The following review is an extract from the book "Shintaro Katsu´s Zatoichi: Complete guide to all movies", which is now available on Amazon:
After three years of absence, Zatoichi returns to a village he remembers as welcoming and peaceful. But he soon realizes that it is no longer the same village he knew: The atmosphere is very different, the streets are deserted; the locals barricade themselves in their homes with the fear painted on their faces. They are afraid of the waves of violence that are often unleashed since the law of yakuza gangs were imposed in the once quiet village.
Ichi passes by the house of the blacksmith, an old acquaintance of his. He is working, forging a sword on his anvil. Instead of rejoicing at the sight of the returned masseur, he asks him coldly: "Why have you come back?" Ichi replies, "To relax for a few days..." "You won't be able to" replies the blacksmith, who continues to strike the hammer... By the sound, the blind Ichi realizes that he is making a sword, which strikes him: In other times that would not have been necessary, because there were only peaceful people there.
(...)
Despite this and other good scenes, as well as the performances of two greats like Shintaro Katsu (this time shaved, by the way) and the famous Toshiro Mifune (Kurosawa's regular) in the role of Sassa, this part of the saga is a little disappointing. The plot is at times quite confusing and convoluted, and the film is too long.
Toshiro Mifune is one of the main actors in the famous "Yojimbo" (Akira Kurosawa, 1961) - a film in which Sergio Leone was inspired for his Italian-western classic "For a fistful of dollars" (1964). Mifune is also the star of other Kurosawa productions such as "The Seven Samurai" (1954) or "Rashomon" (1950).
Director Kihachi Okamoto filmed the award-winning "Dai-bosatsu toge" ("Sword of Doom") in 1966, starring Tatsuya Nakadai.
After three years of absence, Zatoichi returns to a village he remembers as welcoming and peaceful. But he soon realizes that it is no longer the same village he knew: The atmosphere is very different, the streets are deserted; the locals barricade themselves in their homes with the fear painted on their faces. They are afraid of the waves of violence that are often unleashed since the law of yakuza gangs were imposed in the once quiet village.
Ichi passes by the house of the blacksmith, an old acquaintance of his. He is working, forging a sword on his anvil. Instead of rejoicing at the sight of the returned masseur, he asks him coldly: "Why have you come back?" Ichi replies, "To relax for a few days..." "You won't be able to" replies the blacksmith, who continues to strike the hammer... By the sound, the blind Ichi realizes that he is making a sword, which strikes him: In other times that would not have been necessary, because there were only peaceful people there.
(...)
Despite this and other good scenes, as well as the performances of two greats like Shintaro Katsu (this time shaved, by the way) and the famous Toshiro Mifune (Kurosawa's regular) in the role of Sassa, this part of the saga is a little disappointing. The plot is at times quite confusing and convoluted, and the film is too long.
Toshiro Mifune is one of the main actors in the famous "Yojimbo" (Akira Kurosawa, 1961) - a film in which Sergio Leone was inspired for his Italian-western classic "For a fistful of dollars" (1964). Mifune is also the star of other Kurosawa productions such as "The Seven Samurai" (1954) or "Rashomon" (1950).
Director Kihachi Okamoto filmed the award-winning "Dai-bosatsu toge" ("Sword of Doom") in 1966, starring Tatsuya Nakadai.