Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman (Blu-ray + DVD) Like New

Criterion Collection Box set A Great Collection of Shintaro Katsu's Zatoichi Movies The colossally popular Zatoichi films make up the longest-running action series in Japanese history and created one of the screen’s great heroes: an itinerant blind masseur who also happens to be a lightning-fast swordsman. As this iconic figure, the charismatic and earthy Shintaro Katsu became an instant superstar, lending a larger-than-life presence to the thrilling adventures of a man who lives staunchly by a code of honor and delivers justice in every town and village he enters. The films that feature him are variously pulse-pounding, hilarious, stirring, and completely off-the-wall. This deluxe set features the string of twenty-five Zatoichi films made between 1962 and 1973, collected in one package for the first time. You can clearly see the shift of influence from American western to Italian over the course of the movies. New digital restorations of all twenty-five films The Blind Swordsman, a 1978 documentary about Shintaro Katsu New interview with Asian-film critic Tony Rayns Trailers for all twenty-five films New English subtitle translations PLUS: A book featuring an essays, short stories and 25 new illustrations