| Zatoichi | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Shintaro Katsu |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Story by | Kan Shimosawa |
| Produced by | Shintaro Katsu Masanori Sanada Kiyoshi Tsukamoto |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Mutsuo Naganuma |
| Edited by | Toshio Taniguchi |
| Music by | Takayuki Watanabe |
Production company | Katsu Production Co. Ltd. |
| Distributed by | Shochiku Company (1989, Japan) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 116 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Zatôichi (座頭市), also known as Zatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally,[1] Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman and Shintaro Katsu's Zatoichi, is a 1989 Japanese Chambara film directed by and starring Shintaro Katsu, who also produced and co-wrote the screenplay.[2] It is the twenty-sixth entry in a series of films featuring the blind swordsman Zatoichi, released 16 years after the twenty-fifth film in the series Zatoichi's Conspiracy (1973). The main character is based on a fictional character, a blind masseur and swordmaster created by novelist Kan Shimozawa and set during the late Edo period.[3]
Zatoichi is the last film in the original classic saga of Zatoichi (1962–1989). It is also the second time Shintaro Katsu directed a Zatoichi film, and the last time Katsu played the title character on screen.[4]