Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman (1971)

Original title

新座頭市　破れ！唐人剣

Directed by

Kimiyoshi Yasuda

Genre

action film, yakuza film, martial arts film

Country

Hong Kong

Runtime

1h 34m

Rated

16

Rating

6.8 of 10 from 46 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A blind Japanese masseur who is also a master swordsman meets a Chinese fighter who has only one arm. They start as enemies but must decide if they will fight each other or work together against a common threat.

pacedtensedramaticstylizedclash of culturesswordsmantheatrical

What happens

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. 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. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• The New One-Armed Swordsman (1971)
• The Blade Spares None (1971)
• Black and White Swordsman (1971)
• Blood of the Dragon (1971)
• The Swift Knight (1971)
• One-Armed Swordswoman (1971)
• The Deadly Duo (1971)
• A Touch of Zen (1971)