THE BLIND SWORDSMAN: ZATOICHI

THE BLIND SWORDSMAN: ZATOICHI [87%] ***

The best thing about this samurai film is the tap dance finale.

It was completely unexpected. I don't feel I'm revealing a plot element. The Riverdance-scale performance with the whole ensemble has the air of a stagecall in a stage play. The evident pleasure on the faces of the dancing cast is really winning. It is Competely Out Of Place. And so I celebrate it.

I bring a lot to any samurai film viewing. From the first time I saw a PBS series of Japanese films hosted by Edward R. Reischauer [no idea how it is really spelled -- bluffing here, perhaps misremembered], including SEVEN SAMURAI and IKIRU and HARA-KIRI and YOJIMBO, I have associated classy and exotic foreign films with Japanese samurai epics. Because of my first experiences, I want all samurai films to be stark, in black and white, grim in tone, dark but touchingly human in theme, gloriously stylish in film style and composition.

So seeing this latest in a series of over twenty Zatoichi films, featuring the blind masseur-and-master-swordsman, must disappoint, because it is in color, and often high-key lighting, and just not ancient and venerable enough to match my expectations. And modern films don't exhibit the leisurely... well... langorous pace of development of the Good Old Days.

But within five minutes, I was warming to this modern version because it had the same charming cast of characters, factions, and human themes of the older films. It also tells the back stories of the protagonists and the bad-guy-gunslinger -- a ronin turned bodyguard -- through generous flashbacks. It was like comfort food... all the old flavors, familiar and satisfying.

The tap dance scene builds out of a Shinto dance which follows a climactic house-raising in the tradition of John Ford communal barn-building rituals. When it slips into tap-dance, the rhythm and enthusiasm is infectious. The director is Doing the Wrong Thing, but I don't mind. I actually like it.

It's a good film, but I can't recommend it, except to samurai fans, who will be well-pleased. [Samurai fans are starved for choice. I even enjoyed THE LAST SAMURAI... a film of dubious charm... just because it had the costumes and pagentry I long for. This is a Pretty Darn Good Modern Samurai flick, and a respectable addition to the Zatoichi tradition.] I was kind of surprised by the high Rotten Tomatoes freshness rating, so it may be better than I think, but I suspect that it's just that film critics are often samurai fans with a deep affection and respect for the Zatoichi tradition. For any pals who are interested, I have video tapes of both ZATOICHI - THE LIFE AND OPINION OF MASSEUR ICHI (1962)[the first and arguably finest Zatoichi film] and ZATOICHI MEETS YOJIMBO [1970] [yeah, Mifune reprises his great role, but it's Just Okay] for loan.