I've always liked the ZATOICHI series featuring Shintaro Katsu as the blind swordsman- gambler-masseur who always finds trouble while helping the down trodden in Feudal Jaoan. Many of the storylines are essentially the same: Z comes to town and runs afoul of the local crime boss and his gang, he meets someone (usually a woman) in need and helps them, exposes crooked gambling, slaughters all the bad guys, leaves alone and disillusioned. It's Katsu's performance in the lead that makes the series however. He is gentle, soft spoken, humble and extremely deadly.
I'm not a fan of Robert Rodriguez. It's hard to like ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO (2003) with it's meandering story, over the top violence and self indulgent "Tarantino inspired" direction. It completes the trilogy started with the far superior EL MARIACHI and is partially saved by Johnny Depp as the weird "3 armed" CIA agent but Antonio Banderas is laughable as the legendary hitman who whispers a lot and rarely shows any emotion. The interesting, wasted cast includes Reuben Blades, Wilhem Defoe, Mickey Rourke, Ceech Marin, Salma Hayek and Danny Trejo. Pedro Armendariz Jr. plays the corrupt "El Presidente".
BUFFALO STAMPEDE from 1933 is an early western effort from Henry Hathaway (his third movie) about the troubles brewing over the hunting of buffalo and the trading of their pelts. Randolph Scott, Buster Crabbe (who was the lead in TARZAN THE FEARLESS the same year) and Harry Carey are the bickering leads. Also with Raymond Hatton, Noah Berry, Judith Allen, Barton McLane and Monte Blue. It's based on a story by Zane Grey and also known as THE THUNDERING HERD.
Scott was in ISLAND OF LOST SOULS, MURDERS IN THE ZOO and SUPERNATURAL the same year. Hathaway would make THE TRAIL OF THE LONESOME PINE (the first Technicolor film shot outside of a studio) in 1936 (the same year Buster Crabbe debuted as Flash Gordon )and then better bigger budgeted Hollywood films.
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