Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Rijndri Load of rubbish!!

Micransix Crappy film

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Tweekums As this darker than normal 'Zatoichi' film opens our eponymous blind samurai is crossing a rickety bridge. As he does so he meets an old woman who is heading to see her daughter, there is an accident and she falls to her death. Feeling guilty Zatoichi goes in search of the daughter. She is working as a prostitute and can't finish until a bond of fifty ryo is paid. Zatoichi raises the money hustling a group of local gamblers who think it is they who are cheating him. The problems aren't over; the woman's fiancé is part of a group determined to kill Zatoichi for the reward. In the background to all of this Mangoro, the local boss, is forcing the town's fishermen out of business so he can employ them for a pittance while making a fortune from his monopoly of the local market… inevitably he will eventually cross swords with Zatoichi.This is the darkest of the 'Zatoichi' films that I have seen (not that I've seen that many unfortunately); Mangoro is a particularly unpleasant villain and the theme of forced prostitution is pretty grim… especially when the latest person forced into the profession is a fourteen year old girl whose story has a particularly tragic ending; as does that of her younger brother. Inevitably we see Zatoichi win many fights but at one point he is badly injured in a way that leaves the viewer wondering just how he will manage to prevail. As well as being dark in tone the film is perhaps a bit too dark in terms of light levels at times; this makes some of the action a bit hard to make out… presumably done to tone down the bloodshed in these scenes. Shintaro Katsu does a fine job both acting in the lead role and as the director of the film. Overall I'd recommend this to fans of Zatoichi in particular and samurai films in general.

MartinHafer Warning--Unlike previous Zatoichi films, this one is more sexual and violent in nature. Parents should exercise caution before letting their kids see this film.This 1972 episode of the Zatochi movie series finds Ichi on a bridge with an old woman at the beginning of the movie. They talk a bit and the old lady drops through a broken slat in the bridge. Ichi tries to save her, but she ultimately falls to her death. Being an all-around nice guy, Ichi then goes to the brothel where this woman's daughter worked in order to buy her out of prostitution. Interestingly, this soiled lady doesn't necessarily want to be saved from this life and she and her boyfriend share an amazingly dysfunctional relationship. Ichi probably would have been best served NOT to try to save this one! This element along with the retarded man sex scenes, tons of blood, suicide, the slaughter of a group of innocent fishermen, the beating of a child, and more make this a rather dark and sadistic film. Some reviewers say it is the darkest of the films and this is hard to say. As far as misery goes, there sure is a lot in this film. However, if you are talking about how far Zatoichi has fallen and the misery that personally befalls him, then I think that the last Shintaro Katsu film of the series (ZATOICHI, 1989) is still by far the darkest of the series--making it a truly oppressive film to watch. Either way, there is little lightness or joy in either film.The gambling scene where the blind dealer "accidentally" dropped one of the dice and hustles the clever gamblers is not new, but has been used in at least two other Zatoichi films. There is also the rather obligatory "slicing the sake bottle in half bit" that has appeared in several previous movies. In addition, the plot device of the cute little kid who throws rocks at people's heads and usurers who force women into prostitution were used in the previous Zatoichi film (ZATOICHI MEETS HIS MATCH--#22). Because of this sense of repetition, the film has to lose a point or two for lacking some originality (as well as points for all the yechiness in the film). It's just too derivative of all the earlier films despite its new heightened sense of gore.Now there is some originality that I appreciated. In particular, after Ichi's hands are savagely destroyed, he comes up with a very impressive way to overcome yet another disability. The final scenes, as a result, are amazing--something that the final "boss battles" had begun to lack. And, for once, because of all the blood, the film does excel at realism (both for good and for bad).I love the Zatoichi films, but this is one I don't look forward to seeing again.

Tom (bighouseaz) The old women falling off the bridge. How many times must you see it! It's hard to say that I enjoy this film, but it certainly grabs my attention.Katsu Shinatro is at the helm of this entry in the Zatoichi series. Katsu directs, and of course, stars in Zatoichi in Desperation. As others have written, there is a lot of suffering in this film. The local boss and his henchmen are cruel in the extreme, even children are not safe in this sea town. The situation seems almost hopeless to the inhabitants, and some choose to take their own lives rather than suffer in the present life.Zatoichi does not take this path. Zatoichi is a man of firm resolve and an unbending sense of right and wrong. Zatoichi pays a horrible price to free a prostitute. The yakuza come by the next day to finish off the job, but Zatoichi has had enough time to prepare and he is merciless in his revenge.A Zatoichi fan has to wonder if Katsu's vision for Zatoichi is indicative of a dark heart from the director and star. There are moments in earlier films with a lighter feeling. Zatoichi doesn't laugh often, but when he does the audience is happy and relieved. I wonder if this dark vision was related to personal troubles in Katsu's life. Unfortunately, the only biographies I can find on Katsu Shintaro are Japanese language books. Let's hope that one of the many biographies in Japanese is translated into English.

gkbazalo Zatoichi in Desperation is the most somber and darkest Zatoichi film that I have seen in the series, both in terms of photography and plot. It's interesting that Shintaro Katsu, who plays Zatoichi, was the director. He was certainly going for a different look and style and got it. Most of the scenes are darkly lit and there is a claustrophobic feeling to the shots. The bad guys, composed of the local yakuza (gangster) mob, are meaner than usual and the body count of innocent villagers is far higher than usual. Zatoichi himself also suffers more at the hands of the evil doers than usual. This was the next to last entry (#24) in the series before the 17 year hiatus between #25 and 26. Things get back into the more typical Zatoichi style in #25. This film would have been appropriate as the last in the series. It has the feeling of "an ending". A very interesting entry, but not one of my favorites. As always, recommended for Zatoichi fans.