Zatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally (1989)

[Akijama]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FNTN7JS...ID=514o6jGMYZL





Zatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally Blu-ray

Zatoichi - The Blind Swordsman (1989) - Trailer - YouTube

ZATOICHI is the twenty-sixth and final chapter in the iconic samurai film franchise that starred Shintaro Katsu and spanned nearly three decades. Known in Japan as Zatoichi 26 or Zatoichi '89, this lavish production was the last to star Katsu, who originated the title role of "the Blind Swordsman" in 1962 and the only entry where he served as writer and director. Older, wiser but still a wandering loner, the blind, peace-loving masseur Ichi seeks a peaceful life in a rural village. When he's caught in the middle of a power struggle between two rival Yakuza clans, his reputation as a deadly defender of the innocent is put to the ultimate test in a series of sword-slashing showdowns. Tokyo Shock presents ZATOICHI for the first time on blu-ray Japanese language with English subtitles. Widescreen. 116 mins. Not Rated

[drush9999]

Yes my Zatoichi movie collection is complete

[dwk]

Shocking that Media Blasters/Tokyo Shock is releasing anything, but this is potentially good news.

[MifuneFan]

Wow, surprising news.

[movieben1138]

Nice! I thought Tokyo Shock was done.

[Blu Titan]

Release of the year for me!!!

[stvn1974]

I still haven't watched all of the Criterion box set but I will pick this up. Maybe knowing it is coming out will kick me in the rear end and make me finish the rest of the films.

[casey76]

Yes! I've been wanting to see this since I finished the Criterion set. It'll be nice having the complete movie collection now.

[DukeTogo84]

Wow. I love this film and it's easily one of the best in the series. Great news!

[DukeTogo84]

Also, if Tokyo Shock is still in the game, there is some potential for them to continue to release some of their films.

I truly hope they release Zebraman at some point.

[Blu2u]

Now, I can hope that Tokyo Shock will get to some of their other titles like Samurai Reincarnation. It's my most wanted title at this point.

It would be nice if they finished the Zatoichi and LW&C TV series.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by Blu2u

Now, I can hope that Tokyo Shock will get to some of their other titles like Samurai Reincarnation. It's my most wanted title at this point.

Oh that would be amazing. Their DVD was actually pretty top notch and it's such a classic film. Would love for that to happen as well.

[Gerby]

Great news! To me this is arguably the best film in the entire series, easily the bloodiest one.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by Gerby

Great news! To me this is arguably the best film in the entire series, easily the bloodiest one.

It's my second favorite in the series. An interesting trivia bit from this film is that Katsu's son who plays the main villain in the film actually killed someone while filming on accident with a sword. Pretty insane that was able to happen.

[Swift1246]

I wish Criterion left a blank slot in their collection for this disc.

[Cremildo]

The enthusiastic responses in this thread are drumming up my interest in the movie, which seems to be right in my wheelhouse. I've only seen Takeshi Kitano's unrelated version, though. Not sure if it'd be wise to buy only the last of a 26-chapter franchise without having seen the previous ones.

[kstebor]

Well this is a surprise. When's the last time Media Blasters released something that wasn't an erotic anime? Hopefully it's good quality and doesn't get delayed.

[*PREACHER*]

Very nice...always surprised it wasn't included in the Criterion set...and one of my favorites!

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by Cremildo

The enthusiastic responses in this thread are drumming up my interest in the movie, which seems to be right in my wheelhouse. I've only seen Takeshi Kitano's unrelated version, though. Not sure if it'd be wise to buy only the last of a 26-chapter franchise without having seen the previous ones.

You really don't need to see the other films in the series to enjoy this one. It's a stand alone tale that really has nothing brought over from the previous films, minus the lead character/star.

This was actually the first Zatoichi film I saw and got me interested enough to seek the over 25 films over 10 years ago. The final battle is pretty epic for coming out it 1989. There is even a scene where someone gets their nose sliced off and it hits the wall and slides down. Really caught me by surprise.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by kstebor

Well this is a surprise. When's the last time Media Blasters released something that wasn't an erotic anime? Hopefully it's good quality and doesn't get delayed.

I'm truly shocked they are still in business. Their blu-ray output is pretty much 50/50. It might be good, but it might be really bad.

Plus their delays. Towards the end nearly all of their titles never came out on release date. Some many months later.

It seemed like they were doing well enough in the distribution field, and then starting to produce actual films that didn't give them the returns they hoped. I honestly figured they were done.