Adventures of Zatoichi

Kimiyoshi Yasuda's 1964 Japanese film is one instalment of the series about the blind swordsman Zatoichi. Zatoichi arrives in a town preparing for the new year, meets a young woman looking for her father and works out that the local officials are behind the man's disappearance. At the same time he becomes involved in another woman's effort to save her brother, who has committed a murder. The film follows the familiar shape of the series: Zatoichi protects the innocent, uncovers the corruption and leaves the town at the end. What distinguishes this instalment is that the sword scenes take place in darkness and in tight spaces, an arrangement in which blindness becomes an advantage. Shintarō Katsu balances the character with humour as he does throughout. Who it's for: viewers who like the Zatoichi series and classic samurai films. Who it's not for: anyone new to the series; this comes from the middle and introduces nothing.