WHAT'S IT ABOUT? A blind swordsman wanders into a nineteenth-century village terrorised by yakuza and - with the help of two killer tranny geishas whose banjos turn into swords - takes 'em down.

WHO'S IN IT? Takeshi Kitano (remember sadistic Jap game show Endurance? He invented that) stars and also directs.

BEST SCENE: There's absolutely tons of neck-slicing, blood-spurting, CGI-assisted violence in this. But the coolest bit's when Takeshi's evil nemesis introduces himself by slashing off a man's belt and toenails in one lightning strike. Hai-ya! There's also plenty of slapstick comedy - this isn't 'arthouse'.
TO BE HONEST: Okay, it's foreign , but no-one knows swordfighting like the Japanese. Put up with the subtitles and enjoy the beautifully-staged slashing and spurting. This is what sharpened steel was invented for.