Blind Fury (dir. Philip Noyce, 1989)

Image Copyright: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

 

I felt I had to reverse my chronological journey through the Zatoichi films, just so I could include the only English-language film inspired by the Japanese character. There is a Spaghetti Western titled Blindman, from 1971, about a blind gunfighter. However, it does not share credits with any of the of the Zatoichi films. Blind Fury does, as it is adapted from the script for Zatoichi Challenged (by Ryozo Kasahara), which makes it indirectly inspired by the Zatoichi short story by Kan Shimozawa. And like several of the original Katsu films, it is a lot of fun (in contrast to Zatoichi: The Last).

 

The film begins with a title graphic that appears over a sword. The remnants of a battle in the Vietnam jungle are then shown, and a blind survivor eventually gets caught in a trap. He is found by a local tribe, treated, and eventually taught how to use a sword. 20 years later, this same man (Nick Parker) is walking the streets of Miami, and defends himself with his cane when needed. Eventually, he finds the home of a former comrade in Vietnam (Frank), but is told he has moved to Reno. Frank’s ex-wife and son are then attacked by a group of thugs that try to kidnap them. Nick reveals he has a sword hidden in his cane, but cannot stop the ex-wife from being killed. As she dies, he asks Nick to take her son (Billy) to Frank in Reno, He does, but slowly finds out that Frank is being kept against his will, in order to come up with an experimental narcotic for a local kingpin.

 

I will get to the problems with this film in a moment – but first I have to applaud screenwriter Charles Robert Carner. He could be accused of bluntly ripping out the basic story structure of Challenged and placing it in the USA. However, he actually manages to keep a lot of the main character’s nuances in the script, as well as a lot of the conventions of the Zatoichi series. Director Phillip Noyce reinforces these aspects by keeping the film going at a lively (and often humorous) pace, and handles the action sequences really well. This is a surprise from Noyce, as he is known for action, but also for much more serious films (such as The Bone Collector and Harrison Ford’s Jack Ryan films).

 

Of course, there are problems. The set-up of the Vietnam War is believable, but Nick’s fighting style is clearly more Japanese than Vietnamese (which really is known for the machete rather than the samurai sword). A cultural reference to Japan is bluntly inserted by Nick having to fight a Japanese swordsman. However, the 1980s perspective of Asia from America is sometimes quite jarring (especially when watching today) – as it often seems that the belief that “all Asian cultures are the same” is prevalent.

 

Nonetheless, this is a cheesy action B-movie from the 1980s, which means it is essential to turn your brain off. Once you sit back and enjoy the ride – and the fun references to the original films – you will find this film hugely entertaining. When Nick first reveals the sword from his cane, we are greeted with severed limbs and impaled thugs. The film does not skimp on the gore, or the action, just like the best Zatoichi films. It even tries to up the ante, mostly by the inclusion of guns. But the best OTT moment has to be when Nick decides to drive a van and take directions so that they can avoid their pursuers. Because a blind man driving is much better than a woman without her glasses (!).

 

Rutger Hauer provides a serviceable imitation of Ichi within his American-blind-hobo costume. He perhaps cheats by acting with his eyes open (and sometimes loses focus on his blind-stare). However, Katsu often opened his eyes, and this method was used well by Haruka Ayase in the 2008 film. Sometimes his dialogue feels quite wooden, but the script is not exactly top class, and the Zatoichi series never had award-winning dialogue either. Most of all, what comes across is that Hauer is actually having a lot of fun playing this version of Ichi. He often throws back insults to Billy; he gambles on a roulette wheel, instead of with dice, and he gets to utter some not-quite-classic one-liners – such as:

 

Thug: “I can’t see a thing!”

Nick: “That’s where I live.”

 

In short, Blind Fury is to be enjoyed with your tongue firmly in your cheek. It is not must-see cinema, but it is enjoyable entertainment. Maybe Ichi’s adventures will inspire future adaptations in different countries. If not, this film stands as a good effort to bring the spirit of Zatoichi to a Hollywood production.

 

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It has been a great experience watching these films and then writing about them on this blog. So much so, that I believe I am not quite done yet. The cinematic journey of Zatoichi will be extended a bit further in the next few weeks.

 

The films have been covered (and watched within 30 days!), so no others will be reviewed and discussed immediately in the near future. However, I will be posting up a list of where I rank these films in terms of favourites and least favourites (which I assumed I would eventually be asked). Also, an important part of how these films are accessible today has not yet been discussed – their special features within their home media releases. This is extensive in some cases – especially with the Criterion box-set – so they deserve to be mentioned.

 

Links will also be added as and when time allows, so my blog can be more easily navigated for future reference (and it will be available for as long as WordPress is – or transferred to a different location if this is ever necessary).

 

I hope you will enjoy re-treading some of Ichi’s footsteps in the very near future, as much as taking the initial journey…