"His sword made him a hero... his courage made him a legend."

2003

1h 51m

7.2(891 votes)

Adventure

Drama

Action

Overview

Blind traveler Zatoichi is a master swordsman and a masseur with a fondness for gambling on dice games. When he arrives in a village torn apart by warring gangs, he sets out to protect the townspeople.

Links & Resources

IMDbView

Social & External

IMDb

Production Companies

Videos & Trailers

1 video

Cast & Crew

46 members

Directing

ビートたけし

Zatoichi / Ichi

Acting

浅野忠信

Hattori Genosuke

Acting

大楠道代

Tante Oume

Acting

夏川結衣

Oshino

Acting

ガダルカナル・タカ

Shinkichi

Acting

橘大五郎

Geisha Seitaro O-Sei Naruto

Acting

大家由祐子

Geisha Okinu Naruto

Acting

岸部一徳

Boss Inosuke Ginzo

Acting

石倉三郎

Ogi

Acting

柄本明

Pub Owner

Acting

火口秀幸

Dancing Farmer

No Image

Acting

小勝久生

Dancing Farmer

No Image

Acting

浦上雄次

Dancing Farmer

No Image

Acting

芦川誠

Carpenter

Acting

つまみ枝豆

Carpenter

Acting

Kôsuke Ôta

Carpenter

No Image

Acting

森下能幸

Carpenter

Acting

六平直政

Yakuza Boss on the Country Road

Acting

樋浦勉

Tavern Gramps

Acting

國本鍾建

Rival Swordsman

Acting

関根大学

Ginzo's Henchman I

Acting

Koji Koike

Boss Funahachi

No Image

Acting

桐生コウジ

Dice Dealer at Funahachi's Joint

Acting

Taigi Kobayashi

Funahachi's Bodyguard

No Image

Acting

Yoshida Ayano

Young Okinu

No Image

Acting

早乙女太一

Young Osei

Acting

津田寛治

Playboy at Home

Acting

朝倉伸二

Narutoya Banto

No Image

Acting

田中要次

Funahachi Family Henchmen

Acting

Ryouhei Kunieda

Narutoya Master

Acting

Muhômatsu

Farmer Boy with a Spear

No Image

Acting

吉崎紀康

Dancing Farmer

No Image

Acting

Ikki Goto

Kuchinawa Underling #1

No Image

Production

Shin'ichi Nakatsuka

Kuchinawa Underling #2

No Image

Acting

Yoshio Nakamura

Kuchinawa Underling #3

No Image

Acting

Toru Yonezu

Kuchinawa Underling #4

No Image

Visual Effects

野口寛明

Kuchinawa Underling #5

No Image

Acting

Al Kitago

Farmer

No Image

Acting

Omiya no Matsu

Farmer

Acting

Tsutomu Takeshige

Farmer

No Image

Acting

ガンビーノ小林

Farmer Boy

Acting

武智健二

Yakuza

No Image

Acting

樋口靖

Tavern Customer

No Image

Acting

北岡龍貴

Tavern Customer

No Image

Directing

小椋久雄

Ninja

Acting

Masayoshi Ōzeki

Ninja

No Image

Similar Movies

5.5

2000

The Crow: Salvation

Alex Corvis, a man wrongly executed for the murder of his girlfriend, returns from the dead and sets out to find the real killer.

Movie

6.2

1996

Black Mask

Tsui escapes from a super soldier project and plans to lead a peaceful life. However, when his former comrades go on a violent crime spree, he takes it upon himself to end their reign of terror.

Movie

7.4

1973

Enter the Dragon

A martial artist agrees to spy on a reclusive crime lord using his invitation to a tournament there as cover.

Movie

7.4

1972

The Way of the Dragon

Tang Lung arrives in Rome to help his cousins in the restaurant business. They are being pressured to sell their property to the syndicate, who will stop at nothing to get what they want. When Tang arrives he poses a new threat to the syndicate, and they are unable to defeat him. The syndicate boss hires the best Japanese and European martial artists to fight Tang, but he easily finishes them off.

Movie

7.5

2004

Kung Fu Hustle

It's the 1940s, and the notorious Axe Gang terrorizes Shanghai. Small-time criminals Sing and Bone hope to join, but they only manage to make lots of very dangerous enemies. Fortunately for them, kung fu masters and hidden strength can be found in unlikely places. Now they just have to take on the entire Axe Gang.

Movie

5.5

2003

Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle

The Angels are charged with finding a pair of missing rings that are encoded with the personal information of members of the Witness Protection Program. As informants are killed, the ladies target a rogue agent who might be responsible.

Movie

7.8

1992

Scent of a Woman

Charlie Simms is a student at a private preparatory school who comes from a poor family. To earn the money for his flight home to Gresham, Oregon for Christmas, Charlie takes a job over Thanksgiving looking after retired U.S. Army officer Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade, a cantankerous middle-aged man who lives with his niece and her family.

Movie

6.8

1999

The Bone Collector

Lincoln Rhyme was the department's top homicide detective and leading expert in criminal forensics until an injury left him paralyzed, depressed, and incapable of working. But when a gruesome murder in Manhattan leaves detectives baffled, they call on Rhyme to help solve the mystery. Amelia Donaghy, a rookie cop whose quick thinking preserved a gruesome murder scene, is enlisted by Rhyme to be his on-the-scene forensics expert. With Amelia reluctantly acting as Rhyme's able-bodied go-between, the pair piece together cryptic clues the killer leaves behind at the scene of the crime, hoping to catch the grisly serial killer.

Movie

7.5

1994

The Crow

Exactly one year after young rock guitarist Eric Draven and his fiancée are brutally killed by a ruthless gang of criminals, Draven, watched over by a hypnotic crow, returns from the grave to exact revenge.

Movie

5.0

2003

Le Divorce

While visiting her sister in Paris, a young woman finds romance and learns her brother-in-law is a philanderer.

Movie

7.3

2008

Kung Fu Panda

When the Valley of Peace is threatened, lazy Po the panda discovers his destiny as the "chosen one" and trains to become a kung fu hero, but transforming the unsleek slacker into a brave warrior won't be easy. It's up to Master Shifu and the Furious Five -- Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey -- to give it a try.

Movie

5.5

1984

Runaway

In the near future, a police officer specializes in malfunctioning robots. When a robot turns out to have been programmed to kill, he begins to uncover a homicidal plot to create killer robots... and his son becomes a target.

Movie

7.5

2004

Man on Fire

Jaded ex-CIA operative John Creasy reluctantly accepts a job as the bodyguard for a 10-year-old girl in Mexico City. They clash at first, but eventually bond, and when she's kidnapped he's consumed by fury and will stop at nothing to save her life.

Movie

6.9

1987

The Hidden

When average, law-abiding citizens suddenly turn to a life of hedonistic behavior and violent crime, Detective Tom Beck is tasked with helping young FBI agent Lloyd Gallagher determine the cause.

Movie

7.1

1971

The Big Boss

Cheng is a young Chinese mainlander who moves in with his expatriate cousins to work at an ice factory in Thailand. He does this with a family promise never to get involved in any fights. However, when members of his family begin disappearing after meeting the management of the factory, the resulting mystery and pressures force him to break that vow and take on the villainy of the Big Boss.

Movie

7.7

1961

Accattone

A pimp with no other means to provide for himself finds his life spiralling out of control when his prostitute is sent to prison.

Movie

8.3

1963

High and Low

In the midst of an attempt to take over his company, a powerhouse executive is hit with a huge ransom demand when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped by mistake.

Movie

7.8

2002

The Twilight Samurai

Seibei Iguchi leads a difficult life as a low ranking samurai at the turn of the nineteenth century. A widower with a meager income, Seibei struggles to take care of his two daughters and senile mother. New prospects seem to open up when the beautiful Tomoe, a childhood friend, comes back into he and his daughters' life, but as the Japanese feudal system unravels, Seibei is still bound by the code of honor of the samurai and by his own sense of social precedence. How can he find a way to do what is best for those he loves?

Movie

6.0

1985

American Ninja

Joe Armstrong, an orphaned drifter with little respect for much other than martial arts, finds himself on an American Army base in The Philippines after a judge gives him a choice of enlistment or prison. On one of his first missions driving a convoy, his platoon is attacked by a group of rebels who try to steal the weapons the platoon is transporting and kidnap the base colonel's daughter.

Movie

6.8

1983

The Outsider

Philippe Jordan is a policeman prone to advancing the cause of justice by any means necessary. On his agenda is a powerful drug cartel working out of Paris and Marseilles, with a drug lord who is essentially inaccessible -- but not immortal.

Movie

Recommended Movies

7.1

2000

Brother

A Japanese Yakuza gangster's deadly existence in his homeland gets him exiled to Los Angeles, where he is taken in by his little brother and his brother's gang.

Movie

6.1

2014

Stereo

Erik has is own motorbike workshop in a sleepy little town. He may have the telling word ‘scoundrel’ tattooed onto his lower arm but he nonetheless creates an impression of a well-behaved average Joe. His relationship with his girlfriend Julia is going well and her daughter Linda is very fond of her new Dad. But then all of a sudden the mysterious Henry appears and begins following him about like a sinister shadow. The more Erik tries to shake off his diabolical guest the more Henry intrudes into his life. But then when a violent gangster named Keitel enters the fray and threatens not only Erik but Julia and Linda, Erik’s seemingly ideal world begins to run off the rails.

Movie

6.6

1999

Gemini

When his mother's untimely death quickly follows his father's, a doctor begins to believe a killer may be targeting him and his amnesiac wife.

Movie

7.1

2009

Zen

In the early 1200s, Dogen brought Chinese Zen philosophy to Japan, and established the Japanese Zen school of Buddhism. He taught that a person was capable of realizing Buddhahood within himself, by way of Zazen. Zazen is extended hours of sitting and meditating to achieve a state of “Mu” (nothingness, or empty existence).

Movie

5.7

1971

Blindman

A blind, but deadly, gunman, is hired to escort fifty mail order brides to their miner husbands. His business partners double cross him, selling the women to bandit Domingo. Blindman heads into Mexico in pursuit.

Movie

6.1

2014

They Are All Dead

Just by watching Lupe stuck at home in her robe and slippers, no one would will guess that in the 80's she was a rock star. Gone are the times of concerts, fame and success. Agoraphobia does not let her leave home. She depends entirely on Paquita, his mother, a superstitious Mexican, with a huge heart, which not only takes care of his daughter but also her teenage grandson. The problem is that Paquita is running out of time and she doesn't want to leave without getting her daughter back.

Movie

6.6

1992

Domain of Murder

On the trail of a missing husband, private investigator Goro crosses paths with a deranged killer.

Movie

6.8

2014

The Tale of Nishino

Yukihiko Nishino is very popular with women, but, in the end, he is always dumped by a woman. Yukihiko seeks out his true love.

Movie

7.5

2021

Naduvan

A man learns that his wife is cheating on him with his best friend. Even as he plans to kill her, four young men enter his home to rob the place!

Movie

6.8

2013

Revival

Smoke was the Czech Rolling Stones. However, under unclear circumstances, they broke up in 1972, and each of the four former musicians came to terms with their fate as retired rockers in their own way. Each of them now has their own life and their own story. And their motives for reviving the band Smoke are also different—money, a desire for lost fame, a desire to help a friend, or to really let loose one more time. Their worlds collide and they begin to enjoy music, friendship, and life on and off stage. Not only the band members, but everyone around them is in for a lot of fun and often very surprising and comical situations. And finally, one big mystery is solved - why the band broke up in the first place.

Movie

7.3

1962

The Tale of Zatoichi

The adventures of a blind, gambling masseur and master swordsman. Zatoichi targets a yakuza-controlled village, because war with a neighbouring town's smaller gang is brewing.

Movie

7.4

1995

Ulysses' Gaze

An exiled filmmaker finally returns to his home country where former mysteries and afflictions of his early life come back to haunt him once more.

Movie

6.0

2010

Confucius

In 500 B.C., during Chinas famed 'Spring and Autumn Period', Kong Ze (Confucius), a commoner reverred for his outstanding wisdom, is made Minister of Law in the ancient Kingdom of Lu. Under his inspired leadership, Lu ascends to new heights but becomes a target of conquest for the warlike nation of Qi. Threatened with annihilation by their powerful neighbour, a desperate people turn to their greatest teacher to lead their most powerful army. When Confucius delivers a stunning victory against all odds, a jealous aristocracy sets out to destroy him, but they should never under-estimate a remarkable man whose wisdom is more powerful than the sword.

Movie

7.5

1999

Kikujiro

Brash, loudmouthed and opportunistic, Kikujiro is the unlikely companion for Masao who is determined to see the mother he has never met. The two begin a series of adventures which soon turns out to be a whimsical journey of laughter and tears with a wide array of surprises and unique characters along the way.

Movie

6.0

2015

The Treacherous

The story of Joseon's tyrant king Yeonsan who exploits the populace for his own carnal pleasures, his seemingly loyal retainer who controls him and all court dealings, and a woman who seeks vengeance.

Movie

6.7

2007

Breath

A condemned prisoner slowly falls in love with the married female artist who decorates his prison cell. Jin is a convicted killer awaiting execution on Death Row; Yeon is a lonely artist locked in a loveless marriage.

Movie

6.9

1961

The Assassin

Suave antiques dealer Alfredo Martelli is picked up by the police with no justification. At the precinct, Martelli realizes what the investigation is all about-- that he is the main suspect in the killing of his wealthy ex-lover. Is he guilty, or is he just a sleaze?

Movie

6.7

1930

Earth

Vasyl, a member of the Komsomol, with the help of a local party organization, gets a tractor and plows private boundaries "on kulak fields". However, this enthusiasm will cost him dearly.

Movie

7.1

1972

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades

In the third film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, Ogami Itto volunteers to be tortured by Yakuza to save a prostitute and is hired by their leader to kill an evil chamberlain.

Movie