Zatoichi and the Doomed Man, a review by Antares
Zatoichi and the Doomed Man (1965)
69/100 - As this film started, Ichi finds himself in jail for illegal gambling. He meets a man who has been imprisoned for arson, murder and theft. The man tells Ichi that he is innocent and asks Ichi to go back to his home town and let the local boss know of his plight. Hence, we are introduced to the doomed man mentioned in the title. But again, here's another film in the series, where so much more could have been done with the screenplay used. At first, Ichi is reluctant to take up the man's cause, but along the road, Ichi meets a con-man monk named Hyakutaro, who turns out to be the doomed man's prodigal son. It is after this meeting that the screenplay could have added a bit of a twist, but doesn't. This far into the series, Ichi's reputation is now preceding him, and Hyakutaro notices all the respect that Ichi is given by both villagers and yakuza gang members. Ichi and Hyakutaro are separated on their way to doomed man's town, and Ichi finds out that Hyakutaro is impersonating him as part of a new con game. Hyakutaro is basically in the plot as comic relief, and the scenes where he's impersonating Ichi are quite funny, but his character traits are where the twist could have been employed. Alongside his father, he too could be considered a doomed man because of his larcenous activities, or the danger he puts himself into by impersonating the master swordsman, could lead to his premature death, as Ichi is being hunted by ronin, looking to collect the sizeable reward on Ichi's head. I was waiting for Hyakutaro to face the consequences of his ruse, but it never materializes, and it leaves the story kind of paper thin as the film just goes through the motions. Too bad, because once again, just a few changes, and you have the possibility of going from mediocre to classic with just a few pen strokes.
Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is(From Antares' Short Summations on April 10th, 2014)
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May 20, 2024, 06:07:24 AM
The movie definitely held up great for me. There was several times I literally laughed out loud. Unfortunately the DVD Release leaves some to be desired. It could be worse.... at least it is in widescreen... but there is absolutely no extras on this what so ever. Not even trailers for other movies let alone a trailer for this. Which makes me very upset considering I just got this and I now find out there is indeed a special Edition out for this movie for only a few dollars more then what I paid for this one! 
