Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman - Criterion Collection
From The Grindhouse Cinema Database
The Films
- The Tale of Zatoichi • The Tale of Zatoichi Continues • New Tale of Zatoichi • Zatoichi the Fugitive • Zatoichi on the Road • Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold • Zatoichi's Flashing Sword • Fight, Zatoichi, Fight • Adventures of Zatoichi • Zatoichi's Revenge • Zatoichi and the Doomed Man • Zatoichi and the Chess Expert • Zatoichi's Vengeance • Zatoichi's Pilgrimage • Zatoichi's Cane Sword • Zatoichi the Outlaw • Zatoichi Challenged! • Zatoichi and the Fugitives • Samaritan Zatoichi • Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo • Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival • Zatoichi Vs. The One-Armed Swordsman • Zatoichi At Large • Zatoichi in Desperation • Zatoichi's Conspiracy
Box Set Details
- Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman (Criterion Blu-Ray/DVD Combo)
- Dual Format Blu-ray/DVD Box Set
- 27 Discs
- Dual-format editions include both Blu-ray and DVD versions of a film in a single package. All supplements are available across both formats.
- Release date: September 2016 (USA), November 2018 (UK)
- Buy now: From Amazon.com | From Amazon UK
Synopsis
"The colossally popular Zatoichi films make up the longest-running action series in Japanese history and created one of the screen’s great heroes: an itinerant blind masseur who also happens to be a lightning-fast swordsman. As this iconic figure, the charismatic and earthy Shintaro Katsu became an instant superstar, lending a larger-than-life presence to the thrilling adventures of a man who lives staunchly by a code of honor and delivers justice in every town and village he enters. The films that feature him are variously pulse-pounding, hilarious, stirring, and completely off-the-wall. This deluxe set features the string of twenty-five Zatoichi films made between 1962 and 1973, collected in one package for the first time." (Criterion)
Special Features
- New digital restorations of all twenty-five films, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks on the Blu-rays
- The Blind Swordsman, a 1978 documentary about Zatoichi portrayer and filmmaker Shintaro Katsu, along with a new interview with its director, John Nathan
- New interview with Asian-film critic Tony Rayns
- Trailers for all twenty-five films
- New English subtitle translations
- PLUS: A book featuring an essay by critic Geoffrey O’Brien; synopses of the films by critic, novelist, and musician Chris D.; “The Tale of Zatoichi,” the original short story by Kan Shimozawa; and twenty-five new illustrations inspired by the films, by twenty-five different artists