Zatoichi and the Fugitives

Original title: Zatôichi hatashi-jô

IMDb RATING

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Zatoichi runs afoul of some evil fugitives, working for a corrupt law official.Zatoichi runs afoul of some evil fugitives, working for a corrupt law official.Zatoichi runs afoul of some evil fugitives, working for a corrupt law official.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.3/10

1.3K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
This is the first Zatoichi film to use the blood spray practical effect. Coincidentally, the first Japanese film to ever make use of this effect was Akira Kurosawa's 'Sanjuro' (1962), which also featured actor Takashi Shimura.

Quotes
Oshizu: Master Ichi, how long have you been blind?
Zatoichi: Since I was about eight.
Oshizu: Then you must remember a lot of things.
Zatoichi: Like what?
Oshizu: Like the color of plants.
Zatoichi: I can distinguish plants by touch, but the colors have all...
Oshizu: What?
Zatoichi: At first I remembered all the colors - green, red, and so forth. I told myself I had to remember them and tried hard not to forget. But they gradually faded away. All that's left now is darkness.

Connections
Featured in WatchMojo: The Best Action Movies of All Time from A to Z (2020)

User reviews10

Review

Featured review

7/10

One of the best in the series...don't expect much comedy though.

Zatoichi and the fugitives is definitely one the few that stands out from the rest of the series much like how 'Zatoichi and the chess expert' and 'Zatoichi the outlaw' did (that is if you watched the films in the order it was released).

'Zatoichi and the Fugitives' features some of the most ruthless villains to have appeared in any of the zatoichi films preceding this title. These villains really gave 'Zato no Ichi' (played by Shintaro Katsu) a tough time. Its the first time I actually worried for his safety which is a rarity since he is mostly portrayed as a practically invincible swordsmen as seen in 'Adventures of Zatoich' where he slayed an entire guard post with scores of skilled swordsmen. However this time Zatoichi has many close calls which gives a change of pace from the mass-slaying zatoichi we are so used to, suspense is no stranger to this film.

Takashi Shimura of 'Seven Samurai' and 'Red Beard' fame that played Dr Junan really left me impressed. The dynamic between the blind gangster/swordsmen/anma and the kind-hearted doctor made for a very entertaining watch. Takashi Shimura did not disappoint.

The use of Manzai comedy and the customary gambling scene where Zatoichi always manages to split the loaded dice in half is left out of this film. Instead one can expect a dark and suspenseful tale with a very solid story that doesn't feel too reminiscent of the previous 17 films.

If you have made it to the 18th installment of the long-time running zatoichi series than that means your already hooked to this very likable icon. Zatoichi and the fugitives is definitely one of my favorite Zatoichi films.