Kenji Misumi's Samaritan Zatoichi was the last Zatoichi movie produced by Daiei Studios (before the bankruptcy), opening with a stylish title sequence with flashy colors which just scream '60s. It continues with the excellent first act, which balances humor, drama and action in an impressive fashion but the initial momentum of the film kinda slips away during the second two acts in a manner I can't quite explain, all I know is that the remainder of the film wasn't as interesting as the beginning.
This movie had the potential to become one of the best in the series, but for every good idea, there was a bad one. Zatoichi's friend is an interesting character who successfully brings some manzai humor into the film, but he appears and disappears from the storyline without rhyme or reason. Although the movie is visually accomplished with excellent cinematography, the soundtrack abandons the spaghetti western influences and returns to the melodramatic orchestral scoring. Zatoichi is shown vulnerable in this film, making bad decisions, killing the wrong people and cheating at gambling but there are unfortunately also some ridiculous scenes (like the one with the mat). The final battle with the mystery ronin is great, but there's essentially no point to that character. As a trivia fact, Ko Nishimura (from Zatoichi the Outlaw) returns as a different government official (with a similar fate).
Highlight of the film: Zatoichi giving nearby kids advice on how to catch sparrows.
This movie had the potential to become one of the best in the series, but for every good idea, there was a bad one. Zatoichi's friend is an interesting character who successfully brings some manzai humor into the film, but he appears and disappears from the storyline without rhyme or reason. Although the movie is visually accomplished with excellent cinematography, the soundtrack abandons the spaghetti western influences and returns to the melodramatic orchestral scoring. Zatoichi is shown vulnerable in this film, making bad decisions, killing the wrong people and cheating at gambling but there are unfortunately also some ridiculous scenes (like the one with the mat). The final battle with the mystery ronin is great, but there's essentially no point to that character. As a trivia fact, Ko Nishimura (from Zatoichi the Outlaw) returns as a different government official (with a similar fate).
Highlight of the film: Zatoichi giving nearby kids advice on how to catch sparrows.