Zatoichi's Revenge is the only Zatoichi film directed by Akira Inoue, who also did one installment each for the Sleepy Eyes of Death and Lone Wolf and Cub series. Other than that, there's not much I can say about him, but one thing's for sure; this Zatoichi film is pretty much the darkest one so far, but also has more humor than usual, so this is an interesting entry in the series either way.
The villains in this films are the typical government officials conspiring with the yakuza gangsters, and there's a black-clad ronin challenging Zatoichi for a duel as usual, so the plot is kinda typical for a Zatoichi film. Except this one is much darker, because the villains here trap the town girls into prostitution and beat them violently if they refuse to co-operate, and also because Zatoichi executes the two main, defenseless, villains in cold blood, something never before seen in the series. He literally stands them up against a wall and slices them. This is something Zatoichi would never do usually, as he always kills in self-defense, but this is also somewhat of a refreshing ending because rarely do you ever see the hero of the film murder the villain just straight out like that.
The music in this movie sounds like it came out of Desperado, or some other Robert Rodriguez movie, or from a zapata western. It's unusual hearing this type of music in this type of movie at first, but you get used to it very fast. The movie is incredibly well-shot and edited, in any case it's a major step up from the previous entry.
Highlight of the film: as usual, it has to be the final battle. Zatoichi versus an entire town! The body count is through the roof.
The villains in this films are the typical government officials conspiring with the yakuza gangsters, and there's a black-clad ronin challenging Zatoichi for a duel as usual, so the plot is kinda typical for a Zatoichi film. Except this one is much darker, because the villains here trap the town girls into prostitution and beat them violently if they refuse to co-operate, and also because Zatoichi executes the two main, defenseless, villains in cold blood, something never before seen in the series. He literally stands them up against a wall and slices them. This is something Zatoichi would never do usually, as he always kills in self-defense, but this is also somewhat of a refreshing ending because rarely do you ever see the hero of the film murder the villain just straight out like that.
The music in this movie sounds like it came out of Desperado, or some other Robert Rodriguez movie, or from a zapata western. It's unusual hearing this type of music in this type of movie at first, but you get used to it very fast. The movie is incredibly well-shot and edited, in any case it's a major step up from the previous entry.
Highlight of the film: as usual, it has to be the final battle. Zatoichi versus an entire town! The body count is through the roof.