Anyone know where to source the Chinese version of this one? With the alternate duel and the extended priest fight?
shareAre you sure one exists? I've never heard of one and I know for a fact that Jimmy Wang left Shaw Bros. so I doubt he went back to Chinese cinema. And there couldn't be an alternate ending because there were more Zatoichi films released, so for Zatoichi to die, it wouldn't make sense!
shareThere is no version with the alternate ending! End of story!
shareThere is an alternate ending to the HK(Chinese) version !!
Jimmy Wang Yu was a superstar star of Chinese Cinema then and I am sure both Wang Yu and his fans will not like this Japanese' ending, so they made an alternate ending(I will not give away here as a spoiler).
Furthermore, in the Chinese version, both shared top billing with Wang Yu having much more scenes compared to this Japanese version which Wang Yu appeared more like a supporting actor.
Jimmy Wang Yu MADE more movies and was even more famous in Chinese cinema after he left Shaw Bros. He made around or less than 15 movies for Shaw but made easily more than 50s in Taiwan, although mostly not as well known as those in Shaw Bros.
Ok, you want proof you stubborn fool. Here ya go! How would he get around this!
From Wikipedia:
"He broke his contract with Shaw Brothers, and was promptly slapped with a lawsuit. The legal tussle which ended in Shaw's favour led to Jimmy being banned from making films in Hong Kong. Jimmy then looked to Taiwan for better career prospects, linking up with Golden Harvest and other independent film outfits. His subsequent films were mostly done in Taiwan."
I have only one thing to say................................ha ha.
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"There is no version with the alternate ending! End of story!"
This is answer I choose.
Zatoichi losing a fight in his own movie? LAUGHABLE
Link me this 'alternate ending' til then, its all CANON
You are such an ignorant. Just check the list of movies Yu Wang made.
shareThere is a version with an alternate ending. It's been lost for some time. It was detailed in Bey Logan's book on Hong Kong Cinema in a sidebar about Japan/Hong Kong co-productions. Whether a print survived is anyone's guess. The alternate ending was done for the markets where The One Armed Swordsman was more popular.
shareYes, there was a Chinese version, I saw it at the Pagoda Palace (long gone) in San Francisco back in the early 70's. The film was entirely dubbed into Chinese (yes, even the Japanese bits) and the ending was unclear as to who won. I believe both versions had scenes added or deleted to suit the different markets, each emphasizing one character over the other. I noticed several sequences missing or parts that I didn't remember when I recently viewed the AnimEigo DVD release (which I presume is the Japanese cut). In the alternate ending, Zatoichi is shown squatting with a slash (I believe) across his belly and the one armed swordsman stumbling away dripping blood. The soundtrack was also different in that they utilized the theme song for the one armed swordsman (from the Shaw Brothers series of films) which was actually composed by Neil Hefti for the James Garner western "Duel at Diablo" (1966). I think the Chinese version was titled as "the Blind swordsman versus the One Armed Swordsman" and it may have been a co-production with or released through Raymond Chow's Golden Harvest Films (producers of Bruce Lee's movies). I prefer the Chinese version (despite the dubbing of the Japanese bits) and have been scouring the video stores in Chinatown for it, but to no avail.
share=====SPOILER=====
Ok, I have to give it away. The Chinese version for South East Asia Market has One Armed Swordsman won the fight at the end.
NO way Jimmy Wang Yu will allow Zaitochi to win. He was much more popular than Zaitochi or anyone else at that time.
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