Product Description

In a cruel twist of fate, an innocent woman is cut down in an ambush intended for the blind swordsman, turning her infant child into an orphan. Feeling responsible, Ichi vows to safely deliver the child to its father. The assassins relentlessly pursue
Ichi, who must fight with ever more efficient determination now that he is the infant’s only protector. In a final bitter twist of fate and plot, Ichi must add to his list of enemies the father of the child he has sworn to protect.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28045 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-04-29
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: Japanese
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 87 minutes

Customer Reviews

Beautiful cinematography; Amazing Choreography
The over 20 films Zatoichi films comprise arguably the most beautiful film series ever made. Every frame is a work of art.
If you like moral ambiguity look elsewhere. The plots are simple but classic fables (i.e.: "fabulous"). Zatoichi, the humble blind masseur, is a 15th century Columbo amiably bumbling along, and is played with great skill by Shintaro Katsu in all films. But when a band of villains threatens some damsel, watch out, as Zatoichi pulls the sword from inside his walking cane. Blind but sensing all movement around him, he becomes a whirling dervish of lethal steel. No villain ever survives, though actual blood is rarely seen.

My New Favorite
Having watched these films for the last five years or so, I can't believe I missed this one. It is now my favorite of all the Masseur Ichi films.

Our hero's relationship with the baby he is protecting is very touching. And I love the humor in this one, especially when he does the pseudo-breastfeeding to try to calm the crying child. Ichi's expressions in that scene are priceless. I was also touched by his inability to sleep (because of his protectiveness toward the child) even after he has paid a woman to look after the baby so he can finally get some sleep.

My favorite scene of this film is the gambling one, where Ichi exposes the dice fraud, helping the other underdogs win too. I am again impressed by the lack of gore in this movie, just as I am with the other Zatoichi films. The storyline is classic and well-done. I definitely recommend this one.

Fight, Zatoichi, Fight
Having recently become interested in the Zatoichi movies, I've been trying to watch the movies in sequence. Having been somewhat disappointed by volume 6, and not overly impressed with volume 7, "Fight, Zatoichi, Fight" was a pleasant surprise. The story basically revolves around Zatoichi's attempt to return a child to his father after he had inadvertantly caused the woman's death. Not able to handle the responsibilities on his own, he hires a light-fingered woman to look after the child. Naturally, Zatoichi is all the while followed by men bent on collecting reward money. All in all, an entertaining movie.