Super-cool movie

There's trouble in town: gangsters on the take are squeezing the ordinary folk out of house and home. They need a hero - and in Zatoichi, they find the real McCoy.

A bleached blonde killing machine, Zatoichi cuts more than a dash with his redsheathed blade; this is 19thcentury Japan and swords are used for slaying. There is a twist, however: Zatoichi is blind. Based on a Japanese B-movie hero of old, in the hands of writer, director and actor extraordinaire 'Beat' Takeshi Kitano, Zatoichi is as thrilling a piece of cinema as you are likely to see. Unflinchingly bloody and brutal, it's also replete with gags and unexpectedly moving. With cross-dressing and tap-dancing, there's something for everyone.

Kitano has long straddled the cult-critic divide, boasting diehard fans of both persuasions. In Zatoichi he's hit a triple-whammy: this flick has the potential to be a huge commercial hit, too.

Forget Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction: this is the movie Quentin Tarantino wishes he had made - smart, stylish and super-cool. See it.

Zatoichi
Cert: 18