With ZATOICHI, Takeshi Kitano, best known for such gangster films as VIOLENT COP, BOILING POINT, and BROTHER, makes his first period drama, an updating of the classic Japanese character portrayed by Shintaro Katsu in movies and television from 1962 to 1989. Zatoichi is a blind samurai who shuffles from town to town, righting wrongs with his remarkable sword hidden within his cane. He is also a masseuse who likes to gamble. Kitano serves as director, writer, co-editor, and star of the film, playing the protagonist under his acting name, Beat Takeshi. This version of Zatoichi, based on the stories of Kan Shimozawa, is more violent than the earlier series, as Kitano strives to make it more realistic. He has also infused a clever sense of humor, while cinematographer Katsumi Yanagishima adds beautiful depth of field to many scenes. When Zatoichi arrives in a small town, he unknowingly walks into a classic tale of revenge, as two women plot to kill the men who murdered their family. As Zatoichi becomes more involved, an eventual showdown with young samurai Hattori (Tadanobu Asano, who excelled in Takashi Miike's very violent ICHI THE KILLER) is inevitable. ZATOICHI is thrilling filmmaking at its best, an endlessly entertaining samurai epic from a man who fully understands the genre and is not afraid to take it to the next level.

SONATINE tells the story of gang boss Murakawa (Takeshi Kitano), who decides to consolidate his power as he approaches middle age. When his boss responds by assigning him to a peacekeeping mission in a town where a couple of the gang's provincial chapters are coming to blows, Murakawa is naturally suspicious. Is he being kicked upstairs--or kicked out? When he and his crew become the targets of a bloody ambush, the conclusion seems inescapable. A brutal indictment of the soul-crushing yakuza lifestyle.

THEATRICAL RELEASE: JUNE 4, 2004 (LIMITED)

DVD Features:

Region 1
2-Disc Set

Disc One:
Contains Feature THE BLIND SWORDSMAN: ZATOICHI
Anamorphic Widescreen - 2.35

Disc Two:
Contains Feature SONATINE
Anamorphic Widescreen - 2.35

Distributor Notes: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman/Sonatine Double Feature Collection

ZATOICHI: THE BLIND SWORDSMAN: In an empire ruled by fear, the people's only hope is the ultimate weapon: Zatoichi (Kitano) -- a blind, nomadic samurai whose sword has made him a hero and whose courage has made him a legend! Determined to help the desperate residents of a village, Zatoichi seeks justice through revenge!~~SONATINE: A seasoned mobster travels to Okinawa on a "peace-keeping" mission, even though he suspects that his boss is secretly trying to eliminate him! Determined to not go down without a fight, he and his gang know exactly what they have to do!

Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment

Takeshi Kitano: Japanese Director/Actor/Screenwriter, FIREWORKS (1997)
Tadanobu Asano: Japanese actor: TABOO (1999)
Michiyo Ogusu: Actor, ZATOICHI (2004)
Yui Natsukawa: Actor, ZATOICHI (2004)
Guadalcanal Taka: Actor, ZATOICHI (2004)
Daigoro Tachibana: Actor, ZATOICHI (2004)
Yuko Daike: Actress
Ittoku Kishibe: Japanese Actor
Saburo Ishikura: Actor, ZATOICHI (2004)
Akira Emoto: 

Takeshi Kitano: Japanese Director/Actor/Screenwriter, FIREWORKS (1997)

Tsunehisa Saito: Producer, ZATOICHI (2004)
Masayuki Mori: Japanese Actor/"Ugetsu"

Takeshi Kitano: Japanese Director/Actor/Screenwriter, FIREWORKS (1997)

Keiichi Suzuki: Composer, THE BLIND SWORDSMAN: ZATOICHI (2004)

"ZATOICHI marks a partial return to Kitano's violent comic roots....There is also evidence of a mature heart..."
"The film mixes exhilarating action, humor and even a touch of tenderness into a gruesomely entertaining epic."
"[Kitano is] a riveting spectacle. So's the movie."
"[With] a comic-book effect that's one of the niftiest things about the film."
"Outrageously bloody, it's a kind of syncopated slice-'n'-dice..."
"[A] crypto-Kabuki play and one blissfully idiosyncratic diversion."
"ZATOICHI is not a continuation of the original series but a transformation."