Redwarmin
This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place
WasAnnon
Slow pace in the most part of the movie.
Marva-nova
Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.
kluseba
Zatoichi at Large is the twenty-third entry in the Japanese franchise about the blind masseur, skilled swordsman and lowly yakuza with a strong moral compass whose words speak louder than his actions. It tells how Zatoichi meets a dying pregnant woman on the road who got attacked and robbed by an unknown assailant. Zatoichi helps her give birth to a baby boy but the mother dies in the process. With her last dying breath, she tells Zatoichi the name of the father. A child witnesses the woman's death, follows Zatoichi and occasionally throws rocks at him. Zatoichi travels to the father's hometown but only comes across his sister who reluctantly accepts to take care of the child with the help of an old family of eight children. Zatoichi decides to wait for her brother to arrive in town to bring him all the bad and good news. While he stays in town, Zatoichi witnesses how a rude boss suddenly arrives, pitilessly controls local businesses and brutally makes the local population suffer. Things get worse when the baby's father finally arrives and is told by the child who witnessed the mother's death that Zatoichi robbed and killed her. Zatoichi decides to stay to clear his name, find the mother's murderer and rid the town of its new boss.The twenty-third film is an average movie of the Zatoichi franchise. On the positive side, the film's atmosphere is quite gloomy from start to finish which makes for a entertaining, fluid and intense experience. The idea to show how Zatoichi seems to be doomed to be misunderstood as that his good actions are so often misinterpreted as bad ones adds a tragic note to the movie and makes the protagonist even more interesting. The side characters are intriguing enough to make the viewers care about them, especially the dead mother's family. The final fight sequence is quite impressive as Zatoichi is attacked with burning ladders and needs to use all his skills to survive.On the other side, the film's story is quite exchangeable. Zatoichi has already taken care of children of dying parents in Fight, Zatoichi, Fight as well as in Zatoichi Challenged. This movie's boss is also quite exchangeable and not a real threat for Zatoichi. The protagonists are overall much more developed than the stereotypical antagonists who remain shallow.In the end, Zatoichi at Large will please to the franchise's collectors and fans of old date. It's interesting while it lasts but a movie you won't remember for a very long time. On the positive side, the film's gloomy atmosphere, intriguing protagonists and the final fight sequence justify watching this film. On the negative side, the antagonists remain shallow and the plot is predictable. Those who aren't familiar with the franchise yet shouldn't start here but rather watch the two excellent predecessors. Zatoichi at Large is of an average quality but a small step back after the brilliant Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival and Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman.
LivingDog
Anyone giving Shintaru Katsu's Zatoichi (the original) anything less than 10 stars is ... well, let's just say you have to be a very special person to not like this: 1) incredible amount, 2) of consistent, 3) high-quality, 4) fast paced, 5) action packed, 6) character filled, 7) solid plot line entertainment.You will not get better than this ever again. I own no DVDs but this one (the Collector's edition) I may buy.I was a scifi fan, but since Hollywood doesn't make good scifi's anymore {a real scifi is the original The Thing, and Forbidden Planet, and The Day the Earth Stood Still. Today they make them all horror pictures (Alien) or feely-touchy soap operas (any Star Trek other than TOS)} that I had to look for something else. Japanese, note Japanese, samurai movies are just so solidly based. Korisawa is the top of the Japanese directors, but Zatoichi is the best of the best. BTW, I use to think that Korisawa's The Seven Samurai was the best samurai movie ever, but I have to finally admit, Zatoichi is better.10+/10.
leesigmon
Katsu's quick-draw swordsmanship is in olympic form as per usual in Zatoichi films. But I found an exceptional amount of humor in this installment, namely from the stalking orphan who continually nails Ichi in the gourd with rocks because he mistakenly believes Ichi murdered his mother. Ichi's tender-hearted nature is in full display as he suckles a newborn and refuses to duel the orphan's father knowing what the inevitable conclusion would be. Also, the preview of comedy acts that are performed for the magistrate to qualify for entry into the festival are hilarious, most notably the monkey routine. One of my faves in my favorite samurai flick series...
Golgo-13
Bloody good Zatoichi fun…this may very well be the best of the original 25 that I've seen! Zatoichi delivers a baby from a dying mother (and breastfeeds it too!), seeks out the father, and comes upon a town that is about to have a festival. When a gang moves in to collect their due from the performers (and force the baby's aunt into prostitution), Ichi springs into action to set things straight. The scene with Zatoichi slowly approaching the leader while on fire is just great. If you're a fan of Chambara Cinema, this one's definitely worth checking out. Hired Killer: "You're the best swordsman I've ever met." Zatoichi: "Nah…all I do is go apesh*t."
