| Zatoichi: The Tale of Zatoichi | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster to Zatoichi: The Tale of Zatoichi | |
| Directed by | Kenji Misumi |
| Produced by | Ikuo Kubodera |
| Written by | Short Story: Kan Shimozawa Screenplay: Minoru Inuzuka |
| Music by | Akira Ifukube |
| Cinematography | Chishi Makiura |
| Editing by | Kanji Suganuma |
| Distributed by | Daiei |
| Released | April 18, 1962 |
| Running time | 96 min. |
| Followed by | Zatoichi 2: The Tale of Zatoichi Continues |
| IMDb profile | |
| JMDb profile | |
Zatoichi: The Tale of Zatoichi (座頭市物語 Zatōichi monogatari) aka Life and Opinion of Masseur Ichi,[1] and Blind Swordsman[2] is a 1962 film directed by Kenji Misumi and starring Shintarō Katsu as Zatoichi the blind swordsman. Zatoichi: The Tale of Zatoichi is the first entry in the popular, long-running Zatoichi series.
Cast[]
Alternate poster to Zatoichi: The Tale of Zatoichi
- Shintarō Katsu as Zatoichi/Blind Man Ichi/Masseur Ichi[3]
- Masayo Banri as Otane/Tatekichi's sister/Seisuke's ex-lover
- Ryūzō Shimada as Shigezo of Sasagawa/Sasagawa yakuza boss
- Hajime Mitamura as Hanji of Matsugishi
- Shigeru Amachi as Hirate, Miki
- Chitose Maki as Yoshi/Hanji's wife
- Ikuko Mori as Yutaka/Shigezo's wife
- Michio Minami as Tatekichi/Otane's brother/Osaki's lover/Iioka yakuza member
- Eijirō Yanagi as Sukegoro of Iioka/Iioka yakuza boss
- Toshio Chiba as Masakichi/Iioka yakuza member
- Manabu Morita as Seisuke/Otane's ex-lover/Iioka yakuza member
- Yoichi Funaki as Yogoro/Sasagawa yakuza member
- Kinya Ichikawa as Mokichi/Sasagawa yakuza member
- Eigorō Onoe as Rihei/Sasagawa yakuza member
- Yoshito Yamaji as Yahei/Father of Otane and Tatekichi
- Yukio Horikita as Kanaji/Sasagawa yakuza member
- Ryūji Fukui as Daihachi/Iioka yakuza member
- Masayoshi Kikuno as A coolie
- Hajime Koshikawa as A farmer
- Akira Shiga as A dice-roller
- Masashi Hamada as Iioka yakuza member
- Koichi Aihara
- Hiroyoshi Nishioka as Iioka yakuza member
- Gen Kimura
- Taizō Sengoku as Ishichi/Sasagawa yakuza member
- Noboru Taniguchi as Tomozo/Sasagawa yakuza member
- Shingo Hosotani as Iioka yakuza member
- Saburo Nagaoka
- Katsuyoshi Baba as Iioka yakuza member
- Yo Yūki as Iioka yakuza member
- Keiko Awanami as Osaki/Tatekichi's lover
- Kanae Kobayashi
- Bonta Maru
Release history[]
Cover to the 2002 US DVD release of Zatoichi: The Tale of Zatoichi
Zatoichi: The Tale of Zatoichi was released theatrically on April 18, 1962.[4] In Japan, the film has been released to home video on videotape format in 1984 and 1992, and on DVD in 2003 and in 2007 as part of a box set.[5] Home Vision Entertainment released it on DVD in the US on May 14, 2002.[6]
Bibliography[]
English[]
- Galloway, Patrick (2005). Stray Dogs & Lone Wolves: The Samurai Film Handbook. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 1-880656-93-0.
- Schilling, Mark (2003). The Yakuza Movie Book: A Guide to Japanese Gangster Films. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press. pp. 318-319. ISBN 1-880656-76-0.
- Silver, Alain [1977] (1983). "The Alien Hero I. The Blind Swordfighters : Zato Ichi and the Crimson Bat" in The Samurai Film. Woodstock: The Overlook Press. ISBN 978-0-879511-75-3.
- The Tale of Zatoichi at Allmovie
- ZATO ICHI MONOGATARI at the Complete Index to World Film
- Zatôichi monogatari (1962) at the Internet Movie Database
- ZATOICHI MONOGATARI (1962) at British Film Institute
- Zatoichi: The Tale of Zatoichi review at Kung Fu Cinema
Japanese[]
- "座頭市物語(1962)" (in Japanese). allcinema.net. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
- "座頭市物語" (in Japanese). Japanese Cinema Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Retrieved 2010-08-20.
- "座頭市物語" (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
- "座頭市物語" (in Japanese). Kinema Junpo. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
- "座頭市物語" (in Japanese). www.walkerplus.com. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
External links[]
- THE TALE OF ZATOICHI Ep. #1 at www.momii.com (US DVD site)
Notes[]
- ↑ "座頭市物語" (in Japanese). Japanese Cinema Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Retrieved 2010-08-20.
- ↑ ZATO ICHI MONOGATARI at the Complete Index to World Film
- ↑ "座頭市物語" (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
- ↑ "座頭市物語" (in Japanese). Japanese Cinema Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Retrieved 2010-08-20.
- ↑ "座頭市物語(1962)" (in Japanese). allcinema.net. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
- ↑ Wallis, John (May 20, 2002). Zatoichi the Blind Swordsman, Vol. 1 - The Tale of Zatochi at DVD Talk.