Sessa17

My first overseas order (as I just got my first region free player) so I'm a little extra excited. Got the new Zatoichi remake from amazon.jp today. One of my most anticipated movies of the past few yearsn & I may be mistaken, but I think this is the first official release of it so I was curious about what everyone else thought of the DVD & movie. Going to watch it hopefully tomorrow night.

cultshock

Not bad shipping time, its was just released in Japan today. I won't be able to actually get the one I ordered until next month (long story). So how is the packaging? Is there really a bonus 2nd disc? What do the extras actually consist of? Please tell us what you can.

beefjerky

Very entertaining movie. While the actions sequences were short, they were well done, and incredibly stylish. Great use of CG blood. Takeshi Kitano comes off as incredibly likable even though he doesn't have much dialogue in the film. I haven't seen any of the old Zatoichi films or TV shows, so I can't comment on how this film lives up to the legacy, but I really enjoyed it.

Sessa17

I was schocked at how quick I got it. I only placed my preorder about a week ago. The packaging is pretty cool. A nice shiny sleeve (the type on Supebits) with a cool cover & snake etched in on the back. The case itself is a little ugly b/c it's white (like Versus, Blow etc), which personally I never cared for. I haven't had a chance to watch the movie yet (stupid girlfriend watching the stupid Apprentice , so I can't commment, hopefully tomorrow night I'll get to pop it in, but yes there is really a bonus disc, the first disc in the case says "special disc", the second is the feature.

cultshock

Sounds cool. Please let us know how the disc looks and sounds when you get a chance to finally watch it. CD Japan says that the bonus disc is only available with the first pressing, but I'm sure that the pressing is pretty damn big (it won't exactly be a Kill Bill box set kind of deal).

flashburn

I hope to get my amazon.jp order today. Zatoichi, Battlefield Baseball LE, and Eyes Wide Shut.

Joe Molotov

I just ordered my copy today with the Express Shipping, so I'm hoping to get it early next week.

profbobo

I thought it was excellent, but the CG blood did bother me a bit :/

I'm considering ordering from Amazon.co.jp ... is this the same version, though?

http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.asp...all/aid-27500/

It doesn't mention a second disc; that's why I'm wondering about it.

flashburn

Damn, nothing from Amazon.jp today, maybe tomorrow. I did not hear that the blood is CG, that does sound kind of lame. I am sure it will be a great movie though, the Zatoichi series is amazing.

skatefan20

Just received my copy today from YesAsia.

Before I remove the shrinkwrap, can anybody tell me if there are English subs on the 2nd disc?

RichDB10

Anybody ordered this from CD Japan and received shipping confirmation?....thought i may have done by now but i guess with the website overhaul, things may be a bit behind schedule shipping wise.

flashburn

Just curious, when amazon.jp ships through DHL, will that be delivered through the post office or DHL itself?

cultshock

Here in Canada, I've always had my DHL shipments from Japan delivered to me by Puralator (DHL's agent in Canada?) and not by the post office. Not sure about the US though, but I'm guessing it maybe would similarly not be delivered by USPS.

Sifu

As with almost all Japanese releases, there are no English subtitles for the extras.

An excellent movie though! The CG blood is a little lame in spots, but it does add to the overall style, and shouldn't ruin the movie for anyone.

The soundtrack and sound effects are great as well. If you have a good sound system, you will enjoy it.

flashburn

I just finished this movie. I thought it was terrific, definitely was a great addition to the Zatoichi series.

I must say that I thought the CG blood was very cool, and it added alot to the style of the movie. Especially enjoyed the music, enhanced the experience greatly.

There was one part that at first, shocked me....



edit:

Has there been any word whether Takeshi Beat will be doing another Zatoichi film?

Beowulf99

Saw the film yesterday. A TRULY excellent movie!

I'd love a copy on DVD but don't know if I want to pay Japanese prices. Any word on an HK release?

Also, are the R1 releases of the original movies worth having? There are a lot of them, any particular recommendations?

flashburn

I suggest starting at #1 and working your way up. They are all fantastic (from what I have seen so far).

hardtack

There are no English subs on the extras disc, but why on earth would that stop you from removing the shrink wrap?

Sessa17

Ok, finally sat down & watched the whole thing last night & thought it was absolutely amazing, completely enjoyable but I definitely had some problems with it. On the up side, it has some of the best sword sound effects IMO EVER. The movie really captures the speed of Zatoichi's blade to perfection. The directing was PERFECT, filmed like the original series, & the fights were better than anything you will EVER see in the states. Camera panned back & still, you can see everything that happens.

Maybe it's my region free DVD player, I haven't watched much on it yet, but he picture quality wasn't that great. The darks were too dark.


I thought the CG blook was absolutely terrible. There just wasn't any need for it. From Kill Bill, to counltess genre flicks in the past. EVERYTHING that this movie used the CG blook for could have been done the old fashion way. It especially annoyed me when there were people killed very slowly & CG blook still shot out.

Quote:

Especially enjoyed the music, enhanced the experience greatly.

The music was my other problem with the movie. In some spots it was pretty cool but then in others it was rather annoying. And the musical for me, was really not needed.

That was cool. Loved that quick seen at the very ending.

My only other complaint with he movie is that I thought the final showdown with

Quote:

Has there been any word whether Takeshi Beat will be doing another Zatoichi film?

I haven't read anything but the entire movie just felt to me like it was just the first movie in a series. We got now back story to Zatoichi whatsoever so I really hope there will be much more.

Personally, I think this movie would be a pretty big hit in the states. Way more so than films like Shaolin Soccer. The american Kill Bill crowd would be all over this movie. Beat does an excellent job at carrying the movie & an american audience would certainly think he is way cool, the action is better than anything you would ever see in an American movie as well & also where I think a lot of foreign humor doesn't translate well in America, all of the humor in this movie was quite funny.

notvandnobeer

AAAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!

You guys are killing me. I'm waiting for my copy from Yesasia since I didn't preorder it. I'm dying to see this movie! Kitano is such a badass and I just love movies like this. My copy better get here real soon!

Cardiac161

I just finished watching Kitano's Zatoichi and was very, very impressed. The swordfights were spectacular and Tadanobu Asano, along with Takeshi Kitano, just commandered the screen with fearsome presence.

The CGI blood didn't really bother me as much because they gave a whole "manga" look to them. And that rousing dance number at the end!!! I had goosebumps watching that musical scene because it made me realize how much guts Kitano had to pull off something like that and succeed at it.

No wonder it won the People's Award in the Toronto Film Festival.

By the way, for those who do have a bit of a negative feedback to some of the swordfights being short, you should know that almost, if not all swordfights in known Japanese movies have been quite short. It shows that the fewer the strikes are against the opponent, the more masterful the swordsman is.

In fact, Kitano and Sonny Chiba also made a comment regarding Kill Bill's long swordfights claiming they are not very common in Japanese chambara/jidei geki films.

Nevertheless, I hope the North American audience embraces this film. But I have a funny feeling Miramax will cut this movie to shreds...

AEspinoza1

I received my order from YesAsia on Monday (placed order on 3/10 -- I really love Yesasia!)

I called in sick on Tuesday because I have a cold (that worked out perfectly).
I was very impressed by this film. I'm not familiar with the Zatoichi character so if someone can tell me: is this movie meant to be a continuation of the original character or a reimagining?

The CG blood did not work for me. I would have preferred no blood at all (well, maybe not).

The one thing I find most interesting about this movie is the short fight scenes. I have always thought that an excellent swordsman would kill his enemies quickly. It would seem to me more accurate. It is nice to know that someone asked the filmmakers about that subject.

After watching this film and Infernal Affairs 2 (I'm about to watch Infernal Affairs 3 and then Twilight Samurai) I noticed something about the recent Korean/HK films I have been wachting: I really care about the characters. The stories are strong and complex (sometimes toO complex to the point of being convoluted) but at least these stories are interesting with interesting characters. I find myself ordering more from Yesasia and Amazon.jp then from Best Buy (picking up new domestic films) Please excuse my grammar, I'm at home sick again

mrhan

Great film. I finally got it a few days ago in the mail.

Slightly off topic: Has anyone seen Bruce Lee as Zatoichi? He actually did some still photo shots of himself as Zatoichi. Do you
guys think he would have done the character justice if he did
play him? Bruce Lee; in real life never liked drawn out long fights.
He said that's just in the movies he made. He said fights should last no longer than 30 seconds or less. That's basically what happens in Zatoichi films. Anyways, I think Bruce would have made a pretty cool Zatoichi if he had lived to play the character.

beefjerky

Sonny Chiba and I think Takeshi Kitano were talking about Kill Bill, and both said that sword fights should never be as long as the ones in Kill Bill because a real swordsman would have enough skill to make the fight as short as possible. Takeshi Kitano also said in an interview (something to this extent) that Tarantino had "a lot of balls for making something so stupid."

mrhan

Looks like the Korean version is out on 4/12

http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.asp...ection-videos/