the film. The presentation is similar because the release is sourced from an older master that has many limitations. It is different because some of these limitations were not present on the previous release. For example, select sequences have a more processed appearance, plus some shadow nuances are a lot more problematic. There are even some minor yet noticeable discrepancies in the saturations levels of several primaries. Delineation and clarity range from decent to good, but the larger your screen is, the easier it will be for you to recognize the limitations of the master and conclude that a new 2K or 4K master will deliver a much more satisfying presentation of the film. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0. English subtitles are provided, but cannot be turned off via the main menu or the remote control.

I revisited Zatoichi with the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, which is excellent. However, because the film has a lot of terrific action footage, I wonder how one of those Dolby Atmos tracks will handle it. The English translation is excellent. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review.

The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive audio commentary was recorded by critic Sean Redmond.

• The Making of "The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi" - an archival featurette with raw footage from the shooting of Zatoichi. Please keep in mind that a North American player will not play the featurette. (40 min).

• Crew Interviews - a collection of archival crew interviews. Please keep in mind that a North American player will not play the interviews. (22 min).

The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi will have to be remastered so that it looks as it should on Blu-ray. This recent Blu-ray release is serviceable, but it is sourced from an older master with some limitations that at this point most people would like to avoid. If you wish to pick it up for your collection, I suggest that you do so when it is heavily discounted.