Number ten in the Zatoichi film series saw its star Shintaro Katsu at the peak of his popularity and creativity. Despite four releases in a year’s time, Daiei saw ticket sales for the franchise begin to decline, which only aided the series from a critical standpoint. Director Akira Inoue took the helm of Zatoichi’s Revenge and added a darker tone and strong stylistic touches heavily influenced by spaghetti westerns. The result is a more personal film where the viewer is physically drawn close to Ichi as he takes a less tolerant approach towards his enemies.

In the liner notes, written by Taksu Aoki, that accompanies HVE’s DVD release of this film, it’s revealed that Katsu was not a big fan of screenplays, or at least sticking to them. Of course, he knew the character better than anyone and much of Ichi’s charm lies in the non-verbal language that Katsu transmits through his body language. What Katsuo transmits in Zatoichi’s Revenge is a growing contrast between his love of simple pleasures like basking in the sun or listening to a song from his childhood and his growing intolerance of evildoers. Though still the reluctant warrior when only his honor is at stake, he decisively rises to the defense of the oppressed and shows no mercy.

Ichi returns to his past by visiting a village where he grew up in hopes of finding his mentor, Hikonoichi, the man who taught him the art of being a masseur. Instead, he discovers that the man has been recently murdered and his daughter Sayo forced into prostitution. Once again, corrupt officials are at the heart of the trouble. An official has been skimming off the top of the people’s taxes while his cohort and the town’s boss, Tatsugoro, has been cheating money out of the citizens through fixed gambling and loan scams. Those who cannot pay see their daughters forced into prostitution. As Ichi waits for an opportunity to free Sayo, Tatsugoro’s strong man who is also Hikonoichi’s killer fails to win Ichi’s cane sword at gambling and then challenges him to an open duel. Afterwards, Tatsugoro sends his men all over town in hopes of framing Ichi for the murder of another official while a master gambler named Denroku and his young daughter find themselves caught between aiding Ichi or being separated forever. Ichi unleashes a bold plan to free the prostitutes and get his revenge by giving no quarter, revealing a darker side to his persona.

The story itself isn’t all that creative and the villains are pretty generic, but Zatoichi’s Revenge has a couple of interesting things to offer. The direction is more stylized than in previous films and includes lots of extreme close-ups, dramatic use of perspective, limited slow motion, and black and white flashbacks. There are also several unusually long pauses sandwiched in between action scenes that add impact. Most of these effects should be familiar to spaghetti western aficionados, who would especially recognize the soundtrack’s distinctive guitar fingering. Although Westerns had been adapted into chambara films before (Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo was based on a pulp Western novel originally published in the U.S.), this film displayed the strongest Western influence in the series yet. The beauty of it is that these touches are not gratuitously applied. They fit right in and add punch to an already exciting series.

While most of the characters are standard, a nice twist appears when Ichi is forced to go up against an expert conman who also happens to be a friend. The character Denroku is a roguish man with a charming daughter who is forced to play dirty dice, but redeems himself later while also providing the film with the most colorful character. Arguably, one of the franchise’s faults is the notable need to mop up the story quickly following Ichi’s final battle. The story may be resolved, but we never get to see Ichi and Denroku exchange farewells. As usual, Ichi has slipped away while no one is looking.

The action in episode 10 is dominated by the “spring-release” method rather than any protracted battle, the final fight between Ichi and a mob of men not included. The set-up for a quick, spinning thrust by Ichi as an assailant creeps up on him and Densuko’s daughter as they walk down a country path is brilliantly conceived. This is chambara action at its best – short, sweet, and very cool. Katsu’s moves get a little fancier in this chapter and his ability to dominate a situation despite his blindness gets even more pronounced.

Zatoichi’s Revenge is a fine addition to the series with stylish action and another formulaic, yet enjoyable plot. It’s clear that there’s no stopping the blind swordsman!

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