Zatoichi

Set in 1800s Japan, this ripping final entry in the series stars Shintaro Katsu as the blind masseur, gambler and master swordsman battling Yakuza and venal politicians. Kanako Higuchi, Ken Ogata. Katsu also directed and co-wrote the screenplay. Also known as "Zatoichi 26---Darkness Is His Ally.", (2003) Takeshi 'Beat' Kitano directs, scripts and stars in this martial arts adventure as Zatôichi, a character well known in Japan through television series and films but rarely seen in the West. Zatôichi is a blind masseur who also happens to be a master swordsman, thanks to his extraordinarily heightened senses. Travelling the country fighting for the weak and oppressed, he joins forces with a young man and woman out to avenge their slaughtered parents, to help them protect a village against a brutal gang led by ronin Hattori (Asano Tadanobu). Kitano manages to mix blood-splatteringly violent stylised fights with genuinely funny moments in this unique samurai movie. In Japanese with English subtitles.