In episode twelve from the acclaimed ZATOICHI series, Shintaro Katsu stars as the blind swordsman, who forms a friendship with a samurai who is obsessed with chess. Along the way, he's forced to fight a rival yakuza and help out a young girl who has been injured in a bloody sword fight of her own. Directed by Kenji Misumi.

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Technical Information

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Product Title:	Zatoichi and the Chess Expert (US Version) Zatoichi and the Chess Expert (US Version) Zatoichi and the Chess Expert (US Version) Zatoichi and the Chess Expert (US Version) Zatoichi and the Chess Expert (US Version)
Artist Name(s):	Katsu Shintaro (Actor) \| Narita Mikio (Actor) \| Iwasaki Kaneko (Actor) \| Chizu Hayashi (Actor) \| Gaku Yamamoto (Actor) 勝新太郎 (Actor) \| 成田三樹夫 (Actor) \| Iwasaki Kaneko (Actor) \| Chizu Hayashi (Actor) \| Gaku Yamamoto (Actor) 胜新太郎 (Actor) \| 成田三树夫 (Actor) \| Iwasaki Kaneko (Actor) \| Chizu Hayashi (Actor) \| Gaku Yamamoto (Actor) 勝新太郎 (Actor) \| 成田三樹夫 (Actor) \| 岩崎加根子 (Actor) \| Chizu Hayashi (Actor) \| Gaku Yamamoto (Actor) Katsu Shintaro (Actor) \| Narita Mikio (Actor) \| Iwasaki Kaneko (Actor) \| Chizu Hayashi (Actor) \| Gaku Yamamoto (Actor)
Director:	Misumi Kenji 三隅研次三隅研次三隅研次 Misumi Kenji
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Release Date:	2004-05-18
UPC Code:	037429193129
Language:	Japanese
Subtitles:	English
Country of Origin:	Japan
Picture Format:	NTSC What is it?
Color Information:	Color
Disc Format(s):	DVD
Region Code:	1 - USA, Canada, U.S. Territories What is it?
Rating:	Not Rated
Publisher:	Home Vision
Package Weight:	167 (g)
Shipment Unit:	1 What is it?
YesAsia Catalog No.:	1004415362

Product Information

Director: Kenji Misumi

DVD Features:

Region 1
Keep Case
Widescreen - 2.35
Audio:
Mono - Japanese
Additional Release Material:
Trailers - 1. Original Theatrical Trailer
Additional Products:
Collectible Poster

Additional Information may be provided by the manufacturer, supplier, or a third party, and may be in its original language

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Customer Review of "Zatoichi and the Chess Expert (US Version)"

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Average Customer Rating for this Edition: Customer Review Rated Bad 8 - 8 out of 10 (1)

Kevin Kennedy
See all my reviews

November 12, 2009

Ichi in love? Customer Review Rated Bad 8 - 8 out of 10

"Zatoichi and the Chess Expert" spins an intriguing tale of detection and an exploration of Ichi's character that goes beyond anything we've previously seen in the series. As Ichi is entering a boat, a wandering samurai saves him from falling into the water; Ichi and the samurai quickly become friends and Ichi delights in the samurai's fascination with chess. Next Ichi encounters a woman and child travelling the countryside as musical performers; the child inadvertently is injured as a consequence of a scuffle between Ichi and some gangsters he had cheated. Ichi, feeling responsible, takes the woman and child under his wing and, when the little girl contracts tetanus as a consequence of her wound, Ichi goes to great lengths to obtain expensive medicine for her cure. Ichi's affection for the woman and child go beyond mere friendship and the woman reciprocates Ichi's feelings. Then a third strand is woven into the story; at an onsen, meets a sickly man and his sister (who is dressed as a samurai). The sickly man's retainer is murdered and, after a bit of sleuthing, Ichi suspects he knows who did it.

All of these strands get come together to produce a climax in which both Ichi's nobility of spirit and his self-loathing drive the story to a satisfying conclusion. The film is smoothly directed, attractively staged, and creatively lensed. The image quality of this film is much, much better than that of the previous DVDs in this Home Vision series; the pictures are sharp and the colors pop in this beautiful release of the film. All Zatoichi fans will embrace this movie; it will be a particular treat for those who prefer exposition over action. Highly recommended.

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