Mellotronists

i am watching the first volume of the newly released "zatoichi" tv series
on DVD. if you are not familiar with zatoichi, he is a blind swordsman
and travelling masseur. he is sly and wise and a bit of a rogue.
byt... yup - he's blind.
...and NO ONE has ever kicked his butt. they have come close, but
through 26 films [27 if you count takeshi kitano's version] and over 100
episodes of a tv series, he was always victorious. not to say he was not
challenged along the way, but nobody beat him.

so anyway... i am definitely hearing a mellotron in spots in the score.
flute, strings, and choir. [the "holy trinity" of tron sounds?]
no doubt about it.
the series was started in 1974, which is sort of the "golden age" of tron
use, no?

i am awaiting the closing credits to see if they are translated, and if
so, if there is a credit for composer. nope. no translation of the
credits, but the "in the next episode" segment is thick with tron choir.

i can't seem to find complete production credits online anywhere, and my
japanese is no where near good enough to translate it myself. the 2-dvd
set has only been out a few weeks, so i'll keep poking around to see if
i can find who/where the score was done by.

...jeff

btw: i have seen all 26 [27 including kitano] of the films.
i can't recommend them enough, although for most people it will seem
very formulaic after 4 or 5 of them, and some are better than others.
the  takeshi kitano film from just a couple years back is a hell of a
lot of fun.
especially the dance number.
yes.
the dance number.

;0)

oh, and happy holidays, blessings and peace to everyone.

Jeff, which version of the TV series do you have? Who plays Zatoichi?

Bernie


--- In Mellotronists@yahoogroups.com, jeffc@n... wrote:
>
> 
> i am watching the first volume of the newly released "zatoichi" tv 
series
> on DVD. if you are not familiar with zatoichi, he is a blind 
swordsman
> and travelling masseur. he is sly and wise and a bit of a rogue.
> byt... yup - he's blind.
> ...and NO ONE has ever kicked his butt. they have come close, but
> through 26 films [27 if you count takeshi kitano's version] and 
over 100
> episodes of a tv series, he was always victorious. not to say he 
was not
> challenged along the way, but nobody beat him.
> 
> so anyway... i am definitely hearing a mellotron in spots in the 
score.
> flute, strings, and choir. [the "holy trinity" of tron sounds?]
> no doubt about it.
> the series was started in 1974, which is sort of the "golden age" 
of tron
> use, no?
> 
> i am awaiting the closing credits to see if they are translated, 
and if
> so, if there is a credit for composer. nope. no translation of the
> credits, but the "in the next episode" segment is thick with tron 
choir.
> 
> i can't seem to find complete production credits online anywhere, 
and my
> japanese is no where near good enough to translate it myself. the 
2-dvd
> set has only been out a few weeks, so i'll keep poking around to 
see if
> i can find who/where the score was done by.
> 
> ...jeff
> 
> btw: i have seen all 26 [27 including kitano] of the films.
> i can't recommend them enough, although for most people it will 
seem
> very formulaic after 4 or 5 of them, and some are better than 
others.
> the  takeshi kitano film from just a couple years back is a hell 
of a

> lot of fun.
> especially the dance number.
> yes.
> the dance number.
> 
> ;0)
> 
> oh, and happy holidays, blessings and peace to everyone.
>

On Wed, 28 Dec 2005, Bernie Kornowicz wrote:

> Jeff, which version of the TV series do you have? Who plays Zatoichi?



it's shintaro katsu as always.

media blasters/tokyo shock is releasing the original japanese
tv series. this volume came out in november, another volume is
slated for the end of january.

the prints are not in great shape [pretty awful in spots], but
it's a 30 year old tv series and i just can't see anyone giving
this the "criterion" treatment.

...jeff


> Bernie

--- In Mellotronists@yahoogroups.com, jeffc@n... wrote:
>
> On Wed, 28 Dec 2005, Bernie Kornowicz wrote:
> 
> > Jeff, which version of the TV series do you have? Who plays 
Zatoichi?
> 
> 
> 
> it's shintaro katsu as always.
> 
> media blasters/tokyo shock is releasing the original japanese
> tv series. this volume came out in november, another volume is
> slated for the end of january.
> 
> the prints are not in great shape [pretty awful in spots], but
> it's a 30 year old tv series and i just can't see anyone giving
> this the "criterion" treatment.
> 
> ...jeff
> 
> 
> > Bernie
>

Looks like he also starred in quite a few movie versions.

Bernie

On Wed, 28 Dec 2005, Bernie Kornowicz wrote:

> > it's shintaro katsu as always.
> >
> Looks like he also starred in quite a few movie versions.
>
> Bernie

yup - 26 movies and over 100 episodes of the tv series.

he also played "hanzo the razor" in 3 films.
they just came out on dvd a few months ago.
they are outrageous and hilarious in a way only the japanese can be.
i only mention it because hanzo is a VERY different character than ichi.
i'll just say the "sword of justice" is not... well, not made of steel.

;0)

jeff