ZATOICHI #24
Directed by Shintaro Katsu • 1972 • Japan

Star Shintaro Katsu sits in the director’s chair for this psychedelic and unremittingly bleak entry in the Zatoichi series, which is unlike any other in its grind-house grimness. A tale of innocence corrupted by sadistic, sleazy criminality, the film is propelled by EASY RIDER-esque editing and a trippy seventies funk score by Kunihiko Murai.