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When Daiei Studios and star Shintaro Katsu made “The Tale of Zatoichi” in 1962, little would they have known that in just 8 years, they would be on the 20th entry in the series. No mean feat, they managed to reach the mammoth number by continually reinventing the narratives while still staying true to the same formula and putting a number of different directors at the helm, with five of the twenty titles made by Kenji Misumi. For the twentieth, they aimed to make the biggest and most ambitious entry yet, getting none other than the legendary Toshiro Mifune to share screen with Katsu, playing one of his most famous on-screen incarnations, the nameless ronin he played so wonderfully in “Yojimbo” and its follow-up “Sanjuro”. But how did they fare? Let’s find out.

Tired of all the killings and wandering, Zatoichi returns to his hometown after a long time,...

Another of Kitano's masterpiece is also his most commercially successful film, taking $23.7 million in the Japanese box office and $31.1 million worldwide, mainly because of its wide release in the US that reached 55 theaters. Furthermore, Kitano won the Silver Lion for Best Director at the Venice Film Festival and yet again, plenty of awards from all over the world, and finally some from the Japanese Academy, although he was solely mentioned in the editing one, along Yoshinori Ohta.

on Imprint Asia by clicking on the image below

The story behind the production is, once again, one of extreme interest. Shortly after Shintaro Katsu's death, who played the main character throughout the Zatoichi franchise, Kitano was approached by the very powerful madam and ex-dancer Saito. She was a close friend of Katsu's, and owned the rights to everything pertaining to Zatoichi. An extremely wealthy woman, the owner of dozens of strip clubs,...

Last month the world saw the last episode of FX’s Shōgun, the massively successful historical drama about powerful samurai’s battle for power. It has clearly rekindled people’s interest in the Japanese traditional samurai movies of the 20th century.

Here are 6 of the most worth-watching genre’s staples for all fans of Shōgun.

Seven Samurai (1954)

Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece is probably the first film that comes to mind to all cinephiles in this respect. The tale of a ronin tasked with gathering a group of samurai to defend a village from criminals, perfectly balancing between action and character development, was the one that paved the way for other samurai movies.

The Throne of Blood (1957)

Here comes another Kurosawa’s work, appearing to be an Asian twist on the Shakespearen story of Macbeth. Following a warrior who assassinates his sovereign at the urging of his wife, it has become...

“Kagemusha” is one of the best films Akira Kurosawa ever shot and is considered one of the definite masterpieces of world cinema. However, its production was one of the most difficult accomplishments in the master's filmography. Initially, the film was not considered financially viable, and it took the influence of both George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola to get additional funds for it to be completed, since Toho, the initial production company, had given up on the film. However, the problems continued during the shooting, with probably the most significant being that Kurosawa had to replace Shintaro Katsu, who was originally cast as Takeda Shingen, with Tatsuya Nakadai, after the two of them had a falling out. The production faced many additional problems, but Kurosawa eventually managed to complete the movie, with its premiere taking place in Tokyo. His struggles, however, paid off, since “Kagemusha” was a huge hit both critically and financially.

Another of Kitano's masterpiece is also his most commercially successful film, taking $23.7 million in the Japanese box office and $31.1 million worldwide, mainly because of its wide release in the US that reached 55 theaters. Furthermore, Kitano won the Silver Lion for Best Director at the Venice Film Festival and yet again, plenty of awards from all over the world, and finally some from the Japanese Academy, although he was solely mentioned in the editing one, along Yoshinori Ohta.

on Amazon by clicking on the image below

The story behind the production is, once again, one of extreme interest. Shortly after Shintaro Katsu's death, who played the main character throughout the Zatoichi franchise, Kitano was approached by the very powerful madam and ex-dancer Saito. She was a close friend of Katsu's, and owned the rights to everything pertaining to Zatoichi. An extremely wealthy woman, the owner of dozens of strip clubs,...

This Star Wars: Ahsoka article contains spoilers.

So much of Ahsoka‘s third episode feels like classic Star Wars, from Sabine’s blind training nodding back to A New Hope to the space battle that combines elements from both the Original and Prequel Trilogies for one of the best dogfights ever made for Disney+. But that doesn’t mean Ahsoka has skipped out on bringing back a bunch of stuff from Rebels this time around. In fact, one major cameo allows this Disney+ series to pick up exactly where its animated predecessor left off.

Here are all the Star Wars easter eggs and callbacks we spotted in “Time to Fly”:

Evan Whitten as Jacen Syndulla

There was never any doubt that Jacen Syndulla would pop up in Ahsoka, but we definitely didn’t expect to see this little dude so soon. Introduced in the final minutes of the Rebels...

Craig Lines Apr 5, 2017

Marvel? DC? They have their moments, but how about Shogun Assassin, and in turn, the Lone Wolf & Cub movies?

Like most western viewers, I came to the Lone Wolf & Cub series via Shogun Assassin – a recut/mash-up of the first two movies, trimmed to 90 minutes and dubbed into English by a pair of enterprising Andy Warhol acolytes. It was one of the original 'video nasties' in the UK, banned for years, so highly desirable to a kid like me. And it didn’t disappoint. In fact, it was probably the goriest movie on the list.

While it may seem criminal now to butcher a pair of bona fide Japanese classics and completely change their meaning and tone, Shogun Assassin got away with it by being so vibrant and hyperactive. The inappropriate score is a joyful synthesiser meltdown and the spirited dub goes full-pelt, even if what they...

Moviefone's Top DVD of the Week

"Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me"

What's It About? The Memphis band Big Star has legions of diehard fans and critical acclaim aplenty, and its influence can be felt across the history of rock 'n' roll. But why did mainstream success elude them? Why did Big Star flame out after only three albums? This doc tries to put the pieces together.

Why We're In: Even fans don't know the whole story about this cult band and its members, so this doc will help them fill in some of the blanks. Chris Bell died in 1978 as an unknown, and the late Alex Chilton was also not a huge fan of talking to the media. "Nothing Can Hurt Me" puts the band into context of the Memphis scene, and it has tons of interviews with everyone left who was involved with the band, rock critics, and...

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Nov. 26, 2013

Price: Blu-ray/DVD Combo $224.95

Studio: Criterion

Shintaro Katsu relies on his blade in 1963's Zatoichi on the Road.

The colossally popular Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman action-adventure films make up the longest-running action series in Japanese history and created one of the screen’s great heroes: an itinerant blind masseur who also happens to be a lightning-fast swordsman.

As this iconic figure, the charismatic and earthy Shintaro Katsu became an instant superstar, lending a larger-than-life presence to the thrilling adventures of a man who lives staunchly by a code of honor and delivers justice in every town and village he enters.

The films that feature him are variously pulse-pounding, hilarious, stirring, and completely off-the-wall.

This deluxe set features the string of 25 Zatoichi films made between 1962 and 1973, collected in one package for the first time.

Here’s a list of the films in the collection:

The Tale Of Zatoichi...

Got a fondness for a certain wandering blind swordsman? Turns out so does the Criterion Collection, who have just announced a massive 27 disc Zatoichi box set due to release November 26th. It's a dual BluRay / DVD affair spanning twenty five feature films with special features including: New digital restorations of all twenty-five films, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks on the Blu-raysThe Blind Swordsman, a 1978 documentary about Zatoichi portrayer and filmmaker Shintaro Katsu, along with a new interview with its director, John NathanNew interview with Asian-film critic Tony RaynsTrailers for all twenty-five filmsNew English subtitle translationsA book featuring an essay by critic Geoffrey O'Brien; synopses of the films by critic, novelist, and musician Chris D.; "The Tale of Zatoichi," the original short story by...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Criterion has announced its upcoming November 2013 titles and they include some highly coveted films, one of 2013's better films, an impressive box set and their new dual-format DVD/Blu-ray releases. To begin, it was a little bit of a shock to see they have abandoned releasing both DVD and Blu-ray versions of their film and instead will now release DVD/Blu-ray, dual-format editions. Note here it says dual format "editions", not "discs", which leads me to believe most releases will include both a DVD and Blu-ray disc. Consider in today's announcement the 27-disc box set of the Zatoichi films. This consists of nine Blu-ray discs and 18 DVD discs. On top of that Criterion confirms features will be available for on both DVD and Blu-ray formats. As far as this months titles are concerned, I'll begin with the upgraded Blu-ray release of Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Story, which was the December 2012 selection...

Cinema is a kind of uber-art form that’s made up of a multitude of other forms of art including writing, directing, acting, drawing, design, photography and fashion. As such, film is, as all cinema aficionados know, a highly collaborative venture.

One of the most consistently fascinating collaborations in cinema is that of the director and actor.

This article will examine some of the great director & actor teams. It’s important to note that this piece is not intended as a film history survey detailing all the generally revered collaborations.

There is a wealth of information and study available on such duos as John Ford & John Wayne, Howard Hawks & John Wayne, Elia Kazan & Marlon Brando, Akira Kurosawa & Toshiro Mifune, Alfred Hitchcock & James Stewart, Ingmar Bergman & Max Von Sydow, Federico Fellini & Giulietta Masina/Marcello Mastroianni, Billy Wilder & Jack Lemmon, Francis Ford Coppola & Al Pacino, Woody Allen & Diane Keaton, Martin Scorsese & Robert DeNiro...

Celebrating cinematic birthdays for 11/29. Which celebrity would you most like to spank today?

Blond³: Diane, Anna and Cathy

1832 Louisa May Alcott wrote the oft-adapted Little Women

1895 Busby Berkeley, legendary choreographer/director. What would the early musicals have been without him?

1898 C.S. Lewis wrote the Chronicles of Narnia which were made into unfortunately generic movies. He also wrote The Screwtape Letters which I personally pray will never see the silver screen despite Hollywood's efforts. Some books just deserve the undiluted perfection of their original form. Sir Anthony Hopkins played him in the weepy bio Shadowlands (1993)

1901 Mildred Harris, silent film actress and Mrs Charlie Chaplin (for a few years)

1918 Madeleine L'Engle prolific author, most famous for Wrinkle in Time

1931 Shintarô Katsu the original blind swordsman Zatoichi

1932 Diane Ladd, if you don't love her Oscar nom'ed performances in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Rambling Rose and Wild at Heart, well... what's wrong with you?...

Sin City and Batman Begins in 2005 saw the mighty Rutger Hauer return to roles in high profile genre films. He has been working solidly of course, but these day's one might forget just what a genre film powerhouse the Dutchman was, during a period spanning about 15 years, from the early 80's to the mid nineties. Of course Hauer’s quintessential role is that of Roy Batty, the replicant on the run who races against time to find his creator. While avoiding the Blade Runner Rick Deckard played by Harrison Ford. Probably his second most recognizable role is the powerhouse performance as the uber menacing Hitch Hiker John Ryder in the 1986 movie The Hitcher. "John Ryder" as played by Hauer is probably my favorite on screen psycho, as Hauer relies almost entirely on performance to menace both the viewer and his onscreen victim Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell) in a movie...

Internet TV network Joost which recently dumped its software application in favour of 100% browser based viewing carries a varied range of programming. In amoust the channels tagged retro tv, is a channel carries episodes from the classic Japanese TV series Zatoichi The Blind Swordsman which stars Shintarô Katsu as teh titular hero. Katsu played Zatoichi in over 20 movies and 100 tv outings. His real life brother Tomisaburo Wakayama, starred in the nearly as legendary Babycart / Lone Wolf and Cub / Shogun Assassin series of movies.

There are around 26 episodes available over at Joost running around 45 minutes each. I am not sure however which regions they are available in, as licensing restrictions continue to dog legal internet TV's abilty to really take advantage of the webs inherent world wide nature.

Watch the episodes of classic Japanese series Zatoichi The Blind Swordsman on joost.com

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tags: cult tv,...