Zatoichi (1989 film)
| Zatoichi | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Shintaro Katsu |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Story by | Kan Shimosawa |
| Produced by | Shintaro Katsu Masanori Sanada Kiyoshi Tsukamoto |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Mutsuo Naganuma |
| Edited by | Toshio Taniguchi |
| Music by | Takayuki Watanabe |
Production company | Katsu Production Co. Ltd. |
| Distributed by | Shochiku Company (1989, Japan) |
Release date |
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Running time | 116 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Zatôichi (座頭市), also known as Zatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally, Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman and Shintaro Katsu's Zatoichi, is a 1989 Japanese Chambara film directed by and starring Shintaro Katsu, who also produced and co-wrote the screenplay. It is the twenty-sixth entry in a series of films featuring the blind swordsman Zatoichi, released 16 years after the twenty-fifth film in the series Zatoichi's Conspiracy (1973). The main character is based on a fictional character, a blind masseur and swordmaster created by novelist Kan Shimozawa and set during the late Edo period.
Zatoichi is the last film in the original classic saga of Zatoichi (1962–1989). It is also the second time Shintaro Katsu directed a Zatoichi film, and the last time Katsu played the title character on screen.