mevmijaumau Lead actor Shintaro Katsu sits in the director's chair for the penultimate movie of the original Zatoichi saga. Despite being the 24th in the franchise (you'd expect them to get worse over time), Zatoichi in Desperation is easily one of the best installments of the series.The story itself is nothing new. Zatoichi tries to help people and gets into trouble with the local thugs. However, this movie is much darker than any other in the original series. Not only does Zatoichi accidentally cause an old woman's death by falling off of the bridge in the intro, but the remainder of the plot is unusually bleak for the series. There's not much humor either, besides one cum shot gag. One interesting thing about this movie (besides the uncharacteristically silent and black intro credits scene) is that Zatoichi doesn't get to be a savior of the situation at one point, leading to unsettling deaths, which is a cool little piece of subversion. There's also more sex than usual, giving the movie a rougher, exploitation vibe that I can't help but like.The other thing that sticks out about this movie is how pleasing it is to look at. Not only is the setting a melancholic sandy beach town (not really a typical Zatoichi location), but the camera-work is so over the top and brings to mind some of the techniques from the Japanese New Wave. Sudden zoom-ins and outs, out-of-focus shots, free-wheeling shot composition, obstructions in the foreground, wacky color combos, crane shots, floor shots, silhouettes and dynamic editing. It surprisingly doesn't come across as a pretentious overkill that swallows the story; instead, it makes it a lot more interesting to watch than its predecessors just because it's so unlike the rest of them. The soundtrack has also been replaced by funk music, which oddly fits the movie.Highlight of the film: Zatoichi gets his hands stabbed, so he ties his sword to his hand so he can fight.

winner55 I have not seen more than five of the classic (and undeniably classy) Zatoichi samurai films, but this is surely the best, cinematographically, so far. It;s hard to believe this was shot in Eastman Color, a kind of poor second to Technicolor (and with far less durability; either the negative was especially preserved, or digital restoration was performed by a true expert; but in any event, this film is absolutely gorgeous to look at.The story is dark, as others have noted; but the Zatoichi series, like most of the sword-fight genre series films to come out of Japan, is pretty heavy-handed stuff; the Japanese seem to take this sort of thing very seriously. Yet there is no doubt Zatoichi "24" stands out as exceptional, from both the series and its genre. The reason, I think, is its almost total sense of social dislocation; Zatoichi is treated by the other characters as somehow less than human, and his determination to fight at the end somewhat more than human, and so he comes across as something other than human; but the other humans of the film come across as rather poor representatives of the species. I should note that there is very little dialog in this film, particularly at the most dramatic moments, which heightens our sense that we are watching some tragedy from another reality. The question here is, has director/star Katsu pushed his character to such an extreme that he is no longer representative of his genre, but somehow an independent dramatic entity, a "grade-A film", as might be enjoyed by those who disdain genre-films? well, I suggest this film to such viewers, as the "one chambara (Japanese sword-fight)film to see". But in any event, it is an exceptional, and troubling, cinema experience for anyone.

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.

Infofreak 'Zatoichi In Desperation' was the 24th movie in the long running and very popular martial arts series starring Shintaro Katsu as Zatoichi the blind master swordsman and masseur. Zatoichi, for those that don't know is a ronin (a wandering samurai), very quiet and unassuming with a wry sense of humour, but an absolute killing machine when crossed! In this episode he encounters an old woman while crossing a bridge, and after a brief conversation with her, she tragically falls to her death. Upset, Zatoichi sets off to a nearby town to look for the woman's daughter Nishikigi to break the news to her. He eventually finds her working as a geisha and learns she only needs to pay a debt of fifty ryo to buy her freedom. Zatoichi becomes obsessed with raising the money and in doing so ignores the hardships experienced by the local fisherman caused by the local evil boss Mangoro. But when Mangoro kidnaps Nishikigi everything comes to a head in a brutal climax, and Zatoichi must save her and his own life. I can't claim to be any kind of Zatoichi expert, but he's a most intriguing character, and Katsu plays the role masterfully. I highly recommend 'Zatoichi In Desperation'.