Leglessbird Movie Guide

Zatoichi 20 - Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo (buy from Amazon)

Type: Drama, Japan 1970

Director: Kihachi Okamoto

My rating: 4

Key actors/actresses:
Shintar� Katsu .... Zatoichi
Toshiro Mifune .... Yojimbo
Ayako Wakao .... Umeno
Osamu Takizawa .... Yasuke Eboshiya
Masakane Yonekura .... Boss Masagoro (as Sakatoshi Masakane)

Story:
Zatoichi, a blind but very skilled swordsman, is tired of killing and drifting from places to places. He returns to a place that he visited 3 years ago, he remembers it as a nice and quiet town. Not anymore, the town has been occupied by gangsters and the secret police also has their eyes on this town to search for gold. The gangsters want to send their Yojimbo to deal with Zatoichi.

My review:
Two of the most famous swordsmen in Japanese movies, Yojimbo and Zatoichi played also by the 2 most appropriate actors, all in one movie. One of the reasons that the Zatoichi series is so attractive is that a seemingly handicapped person is so powerful that he possesses the ability to right the wrongs and the baddies are always punished.