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The Sword of Doom - Criterion Collection Director: Kihachi Okamoto Number of Items: 1 Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Widescreen Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Running Time: 121 minutes Studio: Criterion Collection Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2005-03-15 Buy from Amazon |
 "2 good fights, no story"First of all, I have to say that it was a very strange film. It was so poorly edited that transitions between scenes taking place in different times and places were unclear. You are watching one scene and then suddenly it's a year later, suddenly it's winter or suddenly you are with some group of people who just showed up in the film out of the blue. The film had a very strange pace -- slow moving scenes cut together like some sort of montage, some sort of loose collection of subplots that never meet. I wouldn't have been so disappointed with the way the movie played if it wasn't for the compelling performances in it. The screen presence of Tatsuya Nakadai (Kagemushu, Ran) made it hard to look away. Though he was reserved there was an underlying madness that screamed out at every moment. His slow gait brought a horror element to every scene. It was a splendid performance wasted on a choppy film with no real story to tell other than, "This guy is evil." [warning: spoilers] I mentioned that the subplots never meet, that isn't entirely true but it seems so, especially at the end. There is no revenge, there is no answer - you are just left with a man gone mad. It's like they ran out of film. The final fight is brilliantly laid out, the villain lashes out like a drunk surgeon and it is a bloodbath. Then suddenly, the movie ends right in the middle of all this chaos. The character is forever trapped in a burning nest of vipers. He will forever be tormented there in my mind. Interesting but not satisfying. The best moment in the film is the sword fight between Toshiro Mifune's character and forty assassins. Toshiro Mifune (The Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Rashomon) plays the head of a martial arts school who is training the brother of a man that the main character killed. When attacked by assassins, Toshiro slices them to pieces Yojimbo style and berates their leader. Then, he walks away unharmed. There is never a duel between the main character and the brother of the man he killed. There is never a duel between him and Toshiro Mifune. The girl at the end isn't rescued. It isn't clear if the villain dies or not. We don't know what happened to his baby. Virtually all the subplots are left wide open. The film seems unfinished. It's crazy. I don't care what kind of statement we are supposed to get from that, there is no excuse. It's lazy. I didn't like it. I liked the two major swordfights. The rest of the movie looked cool but had nothing to offer. Watch Sanjuro again and don't bother with this film unless you really want to see the two sword fights. Toshiro's fight with the assassins was quite spellbinding.  "Finally on DVD!!!!!"I've been waiting many years now for this movie to arrive on DVD in the US and here it is. I've even emailed Criterion to get this movie in the lineup. I purchased the VHS almost ten years ago and to this day it ranks near the top for all time samurai greats right up there with my favorite Kurosawa films. Couldn't say enough great things about this movie. Highly Recommended!!! "A Pleasant Surprise"This movie was much better than I had expected, and have to say that it is one of the better movies that I've seen, and certainly one of the best of the samurai genre. Tatsuya Nakadai was excellent as the the samurai Ryunosuke, whose decent towards evil is the central focus of the story. Interwoven are several interesting subplots, making for a complex and engaging film. Mifune's role is minor, but far from insignificant. Cinematography was great and the action sequences were fantastic. If you are a fan of samurai films, or Japanese films in general, this is one that you must see. "film noir meets chambara"this film is a classic. the entire aesthetic of the film reminds me of the classic brooding dark film noirs of the forties and fifties. the antagonist of the film is doomed from the start, his evil ways eventually end up being his undoing, but not before tallying up a huge body count. sword of doom is definately a must see for samurai and film noir fans alike. "Complex, Profound, and Bloody - The Bushido Way..."The actions of a man can describe the man's true identity, as the identity of righteousness and moral character are a reflection of a man's actions. Bushido expresses honor before living, which was the way of the samurai. This honor seemed to fade away, as large numbers of samurai without masters accrued in cities and other locations around Japan during the 1860s. At the end of the shogunate in 1868, which also changed the importance of the samurai in the Japanese society, warfare began a drastic change from swords to guns and cannons. The end of samurai also indicated an end to bushido, which lead many samurai into a more corrupt lifestyle where honor no longer had the same meaning. Sword of Doom opens in the spring of 1860 where a young woman and her grandfather climb a mountain pass where the grandfather is ruthlessly murdered without any apparent reason by the film's antihero, Ryunosuke Tsukue (Tatsuya Nakadai). Ryunosuke is the symbolic embodiment of the unification of steel and man, as it often was taught by sword masters that one must become one with the sword in order to reach perfection. When Ryunosuke callously let his sword fall over the girl's grandfather a small bell falls on the rocks, which unsettles him. However, it seems to be the last time that Ryunosuke will show emotion. Later in the story the audience gets to meet the sword master and teacher Toranosuke Shimada (Toshirô Mifune) who suggests, "The sword is the soul. Study the soul to know the sword. Evil mind, evil sword." Fundamentally, Toranosuke points out the old way of the samurai where the samurai is one with the sword, as the sword is only an extension of the samurai. Thus, if the man is evil then the sword does evil. It also implies that the sword is as guilty as the samurai Further interpretations of Toranosuke's statement could suggest that substantial responsibility and honor come with carrying a sword, as one carries life at the end of the sword. Toranosuke embraces the values of Bushido as he teaches his student the way of the samurai through fencing. A more contemporary notion suggests that the mind guides the sword to its target, as the sword is cold, distant, and without judgment. Nonetheless, the sword and other weapons continue to reap new victims such as the grandfather in the beginning of the film. Ryunosuke's fencing technique, which many do not recognize as the samurai are all of the old and traditional ways, appears cold, strange, and uncanny to those who see him fight, as they wonder where the source of his technique originates. This brings the notion to the beginning of the film where Ryunosuke kills the grandfather, which seems to be the moment when he perfects his fencing style, a style that seems detached, callous, and without empathy, which seems to be derived from the sword itself. The story develops this idea even further by displaying Ryunosuke as a calculated and unsympathetic sociopath. After Ryunosuke returns from the mountain pass he is to fight in a sword contest the following day against Bunnojo Utsuki (Ichirô Nakaya). Bunnojo's wife, Hama (Michiyo Aratama), visits with Ryunosuke in order to convince him that her husband must win in order to save her family's face. This meeting leads Hama to face Ryunosuke's coldhearted personality, as he demands her to offer herself to him. After much contemplation Hama visits Ryunosuke in a mill during the night before his sword contest. In the morning Hama is approached by Bunnojo who tells her that he has announced their divorce earlier the same morning, as he knows about what she had done. Anger and pride consume Bunnojo who decides to kill Ryunosuke in the sword contest as payment for his insolence. However, Bunnojo has no chance against Ryunosuke's strange and distant fencing style. The story continues to surround Ryunosuke who goes into hiding with Hama, as he continues to lend out his sword to those who are willing to pay. It leads the audience into a downward spiraling tale in which the audience can sense the outcome of Ryunosuke's life. Nonetheless, it is never certain what will happen as director Kihachi Okamoto continues to darken the atmosphere while the tale unfolds. Death is dealt without consideration to whomever he is told to slay, as he stares down the eyes of those who gradually sink to the ground with a deep and deadly cut in their flesh. In the backdrop of Ryunosuke there is a samurai uprising that he seems to be involved in while the brother of Bunnojo intends to seek an honorable revenge by killing him. The young woman who found her grandfather dead in the mountain pass enters the story, as the past seems to catch up with Ryunosuke. These elements are tied together through Ryunosuke's existence, as he continues to kill for the highest payer. The continuation of Ryunosuke ruthlessness encourages the audience to think that his destiny must eventually catch up with him and make a full circle. Lastly, Ryunosuke seems to be a personification of the shogunate, which we know died at the end of the 1860s. Sword of Doom is a marvelously framed film with several intriguing shots that show a meticulous eye for details. Many of the scenes have wonderful mise-en-scene that elevates the authenticity of the story, which is brought together with a well-performing cast. The contrasts between Tatsuya Nakadai's character Ryunosuke and Toshirô Mifune's performance as Toranosuke visually bring out the different personalities in these two characters. It is essential to see this contrast, as it provides an insightful view into how different these two are while being very much the same. Much of the film's chemistry rests on these two characters, even though Toshirô Mifune is used sparsely throughout the film. The unfolding Sword of Doom brings the audience a violent cinematic experience, which offers a historical tale with depth and reflection. |
