Hello Fellow Sword Swallowers,

Just wanted to say hi Lisa ("Hi, Japanesa Lisa.") and salute all you Japanese culture vultures out there. I just now came across this website for the first time and thought I'd drop in to see what condition my old Mazda Miata's transmission was in.

[Since this is my first post, a brief "Discovering Japan" intro: I'm a big fan as well, Lisa, of Kurosawa's 80's movies, Ran and Kagemusha. And what do you know, now I watch Cartoon Network's Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi Show. Am I coming backwards?]

Hope you all caught this week's installment of The Blind Swordsman on IFC-TV today, entitled Zatoichi's Revenge. Zatoichi, as always acted with such brilliant subtlety by Shintaro Katsu, is a former samurai ever wandering through feudal-era Japan. This film series from the 60's features rapturous action, light comedy and touching pathos. In this film Zatoichi even inspires a con man to become a warrior -- why the comic sleight of hand man's only a natural wizard with the sword.

Zatoichi is my weekly inspiration to keep on fighting against the cold, rain and snow of this world. And I'm not even talking about the latest outrageous New England weather we've been having lately. (Go Patriots!) Now if only Ichi's endless moving on down the road, leading into fresh adventures of saving poor common folk from their cruel oppressors, would lead him to Pennsylvania Ave. If only reality were like film, then our troubles here would soon be over.

I have obviously been watching too many Samurai Saturdays on IFC, and it's been a steady heady pleasure cruise of classic form, style and grace under pressure. But what really kicked my Eastern groove into high gear was seeing Kill Bill Vol. 1 on video, twice in one week, last June. Inspired by classic samurai celluloid, Quentin Tarantino's dazzling epic tale of revenge is the best movie I have seen of the new millennium. My heart goes boom boom boom for zooma zooma Uma, my Goddesszilla Killa Bride.

Anyway, I would be interested to know what you Japanese film lovers think of Kill Bill Vol. 1. (As for Kill Bill Vol. 2, I was disappointed, but I went in expecting so much. Perhaps I should give it a second look.) And I was wondering if anyone in here recommends I see the new, House of the Flying Daggers. Road trip anyone?

For now I'll follow the sun, leaving you to ponder this classic bit of dialogue from the 1999 Jim Jarmusch movie, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.

Sonny Valerio (reads aloud a message sent by carrier pigeon): "If a warrior's head were to be suddenly cut off, he should be able to perform one more act with certainty." What the [censored] does that mean?

Ray Vargo: It's poetry. The poetry of war.

Apropos Zatoichi: Have you seen Takeshi Kitano's movie? Can't say I liked it very much, to much cutting off heads, but fortunately the fighting scenes were quite short (as far as I remember, although it's only about 2 months ago I saw the film, I have forgotten most of it. Which says a lot about the films qualities). Are the series better than this movie?

Kill Bill 1: Horrible, horrible, horrible! One of the worst films I ever saw! Incredibly bloody and at the same time incredibly boring. I got so tired of cut-off heads and fountains of blood, more cut-off heads and more fountains of blood, and - what a surprise! - cut-off limbs with -guess- (slightly smaller) fountains of blood. Followed by - you know.
Never saw part 2.

"If a warrior's head were to be suddenly cut off, he should be able to perform one more act with certainty."
Dying, I think.

I saw Kill Bill 1 and 2 and had to watch each several times as the first time I had my eyes closed for most of it I thought the 'poetry' of each movie was very nice, the pacing and such. But both were very unnecessarily violent for me.

lol
thats all lol

I can watch a movie with violence but I felt Kill Bill was a bit over the top. Violence for the sake of violence to me, doesn't make a movie.

I suppose I'm too much a fan of plot and growth of characters. If all I see for 30 minutes straight is special effects involving red liquid, it just isn't very interesting to me. I *love* watching sword combat in Japanese movies, for example. The skill and talent is just amazing. But it is important that there also be a balance with the story itself.