After a couple weeks of focusing on podcasting for CriterionCast.com, I'm super happy to finally begin my coverage of 1967 Criterion films here on my blog. This is perhaps my very favorite year in the entire history of the history of human civilization, if I would ever find myself forced to make such a declaration. I was only five/six years old at that particular juncture in time, and even though my specific memories from that period of my life are limited and indistinct, my subsequent enjoyment of the music and other cultural artifacts of that year have elevated my esteem of 1967 as a golden age of sorts... the Summer of Love, the full eruption of flower power and psychedelia into mainstream consciousness, an exciting sense of opportunity and possibility to fundamentally reorient society in directions that were less violent, less exploitative, more focused on peace, love and understanding... so goes the mythology that was even being actively and intentionally developed at the time in some circles. Despite the fact that 1968 and 1969 both saw the utopian dreams and fantasies of '67 come crashing down in multiple crises of chaotic destruction and disillusionment, there's a part of me that still clings to the dream, or at least enjoys the occasional momentary excursion back to those halcyon days of incense, peppermints and flowers everywhere...
But lest I digress any further, let's talk some Zatoichi.
Zatoichi's Cane Sword is the 15th (out of 25) installment of the series, and as I've come to expect, it fits snugly into the well-established formula (our hero wanders into town, engages in some humorous gambling antics, pulls off a few spectacularly impossible stunts, reluctantly dispatches villains and rescues humble villagers with even more implausible swordplay.) The most distinctive element to this episode is that we're given a small glimpse into Zatoichi's back story as we meet the man who years ago had crafted the remarkable blade hidden in the blind man's walking stick. The swordmaker informs Zatoichi that his weapon has become fragile from all the use it's been put to, and a replacement is needed. That's about as far as the detail goes, so we don't learn a whole lot more about Z's origins, but the plot device is used to good effect toward the end of the film.
There are several memorable moments: Ichi sucking up one last noodle as he delivers the death stroke to his would-be assassin, twirling a large knife with his brass pipe and dropping it from the ceiling to expose a pair of loaded dice, his ridiculously charming "duck dance" (see the clip above) and a final nighttime showdown in the snow that is one of the most compelling and atmospherically effective that I've seen so far. No big surprises or risks being taken here, but I have no problem with that. Zatoichi's Cane Sword is an altogether satisfying and well-crafted example of a great franchise operating at peak efficiency by sticking closely to doing what it knows it does best.
Next: Chafed Elbows