Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo is the third film of four featuring Toshiro Mifune in the role of a lone Samurai yojimbo (yojinbo) or bodyguard character. The film also stars Shintaro Katsu as the blind swordsman Zatoichi.
The first two yojimbo movies were both Akira Kurosawa films. Kurosawa had nothing to do with this production.
The easy way out in this review would be to describe Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo as an interesting but sloppily made movie, but that is a too simplistic description and not completely fair to the film.
Unlike Yojimbo (review) and Sanjuro (review) that came many years before and which were both competent standalone movies, Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo is a Zatoichi serial film. This is the 20th episode in the old Zatoichi film series which numbers 26 total film productions.
At times this movie plays like a TV episode grasping for new story directions more than it does a significant and well-crafted film project. In fact, Shintaro Katsu did move this series to television between the years of 1974 and 1979, before returning to the role for one final film in 1989.
The Japanese audience likely came to this movie because of their affection for the Zatoichi character and the overall Zatoichi franchise, and because of the novel opportunity to see two classic film characters interacting in the same story. For the Japanese audience in 1970, this film might be comparable to Spiderman appearing in a Superman film now, or Jason Bourne showing up in a James Bond movie.
It should be noted that this is really a Zatoichi film much more than it is a Yojimbo film. Shintaro Katsu plays the iconic Zatoichi as he did in all 26 of the original Zatoichi films. Zatoichi has only been played by another actor once in a film release, and that was in 2003's The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi, directed by and starring Takeshi Kitano. I have seen that Zatoichi film also, but it was a long time ago and before I had plans to start this Japanese movie review site. I need to watch it again before commenting on it in great detail. I mostly remember that I did not appreciate the unusual and slightly controversial tap dancing ending to Kitano's Zatoichi movie. But I digress.
I have been curious about the original movie series for a long time, but I have not explored any of those films until watching Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo. Toshiro Mifune's appearance is what brought me to this episode first.
I often start with the bad and tend to come back around to the good in my reviews. So let's go ahead and get the rest of the bad out of the way quickly.
In almost every way, this movie is not very good. And if you are a fan of Yojimbo and Sanjuro, the first two movies with Toshiro Mifune in his masterless Samurai role, you will definitely be disappointed. Early on in this film you might even find yourself pondering what kind of career decision lunacy could have compelled Mifune to choose to appear in this film. (Some do argue that Mifune's career judgment has been proven to be less than brilliant by his decision to split from Kurosawa and regrettably never again make films as significant and important as the ones he made in the first part of his career.)
I have no doubt the financial temptation was strong for Mifune to appear in Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo, and that would seem to be the most likely reason he became involved with this film. I also have a suspicion that Mifune and Katsu agreed to a trade, with Toshiro Mifune agreeing to appear in a Zatoichi film for Shintaro Katsu's production company, if immediately afterward Katsu would then appear in a film for Mifune's company. (see next review)
Katsu, as Zatoichi, plays his mild mannered blind sword fighter role with humor and competence, and he is not unpleasant to watch. However, Mifune's appearance is hugely disappointing because you cannot disengage your mind from the much more distinctive roles Mifune played in Kurosawa's two yojimbo films. Imagine how disappointed you would be if James Bond showed up in a movie walking around drunk all the time and with no clue how to get along with the ladies. That pretty much describes the type of disappointment you will feel with Mifune during parts of this particular yojimbo portrayal.
Trying to Be Positive
Without giving too much away, there is a turn to the story that redeems Mifune's yojimbo character quite a bit, and he turns out to be not quite as much of a drunken loser as he is portrayed throughout the majority of the film. And by the end, there are a few minutes where you can see Mifune living in the coolness of the character as revealed in the Kurosawa yojimbo films.
In this review I am often comparing Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo to the two yojimbo Samurai films directed by Akira Kurosawa, one of the most respected filmmakers in the history of cinema. Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo is really just a schlocky serialized Samurai film. It should be viewed for what is, not for what it is not.
If you watch and enjoy this movie on its own merits without comparing it to Kurosawa's earlier Yojimbo and Sanjuro films, and if you like Samurai B movies, then there are many things to amuse and entertain here. I am not really a true fan of the Samurai genre. I am a fan of good movies. So the Samurai content alone is not enough to win me over. Others may enjoy this movie simply because it involves some swordplay and the story takes place during the Edo period in Japan.
Though this film's story is weakly constructed and has an old 1970's made for TV feel with its lack of sophistication and numerous unreasonable plot points, there are also some fun scenes and interesting cultural references.
From a historical perspective, one underlying theme in Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo deals with the minting of money and related political intrigue that affected society during the Tokugawa Shogunate era.
I highly recommend reading the background information concerning this period provided in the bonus material "liner notes" on the DVD. Though the liner notes discuss the authorized debasement of coins through the lowering of their precious metal content, I am sure some theft similar to what is illustrated in the film must have also taken place. Reading the provided background information on the DVD before viewing the film will likely increase your enjoyment and understanding of the story.
If you are coming to Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo because of an interest in Toshiro Mifune, you definitely need to make sure you watch Yojimbo and Sanjuro first before even considering watching this movie. Then if you are entertained by Mifune's portrayal of a yojimbo character in Kurosawa's movies as much as many people are, you may find it irresistible to check out what Mifune does here in this role. Also, if you are curious about the Zatoichi films, this is certainly one of the most famous films from that series. I hope it is not the best one though. I will explore the Zatoichi film series further in future reviews.
Savage Japan Misc. Tidbits
Despite Mifune's great talent and on camera charisma, his best work came only when he had the support of a great director. For reasons that may never be known completely, but likely to do with the subjects of money, ego and general human weaknesses, Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune parted ways and Mifune never again appeared in movies that would be remembered for generations as true classics. It could also be said that Akira Kurosawa might have been disadvantaged by his inability to cast and work with Mifune in later years.
Their relationship is often said to be one of the greatest of all time between director and actor. I don't really know so much about the details of their working or personal relationship, but I decided to order the book The Emperor and the Wolf: The Lives and Films of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune, hoping to learn a little more (despite that book being out of print and consequently a little pricey). I have allowed ego to interfere with important relationships in my life when I was younger. It is something I hope to avoid in the future. I expect The Emperor and the Wolf to be a very interesting read. After I finish it, I will eventually post some comments about the book here. I may start a mini book review section on this site one day. If this "pricey" Kurosawa/Mifune book interests you, I put an Amazon link to it above on the left column of this page. If you might be interested in some more general topic Kurosawa books (not out of print and more reasonably priced), I have placed Amazon links to the most distinguished Kurosawa book titles on the Kurosawa directory page. (I do get a few much appreciated pennies as a commission for purchases made as a result of links on this site.)
Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo is not an Akira Kurosawa film and I probably should not be mentioning him so much in this review. However, one cannot help but think of Kurosawa when watching this movie with a character that Kurosawa has also used in the past, but in a much more satisfying way.
Coming up soon at Savage Japan Movie Reviews, I will be writing about the last movie to feature Toshiro Mifune as a yojimbo character. I already have the DVD in my possession, and I am looking forward to finding out what is in store for me with the film Incident at Blood Pass. The Japanese title is Machibuse which translates in English to Ambush. The final Mifune yojimbo character appearance is not in a serial movie. Incident at Blood Pass is a standalone film, though still disconnected completely from Akira Kurosawa. [Incident at Blood Pass Review Now Available]
For Japanese Language Students
There is certainly dialogue to be picked out here in Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo, but this is a frantic Samurai movie and many of the grunting responses and angry delivery of lines were completely indecipherable for me at my beginner level. I give this film a "not ideal" rating for Japanese language listening comprehension practice.
