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Zatoichi |
Starting on March 26, 2017, I started watching the amazing film series, Zatoichi. ~30 films, 25 of which were released between 1962 and 1973. An astonishing rate, considering these are already some of my favorite films. I didn't start taking notes until I'd seen a few, but here are my brief notes for the majority.
Notes:
- Zatoichi #2 reveals far more about Zatoichi's past than the next ten films combined. It's an artsy treatment, too, relatively speaking.
- #7 Zatoichi's Flashing Sword was the first I saw, and I got very lucky, because it's still one of my favorites. The climactic fight scene had some real artistic cinematography. The opening scene was creative and striking. The food gags were funnier! There are just a few higher highs than some of the other earlier ones, and I recommend it strongly as a representative sample.
- #6 has some of the most amazing and succinct opening scenes of film I've ever scene. Poetry.
- #10 Zatoichi's Revenge is slightly darker/grittier.
- #16 Zatoichi the Outlaw is the first to let the blood really flow. On the darker side, and casting Ichi as relatively flawed, it's not why I got into Zatoichi, but the contrast made it engaging.
- Not sure if it's a permanent change, but the music is much more prominent in #16 and #17. Almost every Zatoichi has some musical component, but it's usually situational soundtrack, little lyrical/poetic songs, or instrumentals. #17 has a multiinstrumental lyrical song with a beat!
- #19 drifted into real keystone cops territory when Ichi stands up while being rolled up in a carpet. Also he's wearing makeup. The ending of this one was particularly lacking, as well. The whole film seemed to relish in the mythos too much. Zatoichi films are meant to be principled and light at the same time, and this one instead was like "Hey, Zatoichi right? You know, ZATOICHI? All that great and crazy stuff he does??"
- #20 Zatoichi meets Yojimbo is unfortunately kind of what you'd expect. Reveling in the characters' status, it renders caricatures, making Yojimbo especially unrecognizable. The film drags and gets pretty confusing at parts. The action emphasizes quantity (bodies, blood, screaming), not quality. The beauty of Zatoichi was that the whole film quietly and playfully built to a climax, with only occasional intense moments. This movie is raucous and crude in comparison. The ending is even less satisfying and sensical than #19. (also apparently yojimbo's name is sasa daisuke?)
- #21 is the first to introduce actual nudity (nipples in the first 5 minutes). And the rest of the opening/setup is about as well-thought out as the ending of the last one. It gets a bit better in other ways, but Ichi at this point seems to have darkened as a character. If you wanna see Ichi's butt, this is the one. The music at this point includes (surfer) rock. You can really feel the series trying to grow, become more complex. I can't say it's doing a great job, but I recognize the effort.
- One Armed Swordsman (#22) is something else altogether. The visuals and sound all have some lofi quality. Samurai / Kung Fu crossover. It evens out, though, and the middle act seems to progress like a classic Zatoichi film. Possible heavy political subtext. Japanese mistreating Chinese, Chinese righteously fight back. Japan still wins, but it's regrettable, because better understanding would mean they wouldn't have to fight.
- Zatoichi At Large is a return to classic Ichi. A bit more misunderstanding than average. Sort of rushed/harried in parts (esp the ending), but still hits pretty much all the right notes.
- Zatoichi In Desperation (#24), with the totally silent and black opening, very effective. The super close shots, claustrophobic. Song at 22:00 is clutch. Superb execution of the dice gag. There's some fucked up shit in this one tho. Really messed up, relative to the rest of the series. I'm wary about this level of darkness. Call me old-fashioned, but I don't think you need to elevate a movie bad guy to really be that bad. All that seems to do is indulge audiences in a sort of psychopathy, or at least indulge their more sociopathic sides. (Note: my copy of the subs could be a lot better)
- Zatoichi at the Blood Fest #25 didn't actually get very bloody til the end. Classic Ichi film. Average style, average life lessons, only slightly above average darkness. Strong climax, good ending. The ruffians were a nice variation. Visually and musically, this wasn't as notable as the one right before it. (Again the subtitles seem to omit a lot of minor dialogue and flavor text, unfortunately)
- #26 is made 16 years after the one before it, in the late 80s. Ichi is old, but finally gets it on with a lady yakuza boss who knew ew(of) him when she was younger. Less is explained, and yet everything is more weighty. Definitely more gore, and less levity. The most prominently featured track is actually in English. Overall less cohesive than the average Zatoichi film, maybe even a little less satisfying. Still, it's more poetic and more visceral, and it's one of the few after which I was left with unanswered questions. Like, does the falling leaf hate the wind? Why? Examples of this metaphor? Also, why is the last line of the film "You drew first"?
General:
- At some point people started recognizing the zatoichi name more, maybe around 16 or 17? Then again, he was heard about in #2 as well. Might be interesting to track his relative notoriety per film.
- It always kind of bugs me that Ichi's massage technique seems kind of just like, quick grabbing and so forth, not very committal.
- Early Zatoichi films didn't have sound effects for slashing and stabbing, giving them an interesting contrast during the more intense scenes.
- Every time a kid is central to Zatoichi's story, I have the kneejerk reaction that the series has clearly jumped the shark. But actually taken on the whole, Ichi always has a great relationship with kids. They're in almost all the films, but central to only a few. It ends up feeling quite natural and wholesome, less pander-y in retrospect. mahmoud@basal