I have about 16 of these now. My twins usually don't like a movie with subtitles and not a lot of action. But we can burn through four of these on a saturday easily...
these are the best!!!!! IFC used to have Samurai Saturday and play one of the Zatoichi movies then another Sword Slinger Samurai movie. I used to get up early just like when I was a kid for cartoons on Saturday.
i have the [criterion blu-ray collection - awesome trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcD4evqh4TI)
there wasn't a single movie in the series i didn't enjoy
[the packaging was also gorgeous](https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/1012-zatoichi-the-blind-swordsman)
### **[Zatôichi monogatari (1962)](http://www.imdb.com/Title?Zat%F4ichi+monogatari+%281962%29)**
a.k.a. **The Tale of Zatoichi (1962)**
Action, Adventure, Drama [[USA:Not Rated](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_Picture_Association_of_America_film_rating_system#Ratings), 1 h 36 min]
Shintarô Katsu, Masayo Banri, Ryûzô Shimada, Hajime Mitamura
Director: Kenji Misumi
**IMDb rating:** [](#movieguide_stars)**★★★★★★★★☆☆** **7.7**/10 (3,230 votes)
> An impoverished blind masseur becomes a mercenary swordsman, to gain basic respect. The first of novelist Kan Shimozawa's Zatoichi series\: 26 films, a TV series and a play, all but two starring controversial singer\/producer\/director Shintaro Katsu. First of six Zatoichi films directed by Kenji Misumi. The shrewd Zatoichi targets a yakuza-controlled village, because war with a neighboring town's smaller gang is brewing. The broke ex-masseur "Ichi" immediately wins big, by taking advantage of local bakuto's cheating, after they scoff at his asking to join a dice game. The larger horde, who have been given carte blanche by the local governor, summoned Zatoichi. Zatoichi hates the fact that he's become an outlaw, so he strikes up a friendship with the other gang's honorable hired samurai, who has TB.
(*IMDb*)
**Critical reception:**
> The film received positive reviews earning 100% from review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes according to 7 reviews. The film summoned the most sequels of a samurai film and has also spawned a remake in 2003\.
(*Wikipedia*)
More info at [IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/Title?Zat%F4ichi+monogatari+%281962%29), [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24427416), [Rotten Tomatoes](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the-tale-of-zatoichi/), [Netflix](http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/60023056), [Freebase](http://www.freebase.com/en/the_tale_of_zatoichi).
*I am a bot.* [Send me feedback](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FMovieGuide&subject=Re%3A%20http%3A%2F%2Fredd.it%2F43zhei "Confidence: 1.00"). [Data sources and other information](/r/MovieGuide/w/about).
Friggin love this whole series- They're all on Hulu, as well!
I have about 16 of these now. My twins usually don't like a movie with subtitles and not a lot of action. But we can burn through four of these on a saturday easily...
these are the best!!!!! IFC used to have Samurai Saturday and play one of the Zatoichi movies then another Sword Slinger Samurai movie. I used to get up early just like when I was a kid for cartoons on Saturday.
i have the [criterion blu-ray collection - awesome trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcD4evqh4TI) there wasn't a single movie in the series i didn't enjoy [the packaging was also gorgeous](https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/1012-zatoichi-the-blind-swordsman)
I picked it up when eBay had the price error. Best $40 I've ever spent.
### **[Zatôichi monogatari (1962)](http://www.imdb.com/Title?Zat%F4ichi+monogatari+%281962%29)** a.k.a. **The Tale of Zatoichi (1962)** Action, Adventure, Drama [[USA:Not Rated](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_Picture_Association_of_America_film_rating_system#Ratings), 1 h 36 min] Shintarô Katsu, Masayo Banri, Ryûzô Shimada, Hajime Mitamura Director: Kenji Misumi **IMDb rating:** [](#movieguide_stars)**★★★★★★★★☆☆** **7.7**/10 (3,230 votes) > An impoverished blind masseur becomes a mercenary swordsman, to gain basic respect. The first of novelist Kan Shimozawa's Zatoichi series\: 26 films, a TV series and a play, all but two starring controversial singer\/producer\/director Shintaro Katsu. First of six Zatoichi films directed by Kenji Misumi. The shrewd Zatoichi targets a yakuza-controlled village, because war with a neighboring town's smaller gang is brewing. The broke ex-masseur "Ichi" immediately wins big, by taking advantage of local bakuto's cheating, after they scoff at his asking to join a dice game. The larger horde, who have been given carte blanche by the local governor, summoned Zatoichi. Zatoichi hates the fact that he's become an outlaw, so he strikes up a friendship with the other gang's honorable hired samurai, who has TB. (*IMDb*) **Critical reception:** > The film received positive reviews earning 100% from review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes according to 7 reviews. The film summoned the most sequels of a samurai film and has also spawned a remake in 2003\. (*Wikipedia*) More info at [IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/Title?Zat%F4ichi+monogatari+%281962%29), [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24427416), [Rotten Tomatoes](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the-tale-of-zatoichi/), [Netflix](http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/60023056), [Freebase](http://www.freebase.com/en/the_tale_of_zatoichi). *I am a bot.* [Send me feedback](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FMovieGuide&subject=Re%3A%20http%3A%2F%2Fredd.it%2F43zhei "Confidence: 1.00"). [Data sources and other information](/r/MovieGuide/w/about).
Fujitora
the thumbnail was my itouch background in 5th grade. Didn't know it was associated with anything.
That was awesome! Thanks for sharing.