Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman
| Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman (新座頭市・破れ!唐人剣) | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Kimiyoshi Yasuda Hsu Tseng Hung |
| Screenplay by | Takayuki Yamada Kimiyoshi Yasuda |
| Story by | Kan Shimozawa |
| Produced by | Shintaro Katsu Wong Ming |
| Starring | Shintaro Katsu Jimmy Wang Yu |
| Cinematography | Chikashi Makiura |
| Edited by | Toshio Taniguchi |
Production companies | Katsu Productions Wing Luen Movie Film Company |
| Distributed by | Dainichi Eihai Golden Harvest |
Release date |
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Running time | 94 minutes |
| Countries | Japan Hong Kong |
| Languages | Japanese Mandarin |
| Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman | |||||||||||
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| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 獨臂刀大戦盲侠 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | New Zatoichi Break! Chinese Sword | ||||||||||
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| Japanese name | |||||||||||
| Kanji | 新座頭市・破れ！唐人剣[a] | ||||||||||
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Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman (Japanese: 新座頭市・破れ！唐人剣, Chinese: 獨臂刀大戦盲侠), also known as Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman and The Blind Swordsman Meets His Equal, is a 1971 chambara-wuxia crossover by Japanese film director Kimiyoshi Yasuda and Chinese film director Hsu Tseng Hung. A Japanese-Hong Kong co-production, the film stars Shintaro Katsu as the blind swordsman Zatoichi and Jimmy Wang Yu as the "One-Armed Swordsman" Wang Kang.[1] It is a crossover of the long-running Zatoichi series and the One-Armed Swordsman film series.
The Chinese edit of the film reportedly featured a different ending where Wang Kang was victorious in the final duel, rather than Zatoichi.[2]
Plot
[edit]While traveling the Japanese countryside the blind masseur Zatoichi (Shintaro Katsu) comes across the One Armed Swordsman, Wang Kang (Jimmy Wang Yu), who is in hiding and protecting a child from a corrupt Japanese priest and a group of yakuza. Zatoichi and Wang Kang, each from very different worlds yet heroic swordsmen in their own right, at first seem to get along but a language barrier and a series of misunderstanding leads Kang to distrust Ichi. Soon the two heroes are at each other throats while each attempts to stop the true villains from taking the child.
Cast
[edit]- Shintaro Katsu as Zatoichi
- Jimmy Wang Yu as Wang Kang
- Yūko Hama as Osen
- Michie Terada as Oyone
- Kōji Nanbara as Kakuzen
- Tokue Hanasawa as Yosaku
- Shinsuke Minami as Henoichi
- Shirō Itō as Shinshichi
- Toru Abe as Boss Tōbei
- Wang Ling as Li Yumei
- Cheung Yik as Li Xiangrong
Production
[edit]- Yoshinobu Nishioka - Art director
References
[edit]- ^ Unseenfilms
- ^ Alain Silver (2005). The Samurai Film. Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 9781585675968. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
- ^ lit. 'New Zatoichi Break! Chinese Sword'
External links
[edit]- Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman at IMDb
- Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman at the Hong Kong Movie DataBase
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- 1971 films
- 1971 action films
- Hong Kong action films
- 1970s Japanese-language films
- Films about amputees
- Films directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda
- Films set in China
- Films set in Japan
- Kung fu films
- Hong Kong martial arts films
- Wuxia films
- Zatoichi films
- 1970s Hong Kong films
- 1970s Japanese films
- Crossover films
- 1970s Hong Kong film stubs
- Martial arts film stubs