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| | Guardian Unlimited Film | Reviews | Zatoichi |
 | | It's at this point Zatoichi's swordstick is unsheathed from his blind-man's cane and he wreaks mayhem in sizzling fight scenes, whose crimson spouts of blood are stylised, indirect, almost abstract. |
 | | Zatoichi is sitting by a dusty country road, his swordstick lying negligently next to him. |
 | | A crowd of samurai underlings bribe a small boy to steal it; they taunt Zatoichi with how easily he is defeated, and then, of course, he astonishes them with his violent and devastatingly effective response. |
| film.guardian.co.uk /News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian_Film_of_the_week/0,4267,1172362,00.html (719 words) |
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