The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi Blu-Ray Review
SoHood.com Reviewed by: Rory Marshall
Movie Rating:  4.0 out of 5
Extras Rating: 5 out of 5

Overview: Zatoichi is a 19th century blind nomad who makes his living as a gambler and masseur. However, behind this humble facade, he is a master swordsman gifted with a lightning-fast draw and breathtaking precision. While wandering, Zatoichi discovers a remote mountain village at the mercy of Ginzo, a ruthless gang-leader. Ginzo disposes of anyone who gets in his way, especially after hiring the mighty samurai ronin, Hattori, as a bodyguard. After a raucous night of gambling in town, Zatoichi encoutners a pair of geishas–as dangerous as they are beautiful–who’ve come to avenge their parents’ murder. As the paths of these and other colorful characters intertwine, Ginzo’s henchmen are soon after Zatoichi. With his legendary cane sword at his side, the stage is set for a riveting showdown.

Japan’s favorite blind hero Zatoichi returns in the 2004 The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi. The plot revolves about samurai entering a town ravaged by a ruthless gang that killed two girls’ family. After much persuasion, our hero prepares to help them in their plan for vengeance. I realized that in the first ten minutes of this movie I did not notice I was reading the subtitles I was so drawn into the plot of the movie. One of my favorite scenes in the film is when Zatoichi randomly butchers an entire gambling spot. I was surprised by the style of the director Takeshi Kitano, he digitally added blood to the gore scenes and some of his shots were outstanding. Also, the camera angles and visuals were so gorgeous it took my breathe away.

The sword fights are clean and crisp. At the end of the film, the tap dancing scene is really entertaining. Even when the workers were doing their jobs there was like a musical beat to it which is awesome. This film mixes in solid acting performances with the exceedingly solid visuals.

The specific aspects of the Blu-ray:
The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi Blu-ray Disc allows movie fans to enjoy the film in high definition format, delivering far more crisply detailed images than standard DVDs. The sounds of The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi Blu-Ray Disc is extraordinary.

The Audio and visuals of The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi it looked and sounded amazing.

Blu-Ray Extras Behind-The-Scenes Special; Exclusive Interviews With Crew