Swordsman ii, also known as the legend of the swordsman, is a 1992 hong kong wuxia film very loosely adapted from louis cha s novel the smiling, proud wanderer. See more ideas about japanese film, martial arts movies and samurai. Shintaro katsus role as zatoichi was so successful that it led to a tv series running from 19741979. The blind masseurswordsman comes to a town in control of warring gangs, and while bunking with a farming family, he meets two women with their own agenda. But the difference between the two films is obvious. When it would have been easy to churn out a low budget action film, the producers of these movies took the high road and turned out films that are high quality in every way. Zatoichis battles usually last only a few seconds and. Sep 30, 2011 beat takeshi kitano directs and plays the title role in this tribute to the wildly popular blind swordsman of japanese cinema who was the hero of more than 20 movies and a television series from. Gibson uses violence to oppress his people while kitano uses it to liberate his.
The swordsman, also known as swordsman, is a 1990 hong kong wuxia film. A blind vietnam vet, trained as a swordfighter, comes to america and helps to rescue. Directed by ching siutung, swordsman ii starred jet li, brigitte lin, rosamund kwan and michelle reis in the leading roles. Mar 31, 2016 a collection of some of the greatest moments from the world of zatoichi, the blind chinese man who uses a can opener to fight muslims. Sure, theres the obligatory blind swordsman wipes out two dozen samurai stuff in it. You could just cut the side of the plastic open and. He is a swordsman who helps and saves hapless and protects a kid. Takeshi kitano, tadanobu asano, yui natsukawa, michiyo yasuda. The blind swordsman you are looking for exciting, tense and atmospheric movies about with samurai, martial arts, adventure, gangsters, crimes, village and gang themes of action and drama genre shot in japan. Directed by ching siutung, swordsman ii starred jet li, brigitte lin.
With shintaro katsu, masayo banri, ryuzo shimada, hajime mitamura. Zatoichi the fugitive 1963, zatoichis flashing sword 1964, zatoichis conspiracy 1973, zatoichis spurting blood road 1967, new tale of zatoichi 1963, adventures of zatoichi 1964, zatoichis vengeance 1966, zatoichis canesword 1967, zatoichi and the fugitives 1968, zatoichi and the chess expert 1965. The wandering swordsman helps two geishas seek revenge in a town run over by criminal gangs. Aug 23, 2017 shintaro katsus screen vision of the blind swordsman is a national treasure. This originally minor character was developed for the. But distributors in the west had their blind spots, and little of the vast, popular output. There are some scenes that go beyond what a standard person who is blind can do, but its supposed to be an overthetop samuraitype movie. Watch this movie with chinese and english subtitles. This criterion box set of all 25 of the early zatoichi movies is a bargain. In the first episode for example a yakuza gangster boss has taken control of a copper mine with the complicity of the authorities. The character, a blind masseur and blademaster, was created by novelist kan shimozawa.
If ever a blade went snickersnack, it is surely zatoichis humble cane sword, drawn and resheathed so quickly that even the closest onlookers often have no idea it has been wielded at all. Promising to make a delivery for a dying man, the blind swordsman zatoichi comes across the usual crime gangs but also meets a blind monk who brings into question his use of violence. On set katsu is like a man possessed, a tasmanian devil swirling. Just like in the movies the blind swordsman travels from place to place trying to right wrongs caused by the corruption in ancient japan caused by criminals and the government. Only weird thing was the goldblack white zatoichi sticker on the front, and the info sticker on the back, were actually stuck to the plastic wrap on the outside of the box. Reportedly an animated project based on the longrunning the blind swordsman. Zatoichi, zatoichi is a fictional character featured in one of japan s longestrunning series of films and a television series that are both set during the late edo period 1830s and 1840s. Zatoichi the blind swordsman was such a hit in japan with 26 movies from 196272 and one more in 1989 that it was eventually turned into a tv series. Samurai fighting without his sight and he becomes a professional blind swordsman. Zatoichis cane sword, zatoichi tekkatabi is a 1967 japanese chambara film directed by kimiyoshi yasuda and starring shintaro katsu as the blind masseur zatoichi. A blind vietnam vet, trained as a swordfighter, comes to america and helps to rescue the son of a fellow soldier.
The gentle badass of blind fury film school rejects. The blind swordsman agrees reluctantly and in accomplishing the task. Beat takeshi kitano directs and plays the title role in this tribute to the wildly popular blind swordsman of japanese cinema who was the hero of more than 20 movies and a television series from. It was from these that the modern samurai film was born. After being released from jail on charges of petty theft, ichi finds. Zatoichi embodies the kinds of contradictory elements that make takeshi kitano japans most intriguing contemporary actordirector. The film is adapted from louis chas novel the smiling, proud wanderer. The blind swordsman is tasked with bringing franks son, billy. With an entirely new set of actors, this movie continues the story from swordsman 1990. The white dragon 2004 rotten tomatoes movie trailers.
The acting is superb and the photography is wonderful. Shintaro katsu who played zatoichi produced the show through his katsu productions. King hu was credited as the director but allegedly left the project midway, and the film was completed by a team led by producer tsui hark. With kida khodr ramadan, blerim destani, susanne wuest, james biberi. The adventures of a blind, gambling masseur who also happens to be a master swordsman. Zatoichi is a 19th century blind nomad who makes his living as a gambler and masseur. Trained a month with a blind man who taught me his handicap. The blind swordsmen movies are captivating in the way they are filmed. Zatoichi is a blind masseur who likes to gamble at dice and is a lightning fast swordsman that travels from town to town and is on the hit list of every yakuza gang he has ever crossed and eventually has to fight, usually a dozen opponents or more at a time and vanquishes them all. Triple feature blind fury silent rage white line fever. The best of the supplements is the blind swordsman, a nearly hourlong documentary by director john nathan.
Shintaro katsu took his final bow as zatoichi, the nomadic blind swordsman, in this martial arts action saga from japan. Rutger hauer said of this movie on his official website. Stuart galbraith iv is the kyotobased film historian and publishereditor of world cinema paradise. Lee monghak cha seungwon, an illegitimate offspring from a cadet family of the ruling dynasty, and legendary blind swordsman hwang jeonghak hwang jungmin were once allies who dreamed of stamping out the japanese invasion, social inequality and corruption, and creating a. Film number 17 of the original series was remade in the us in 1990 by tristar pictures as blind fury, an action film starring rutger hauer. With rutger hauer, terry oquinn, brandon call, noble willingham. Blind fury silent rage white line fever mill creek. Go back several decades and one of japans most beloved heroes was the blind samurai. His credits include film history books, dvd and bluray audio commentaries and special features. Classic b movie, but ive seen it so many times, i think ive got it memorized. Rutger hauer plays a blinded vietnam vet who also happens to be an expert swordsman.
I was able to peel them off of the plastic and stick them onto the actual box. He has a code, but enforces it according to his own rules. It was originally released by the daiei motion picture company later acquired by kadokawa pictures. The blind swordsman is a dvd talk collector series title. Loosely based on homers the iliad, the film follows achilles brad pitt, a literal demigod, in his quest to defeat hector and agamemnon along the way, achilles proves he is skilled with a sword, and due to his ancestry. The scheming princes plot backfires, however, when white dragon and the blind swordsman join forces to dethrone the prince and put an end to his nefarious plans. Blademaster and his martial arts school decide to retire to a distant mountain. He plays, as usual, a man with an impassive face, few words, and sudden bursts of action that end in a few seconds.
The blind masseur swordsman comes to a town in control of warring gangs, and while bunking with a farming family, he meets two women with their own agenda. Blind fury best lines 1989 rutger hauer subscribe for more movie clips here. Filmed in 1978, when katsu was producingwritingdirectingstarring in the third zatoichi television series, the show keenly captures katsu at his very best and worst. If the movie didnt have such good actors and especially hauer it would be. Kitano totally vibes with that, and the result is as much a celebration of the character as it is a terrific modern. With takeshi kitano, tadanobu asano, yui natsukawa, michiyo yasuda. However, behind this humble facade, he is a master sw. Blind fury is a 1989 american action film directed by philip noyce and starring rutger hauer.
This dvd contains the first few episodes of season one. Rutger hauers character in blind fury is a blind modern day swordsman who manages to singlehandedly destroy a crime syndicate. From 1962 to 1989, zatoichi was walking the land doing battle and avenging new acquaintances. This collection has six discs and the last thirteen episodes of season 1. The blind swordman best action chinese full movie 2018. Blind fury 1989 was one of the most difficult jobs for me because of the combination with the swordplay. Starring beat takeshi kitano, tadanobu asano, michiyo okusa, and yui natsukawa. Zatochi is a artistic samurai film thatll leave some unhappy due to its distracting slow pace plot and action that moves too fast for some to enjoy. Zatoichi was a blind swordsman whose adventures were celebrated in japan via a series of longrunning films and tv specials starring the legendary shintaro katsu.
Just because rutger hauer says hes blind doesnt mean you should let him put. Swordsman ii, also known as the legend of the swordsman, is a 1992 hong kong wuxia film very loosely adapted from louis chas novel the smiling, proud wanderer. Zatoichi, the blind masseur and undefeatable swordsman, is caught in turf war between rival gangs, becomes a wanted man when he learns of a lords dangerous secret, returns home to discover his teacher has been working for kidnappers, and seeks vengeanceon a powerful ronin, dueling with his most skilled samurai. The blind swordsman the blind swordsman s revenge 17 7. In the late 16th century, the kingdom of joseon is thrown into chaos by the threat of a japanese invasion. Oct 09, 2012 the blind masseur and former samurai zatoichi takeshi kitano is drifting and arrives in a small village dominated by three tyrannical lords, inosuke ginzo ittoku kishibe, tashichi ogi saburo. The movies are on nine discs in a sturdy slipcase along with a small book covering the zatoichi movies. Before showrunning game of thrones, a show that confusingly features at least five of the best swordsmenwomen in westeros, david benioff wrote a movie called troy. Beat takeshi kitano directs and plays the title role in this tribute to the wildly popular blind swordsman of japanese cinema who was the hero. The blind swordsman, a box set from the criterion collection, assembles the 25 films starring shintaro katsu as a samurai. Yet, the first film to flash in my mind when i heard of hauers demise was not a. The tale of zatoichi continues is the second entry in the popular, longrunning zatoichi series. It was originally released by the daiei motion picture company later acquired by kadokawa pictures zatoichis cane sword is the fifteenth episode in the 26part film series devoted to the character of zatoichi.