Zatoichi's Flashing Sword (1964) User Reviews

Explosive final scene with fireworks and lightning slashes of the cane sword

[bighouseaz · 8/10 · 17 January 2005]

This is a solid entry in the series. It's true that there is little action until the closing minutes, but when the dam breaks, it breaks big!

I very much appreciated the portrayal of the two bosses. In many Zatoichi films all bosses are equally bad and sometimes disgusting in their greed and avarice. In this film Zatoichi winds up in the house of boss Bunkichi. Bunkichi turns out to be the real deal. He avoids confrontation, does not exploit the locals, and even puts on a fireworks display during O-Bon (summer festival). Zatoichi respects Bunkichi's household and the values they stand for.

In contract, the boss on the other side of the river is Yasugoro. The actor who plays Yasugoro shows up in many of the films in the series. Here he does a great job as the bad guy, strutting around when he is safe and stuttering with nervousness whenever things get rough.

And while the fireworks go off overhead, Zatoichi crosses the river to make Yasugoro pay for his crimes. The lighting in the last fight scene is menacing. Ichi wreaks bloody vengeance in a systematic and frightening manner. As the last firework explodes overhead, Zatoichi delivers the final devastating blow.

Rather typical, but very well made.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 6 June 2009]

This Zatoichi film starts off in an unusual way. The camera is mounted on the ceiling looking straight down on the people in the room! The scene itself is fine, but the way they filmed it was nice as a change of pace. Interestingly enough, the final shots of the film were also done in much the same way, but in a darkened hallway.

Immediately after this, a guy is yelling because he apparently shot Zatoichi. However, they can't find a body because Ichi swam away and was cared for by an old woman until he could go back on his journey. Oddly, some unnamed benefactor paid her for her nursing him to health. Who this is and why, we don't yet know.

In the next scene, a group of punks invade a kendo dojo. Looking to hurt someone, they pull Ichi inside and proceed to get their butts kicked. I was actually more impressed with actor Shintaro Katsu's work with the bamboo kendo sword than his usual swordplay--it was very fast and impressive.

While not as impressive technically, there also was a very unusual underwater fight. Five thugs attacked Ichi while he was bathing in the river. He led them to deeper water and then dove under--and one by one the bad guys were gutted as if Zatoichi were a shark! There was also a bit more humor in the film than usual. One routine is a cute one involving a guy who makes money carrying people across the river on his shoulders, but the one I really liked was Zatoichi and the guys peeping at the lady taking a bath.

The main story is pretty typical of a Zatoichi film. One big boss is trying to muscle in on the territory of another lesser one. The big boss is a nasty, laughing, obese stuttering guy and again and again he tries a variety of tricks to try to hurt the other boss. Fortunately, Zatoichi is on hand to help out when things start to spin out of control. And, as fireworks begin to go off, so do arms, legs, etc. as Ichi takes the battle to the evil warlord. Yay, Ichi!

More of the same -- but I like it!

[susansweb · 6/10 · 21 October 2003]

If you've seen one Zatoichi film, then this one will be nothing new. The thing is, that Shintarô Katsu does such a great job playing Zatoichi, that I don't care how similar these movies are. This movie is a little different in that the beginning of the movie has several light humorous moments, the fact that Zatoichi is shot seems to have no bearing. But like all the other films in the series, it gets serious. In case, pretty serious. Katsu can be lighthearted and charming but when he means business, I wouldn't want to mess with him. As for the battles not a whole lot until the end, but that one is a doozy. I tried counting how many people he kills; I lost count after 35. So, if you're a sucker for Zatoichi, then this one should be fun viewing.

Zatoichi's Flashing Sword (1964)

[mevmijaumau · 28 July 2015]

This one is by far my favorite Zatoichi film so far! Director Kazuo Ikehiro from the previous film makes a delightful immediate comeback and peppers the movie with more lovely stylishness, but without forgetting to care about the storyline.

Zatoichi's Flashing Sword has a wonderfully entertaining and easy-to- follow plot, without any filler and without complicating the ordeal with continuity follies. This is a straight-edge short adventure tale loaded with badassery (and fireworks!) and it even has more humor than Zatoichi films usually do. The only two things I'm not that fond of is the abrupt ending and the remark by one of the characters that every time tenth firework to go off is special. I don't really know what was the point of stressing that plot-point, but as long as there are underwater sword- fighting scenes to keep me occupied, I'm game. There's also a fantastic cold opening where Zatoichi shows his might by bisecting some pesky flies (this was later homage'd in an Usagi Yojimbo comic issue), the "The End" symbol starting to resemble the letter "Z" (like Zorro! Oh wait...) and of course, Shintaro Katsu's priceless portrayal of Zatoichi, who manages to be very gentle, kind and lovable considering that in this movie alone, he kills more people than Stalin, Hitler and Mao together, especially during the final 15 minutes during his "Angel of Death" mode.

Even the cinematography in this film is top notch, and far more memorable than in the previous installments. Everything is colored in those lovely, warm shades of orange (which remind me of Hideo Gosha's movie Hitokiri, also with Shintaro Katsu), and some shots are truly awesome, like the very one that opens the movie.

Highlight of the film: that'd have to be the incredibly awesome final battle of Zatoichi vs. a band of nameless thugs and their stuttering leader. The badassery is unhandle-able!

Goofy and creepy.

[enoksrd · 7/10 · 23 May 2005]

As the other commenter's have said it is mostly more of the same. Also, I have to agree that the plot is a less involved than in other Zatoichis, although I don't think any of this films are very complex, so if you enjoyed the others you will probably enjoy this one. There were two things that stood out to differentiate this from earlier Zatoichis though. First, it had a few goofy/slap stick type moments, which I don't remember being very common in earlier ones. Second, when Zatoichi got angry he seemed evil and creepy. Usually he gives more of the impression that he is defending himself, but this time he was out for blood. Not the best but entertaining.

One of the best in the series

[poikkeus · 9/10 · 5 December 2009]

True, Zatoichi movies follow the same general pattern from one film to the next, and they're uniformly watchable. With Zatôichi abare tako, however, the film-making is on a higher level, with a convincing balance of swordplay, drama, and genuinely amusing moments. Perhaps most satisfying of all, the plot has a few truly disconcerting twists - even from the very beginning, when Zatoichi is nearly killed.

Period details are rendered nicely, as with the primitive ferrying service, and let's not forget the sword tricks; at the very start, Zatoichi, troubled by a few flies and unable to sleep, dispatches the insects in two quick strokes. When we see the culminating "fireworks," it's perfectly integrated into the film.

This film shows enough film-making craft to put it near the top of the Zatoichi canon.

An emotional protagonist, a set of intriguing characters and stunning sword fights under the backdrop of fireworks are slowed down by a lengthy set-up

[kluseba · 7/10 · 3 March 2018]

Zatoichi's Flashing Sword is the seventh entry in the franchise and the second of four movies released within a single year. At the beginning of the movie, Zatoichi is still a wanted fugitive for what he did in the previous films and gets shot in the back by a young man who tries to impress his criminal friends. Zatoichi is saved by a traveling family who pays a local townswoman to nurse the blind masseur back to health. Once Zatoichi feels better, he travels to Kajikazawa to thank the family for saving him. He is welcomed warmly by the generous and respected family and especially befriends the family's beautiful and charming daughter who discovered the dying Zatoichi in a river and saved him. Zatoichi however witnesses how another clan tries to trick the family into a duel over the control of a river ford that all travelers have to pay to cross. The other clan uses the family's hot-tempered son who comes home after having lived the life of a criminal for a year and who turns out to be the man who shot Zatoichi. The blind masseur however tries to save the naive young man despite what he did to him, attempts to prevent the other clan's ruthless conspiracy and finally wants to hear some local fireworks.

On the positive side, the movie's characters are more developed than in many other entries. As a viewer, one actually cares about the friendly businessman who helps Zatoichi and who is very generous towards his community. The businessman's charming daughter is complemented by the businessman's hot-tempered son. The movie's antagonist in form of the leader of a clan who wants to control the businessman's river ford is quite intriguing as he cleverly attempts to keep Zatoichi away from the conflict, hires a group of ruthless swordsmen who want to see Zatichi dead and even uses his own sister to influence the local intendant. Rarely has an antagonist been as clever, organized and ruthless as in this movie. Another element that stands out is how Zatoichi gets treated very well in the beginning of the movie just to be rejected once again towards the end which is heart-breaking to watch. The blind masseur's emotional struggles really come to life in this film. The highlight of the movie are the final thirty minutes or so with intense sword fights in a river, under a bridge and in different locations of a dark mansion. The fight choreographies are quite diversified which make them particularly entertaining.

On the negative side, the character developments of the movie drag on a little bit too long. After an explosive first five minutes, the movie drags on without any sword fights for nearly fifty minutes before the final showdown. There are too many dialogues and repetitive discussions that don't add much to the story. Especially the side story with the deaf firework artist is quite dull. The ending of the film felt somewhat abrupt as one would have liked to get to know more about the fates of the survivors. After a lengthy build-up, that almost aborted ending felt out of place. A true conclusion is missing in this film.

Still, Zatoichi's Flashing Sword is one of the better entries in the franchise thanks to the clever antagonist, a set of well-developed characters and the vivid series of final sword fights. I would recommend this movie to both collectors and fans of the franchise on one side and those who aren't familiar with the Zatoichi franchise yet because this film really shows the blind masseur's strengths and weaknesses in an emotional way.

Definitely a worthy entry into the fine series.

[KingM21 · 8/10 · 2 September 2005]

In a plot not unlike A Fistful of Dollars, here we have Zatoichi dealing with two big gangs, the differences being that one of them is good and Master Ichi stays loyal to them. Of course, the movie is filled with the expected Zatoichi humor and action goodness, so it's definitely a worthy entry into the fine series. Following what was started in number 6 (The Chest of Gold), Flashing Sword continues to add some blood to the sword wounds, especially at the end. One shot has the red stuff spray hard all over one of the paper doors! Speaking of that, there was also an angled, side-scrolling action sequence with Zatoichi working his way down an alley that reminded me of the hall fight in Oldboy. Cool stuff!

Disappointing Masseur Ichi

[JohnSeal · 18 December 2001]

Not one of the highlights of the series, Zatoichi's Flashing Sword simply doesn't display enough of Ichi's skills. There's very little action and what there is is brief. The story itself feels padded out, even at a brisk 82 minutes, and one gets the feeling Daiei was simply trying to turn out as many films as possible to capitalise on the character's popularity. It's not bad, merely disappointing.

Just goin' through the motions...

[masercot · 10 April 2003]

The title of this one should be Zatoichi Kills a Bunch of Guys. There's little subtlety in this one. None of the things that made the series great are in this flick at all. If you've seen every other Ichi movie, then, perhaps you should see this one for closure, but, wait until you get to that bridge.