Picture- Letterboxed 2:35:1. B&W. Well, as with a lot of older films, one shouldn't be surprised if absolutely perfect elements cannot be found. The Tale of Zatoichi has some wear, most notably weak and uneven contrast that goes from okay, to too bright, to too dark, depending on the scene. There is also the occasional picture jitter common with older films, and technically there is some slight shimmer and edge enhancement that may catch your eye but isn't terribly distracting. The sharpness is very good and the print is relatively spot, line, and dirt free, and has far less grain then the Zatoichi prints I've seen before. It should be more than acceptable for film fans; its just not absolute perfection.

Sound- Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 Monoaural, with optional white English subtitles that are displayed within the bottom of the letterbox frame. Nice, some occasional crackle and pop in the background, but remains true to the original DIAEI Studio presentation.

Extras- Nice liner notes, and surprisingly, inside the case a sheet of 4 'Zatoichi Trading Cards', that were a neat touch--- 19 Chapters--- Photo Gallery, basically just 10 film stills, no promo or posters or anything.

Conclusion: So, it is not the absolute best that Zatoichi could look, but it is a more than fair presentation and accordingly priced. With so many Zatoichi films and dedicated but fairly small audience, I guess its fair not to expect a full scale Criterion-like restoration effort. If you are a Zatoichi fan, a fan of samurai/classic Japanese cinema, go out buy it. Thankfully, there are even more to come.