Zatoichi The Outlaw was the 2nd of 3 Zatoichi films that came out in 1967. It's the 16th film in the 26 film series from Daiei Studios. The series is now being produced by the Katsu Company. It's owned by the star of the series Shintaro Katsu. I'm watching the Criterion DVDs but have the Blu-ray's to look forward to, at least once I get a Blu-Ray player and watch the Harry Potter Blu-Ray collection first.
Zatoichi arrives in a town where a gambling house is kidnapping its poor, debt-ridden patrons. A rival establishment moves to pay those debts and free the peasants, but this second house’s seemingly altruistic boss is actually laying the groundwork for a ruthless money-grabbing scheme. The sixteenth Zatoichi film is the first effort from its star’s own Katsu Productions, and it is one of the series’ most daring, with its complex characters, subversive social themes, and moral outrage. - Criterion.
The movie lives up to it's description and I enjoyed the movie quite a bit. There's the usual downtrodden peasants and horrible bosses who need some punishment. There's gambling and swordplay when Zatoichi finds the house cheating. There's more fighting when the bosses get desperate and poor Zatoichi takes a bit of punishment in this one.
It's a great looking film and they've managed to keep that level up through the whole series. Sometimes the images are quite beautiful.
Of course some of the beauty ends in tragedy but for the most part things work out. Then Zatoichi is onto the next town where some more downtrodden folks need some help.
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