Criterion Announces Massive 27 Disc ZATOICHI Box Set

Got a fondness for a certain wandering blind swordsman? Turns out so does the Criterion Collection, who have just announced a massive 27 disc Zatoichi box set due to release November 26th. It's a dual BluRay / DVD affair spanning twenty five feature films with special features including:

• New digital restorations of all twenty-five films, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks on the Blu-rays
• The Blind Swordsman, a 1978 documentary about Zatoichi portrayer and filmmaker Shintaro Katsu, along with a new interview with its director, John Nathan
• New interview with Asian-film critic Tony Rayns
• Trailers for all twenty-five films
• New English subtitle translations
• A book featuring an essay by critic Geoffrey O'Brien; synopses of the films by critic, novelist, and musician Chris D.; "The Tale of Zatoichi," the original short story by Kan Shimozawa; and twenty-five new illustrations inspired by the films, by twenty-five different artists

These things are essential viewing for fans of classic samurai film and this promises to be the definitive edition.