Zatoichi and the Doomed Man

Zatoichi and the Doomed Man
Zatoichi and the Doomed Man
Japanese name
Kanji	座頭市逆手斬り
Revised Hepburn
Transcriptions
Revised Hepburn	Zatōichi sakate-giri
Directed by	Kazuo Mori
Written by	Shozaburo Asai
Based on	Zatoichi; by Kan Shimozawa
Produced by	Sadao Zaizen
Starring	Shintaro Katsu; Sachiko Murase
Cinematography	Hiroshi Imai
Edited by	Toshio Taniguchi
Music by	Seitaro Omori
Production; company	Daiei Studios
Release date	18 September 1965 (Japan);
Running time	78 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Zatoichi and the Doomed Man (座頭市逆手斬り, Zatōichi sakate-giri) is a 1965 Japanese chambara film directed by Kazuo Mori and starring Shintaro Katsu as the blind masseur Zatoichi.^[1] It was originally released by the Daiei Motion Picture Company (later acquired by Kadokawa Pictures).

Zatoichi and the Doomed Man is the eleventh episode in the 26-part film series devoted to the character of Zatoichi.

Plot

Zatoichi (Katsu) is given 50 lashes for illegal gambling in Shimokura. While in jail, his cellmate Shimazo (Mizuhara) claims to have been jailed on false charges of housebreaking, arson, and murder, pleading with Ichi to contact one of his influential associates who can vouch for his innocence and to inform his wife and daughter of his situation.

Cast

Shintaro Katsu as Zatoichi
Kanbi Fujiyama as Monk Hyakutaro
Kenjiro Ishiyama as Boss Jubei Araiso
Masako Akeboshi as Ochiyo
Eiko Taki as Oyone
Ryuzo Shimada as Yakuza boss
Koichi Mizuhara as Shimazo
Sachiko Murase as Shimazo's wife^[2]

Reception

Critical response

Zatoichi and the Doomed Man currently has three positive reviews, and no negative reviews at Rotten Tomatoes.^[3]

Brian McKay, writing for eFilmCritic.com, gave Zatoichi and the Doomed Man three out of five stars and said that "[w]ith the exception of one very funny Zatoichi impersonator, and one or two excellent action sequences, Zatoichi and the Doomed Man is a surprisingly lackluster installment, due to underdeveloped characters and a truncated ending that feels as if someone edited out the film's third act using a dull katana. [...] While I'll still take a mediocre ZATOICHI movie from thirty years ago over a crappy Hollywood film of the present day, this one leaves the viewer with a sense of unfinished business on the narrative side, and rushed work on the production side. Worth seeing for the bright points mentioned above, but overall a forgettable entry to the series."^[4]