Krug
Newshound
Anybody go see it?
Ebert's take: http://www.suntimes.com/output/ebert1/wkp-news-blind06f.html
Ebert's take: http://www.suntimes.com/output/ebert1/wkp-news-blind06f.html
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Zatoichi: Did it open in the US this weekend?
- Thread starter Krug
- Start date
barsoomcore
Unattainable Ideal
It's been and gone in Canada, or at least I saw it in the theatre quite a while ago.
I disliked it. Where Ebert sees joyous unconcern with conventional storytelling I just see a failure of imagination and pointless sequences that contribute nothing to the story. A lack of tension or passion permeated the film.
And I've liked (somewhat) a number of Kitano's earlier films -- though they always seem to go awry to me. They start off well, but by the end I'm shaking my head more than I'm enjoying myself. He just seems to wander down empty paths, retrace his steps and throw in random elements for no reason. As though half-way through the film he'd sort of lost track of what he was doing and just added whatever elements came to mind.
Disappointing. Some of the swordwork is okay, but nothing special.
I disliked it. Where Ebert sees joyous unconcern with conventional storytelling I just see a failure of imagination and pointless sequences that contribute nothing to the story. A lack of tension or passion permeated the film.
And I've liked (somewhat) a number of Kitano's earlier films -- though they always seem to go awry to me. They start off well, but by the end I'm shaking my head more than I'm enjoying myself. He just seems to wander down empty paths, retrace his steps and throw in random elements for no reason. As though half-way through the film he'd sort of lost track of what he was doing and just added whatever elements came to mind.
Disappointing. Some of the swordwork is okay, but nothing special.
WizarDru
Adventurer
Here's the release schedule from the official site...
http://www.justice-is-blind.com
Scheduled Openings
NEW YORK, 30-Jul - AMC Empire, Angelika, Lincoln Plaza
LOS ANGELES, 30-Jul - Regal University, Arclight 6-Aug - Santa Monica run, Orange Cty run
CHICAGO, 6-Aug - Landmark Century, Century Evanston
PHILADELPHIA, 6-Aug - Ritz 16, Ritz Voorhees
SAN FRANCISCO, 30-Jul - Camera 7 San Jose, Landmark Albany Berkeley, Embarcadero 13-Aug - Landmark Palo Alto, Marin 3-Sausalito, Century Pleasant Hill, Syufy 25-San Jose,
BOSTON, 6-Aug - Loews Harvard Square, Embassy- Waltham
DALLAS, 6-Aug - Angelika 13-Aug - Angelika - Plano
WASHINGTON D.C. 6-Aug - Landmark E-Street, Landmark Bethesda
ATLANTA, 20-Aug - Landmark Midtown Art
HOUSTON, 6-Aug - Angelika, Landmark Greenway
SEATTLE-TACOMA 6-Aug - Loews Meridian or Uptown, Landmark Metro
MINNEAPOLIS- ST.PAUL, 20-Aug - Landmark UptownCLEVELAND, 20-Aug - Cedar Lee
MIAMI- FT.LAUDERDALE 20-Aug - Regal South Beach, Regal Shadowood, Boca Raton, Fox-Sunrise
PHOENIX, 20-Aug - Camelview DENVER, 6-Aug - Chez Artistie
SACRAMENTO-STOCKTON, 20-Aug - Tower
PITTSBURGH, 20-Aug - Manor
http://www.justice-is-blind.com
Scheduled Openings
NEW YORK, 30-Jul - AMC Empire, Angelika, Lincoln Plaza
LOS ANGELES, 30-Jul - Regal University, Arclight 6-Aug - Santa Monica run, Orange Cty run
CHICAGO, 6-Aug - Landmark Century, Century Evanston
PHILADELPHIA, 6-Aug - Ritz 16, Ritz Voorhees
SAN FRANCISCO, 30-Jul - Camera 7 San Jose, Landmark Albany Berkeley, Embarcadero 13-Aug - Landmark Palo Alto, Marin 3-Sausalito, Century Pleasant Hill, Syufy 25-San Jose,
BOSTON, 6-Aug - Loews Harvard Square, Embassy- Waltham
DALLAS, 6-Aug - Angelika 13-Aug - Angelika - Plano
WASHINGTON D.C. 6-Aug - Landmark E-Street, Landmark Bethesda
ATLANTA, 20-Aug - Landmark Midtown Art
HOUSTON, 6-Aug - Angelika, Landmark Greenway
SEATTLE-TACOMA 6-Aug - Loews Meridian or Uptown, Landmark Metro
MINNEAPOLIS- ST.PAUL, 20-Aug - Landmark UptownCLEVELAND, 20-Aug - Cedar Lee
MIAMI- FT.LAUDERDALE 20-Aug - Regal South Beach, Regal Shadowood, Boca Raton, Fox-Sunrise
PHOENIX, 20-Aug - Camelview DENVER, 6-Aug - Chez Artistie
SACRAMENTO-STOCKTON, 20-Aug - Tower
PITTSBURGH, 20-Aug - Manor
WizarDru
Adventurer
Check your local listings...I've found that the official website isn't well maintained with respect to listings. Philadelphia is actually getting Zatoichi this Friday, but the website doesn't reflect that. Now to find a way to get someone to watch the kids while we go see it.qstor said:
Reviews at Otakon were good, as were reviews or Thailand's Ong Bak. Battle Royale II started out very good...until you reach the point where the original director died, and then it becomes a disappointing slog.
Last edited:
Villano
First Post
Krug said:
I didn't see it in the theatre, but I do have a Japanese disc (with English subtitles). I'm a big fan of the original series, so I was a bit worried about this remake. Well, "remake" isn't a correct term. It's more of a continuation of the series, like the Bond films.
Anyway, the new Zatoichi is portrayed differently from the original. Katsu's Ichi was played as a person with a good heart who would get caught up in these situations in which he'd have to use his sword. The new Ichi is a bit colder. It isn't bad, per se, but Katsu was more enjoyable to watch.
As for the story, it was very good. There was a lot of interesting characters and side issues going on that it reminded me of my favorite Ichi film, Zatoichi, The Fugitive.
The biggest problem I had with the film was bad cgi. I don't understand how Japan can be such a technical country, but still have such bad cgi in its films. The effects in Zatoichi were limited to thrown knives and swords, and fake blood. Obviously, they went cgi for the thrown weapons since doing the stunts for real would mean really throwing the weapons (which would be dangerous), or having them on wires (which would look just as fake).
The blood, otoh, I don't understand. For some bizarre reason, they had it dissipate in the air rather than fall like real blood would. It sort of became "video game blood".
Overall, I enjoyed the film. I don't know if they are going to continue the series, but I hope they do. If you've got an R2 or region free dvd player, I'd recommend checking out eBay for a disc.
WizarDru
Adventurer
Got my birthday present from a friend on Saturday: an import copy on DVD. The english subtitles were quite good, actually.
I REALLY liked it. The CGI was a little odd at first, but sometimes worked quite well. I'm sure that as they learn to use it more, it will become increasingly more transparent. The funny thing about the gambling scenes was I sat there thinking "Hey! That's Even/Odd! I played that in Shenmue!!"
I REALLY liked it. The CGI was a little odd at first, but sometimes worked quite well. I'm sure that as they learn to use it more, it will become increasingly more transparent. The funny thing about the gambling scenes was I sat there thinking "Hey! That's Even/Odd! I played that in Shenmue!!"
barsoomcore
Unattainable Ideal
I'm curious. Didn't people find it, well, kind of dull and pointless for much of its length? Like, why did we watch
? I just found stuff like that and the "clickclackclonkclickclackclonk" sequences really tedious.
And the
And most important for me,
I guess for much of the movie I was asking myself, "Why am I watching this?" And kept hoping to get an answer and never felt like I did. I don't think it held a candle to any good samurai pictures like the Lone Wolf and Cub movies or Kurosawa's. The action scenes didn't thrill me, the story annoyed me with its clumsiness and the "techniques" didn't give me any insight into the story or the characters.
The performances were good -- but Takeshi's always good with those. And it looked lovely, and the evocation of medieval Japan was wonderful. Oh, and the guy getting whacked by the wooden sword was wince-worthy -- those were GREAT hits.
Brother dancing for fifteen minutes while the little story of what happened was narrated for us
And the
tap dance at the end? I mean, if those people had been really talented I guess I would have been entertained (maybe, though I'd still be confused), but watching people do steps that I could learn how to do in half an hour or so just isn't all that exciting to me. Especially when it has nothing to do with anything I just spent the previous two hours watching.
And most important for me,
the ending of the film didn't have any drama at all. Zatoichi, having effortlessly killed everyone who ever looked the slightest bit threatening, walks into town and effortlessly kills a bunch of people who don't look threatening at all. It's not exciting, since there's not even a suggestion that Zatoichi won't prevail, and it's not satisfying, since we don't hate any of these people with any real oomph. We've been TOLD they're bad guys, but we haven't SEEN them do much that makes us hate them, and we haven't seen them getting away with it and being all smug about it, so watching them die doesn't really provide much of an emotional kick.
I guess for much of the movie I was asking myself, "Why am I watching this?" And kept hoping to get an answer and never felt like I did. I don't think it held a candle to any good samurai pictures like the Lone Wolf and Cub movies or Kurosawa's. The action scenes didn't thrill me, the story annoyed me with its clumsiness and the "techniques" didn't give me any insight into the story or the characters.
The performances were good -- but Takeshi's always good with those. And it looked lovely, and the evocation of medieval Japan was wonderful. Oh, and the guy getting whacked by the wooden sword was wince-worthy -- those were GREAT hits.
MonsterMash
First Post
I saw it quite a while ago in the UK. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't a great film.
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