CRITERION COLL: SWORD OF DOOM / (WS SPEC SUB B&W) - CRITERION COLL: SWORD OF DOOM / (WS SPEC SUB B&W)
|  | $23.05Availability: 36 In Stock
Condition: NewSKU: 30
UPC: 037429203026
Shipping: $2.98
Ships in 1-2 business days |
| Product DescriptionWandering samurai Ryunosuke lives his life in a maelstrom of violence. A gifted swordsman—plying his trade during the turbulent final days of Shogunate rule—he kills without remorse, without mercy. - Actors: Tatsuya Nakadai, Yuzo Kayama, Michiyo Aratama, Toshirô Mifune, Yôko Naito
- Director: Kihachi Okamoto
- Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
- Audience Rating: Unrated
- Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
- ISBN: 0780029631
- Language (Original Language): Japanese
- Language (Subtitled): English
- Region Code: 1
- Release Date: 2005-03-15
- Running Time: 121 minutes
- Theatrical Release Date: 1966-07-01
Customer ReviewsReviewed on 2008-06-10 
I trust only my sword in this world
Another great great samurai flick. Classic. Mifune totally monopolizes that market like no one else can.
1862. The almighty sword is the ultimate symbol of pride, honor, and masculinity. So much emphasis is put on a single duel, a loss would be devastating if not fatal.
Ryunosuke Tsukue has the devil in his blade. One particular match causes utter chaotic frenzy. Watch the bloody action spew forth as revenge pumps heavily through the hearts of men. This has some great sword slashin' in the snow and one of the bloodiest, best orchestrated final melees you'll ever see. Highly recommended for samurai fans. |  | Reviewed on 2008-04-06
The Sword is a Mirror to One's Soul....Know the Sword and you will know the Soul!
SWORD OF DOOM (1966, known in Japan as Incident at Daibatsu Pass) is a film directed by Kihachi Okamoto; responsible for acclaimed chambara films such as "Red Lion" and "Zatoichi meets Yojimbo". The film is based on the novel by Kaizan Nakazaro; "Daibatsu Tage", and this film still stands out as one of the most violent, dark epic tale even in today's standards. Please note that the novel has also been adapted into a trilogy called "Daibatsu" (Satan's sword) which presents a more detailed representation of its characters and premise. "Sword of Doom's" main focus is the story of a young samurai named Ryunosuke Tsukure, his beliefs, skills and ruthless indignation.
The backdrop of the film is the 1860's, a period where the Shogunate is slowly taking over and the samurai clans are desperately clinging to their power. The hero or anti-hero is a grim young man named Ryunosuke who is a cold, emotionless master swordsman who trusts no one but his steel. We are introduced to Ryunosuke when he cuts down an old man on a pilgrimage with his daughter when he overhears him asking for his own death for her sake. Ryunosuke arrives to his father's bedside to be scolded because of his ways with the use of his sword, he is scheduled for an exhibition match with a man who is supposed to assume the role of instructor in a school. Ohama (Michiyo Aratama), his wife meets with Ryunosuke to ask him to throw the match in exchange for her body. On the time of the friendly exhibition, the match becomes a duel to the death. What follows next is a downward spiral to murder and madness...
Ryunosuke (Tatsuya Nakadai)seems like evil incarnate, actually he resembles a demon more than a human being when it comes to character. Ryunosuke is a cold heartless killer, but if the viewer pays extra attention, the anti-hero of this film actually kills for self defense and political reasons. You may say that he's never killed anyone who didn't deserve it, but it`s the manner in which he engages his opponents and kills his victims. Ryunosuke never gets to express his motivations and background as to why he is the way he is. I believe this is a clever idea to keep his character at arm's length from the audience. It promotes a morbid, dark and chilling aura from the lead character almost up to a supernatural level. His presence his disquietingly intimidating and mysteriously evil.
The swordplay in the film is excellent, it is quick, bloody and never loses any of its visceral punch. The encounter with Ohama's husband is a near-perfect example of a Kendo match, as each of them takes their time to look for an opening. The viewer will realize that the match becomes lethal when they change their form, Ryunosuke assumes his signature "Silent stance" in which he slowly lowers his sword and his opponent raise his in a high stance.
Toshiro Mifune makes a limited but worthwhile appearance as Swordmaster Shimada. Although he never crosses swords with Ryunosuke, the incident in a bridge or pass where he cuts down Rynosuke's associates is fantastic. Mifune displays his acting ability in this extended swordplay which is excellently choreographed. Shimada spews out his righteous indignation and philosophy while cutting down his assailants, that leads even the "hero" of this film to doubt his beliefs after he hears "know the sword, know the mind...". It is rather unclear as to why Ryunosuke decided against the idea of engaging Shimada in combat; perhaps because his band made a mistake in the attack, that Shimada wasn't their intended victim, or is it something more? Whatever the cause, it will change him forever.
The cinematography of the film is quite enthralling. Even with its colorless sequences (it is in Black and White), the music and camera work are very well-executed and way ahead in its time. Toho productions is well known in awesome production values in 1966 that it came as no surprise. Okamoto's direction is almost flawless as he portrays the lead as dark, foreboding presence that exudes violence and death, much similar to an angel of darkness. I was rather disappointed that the sub-plots regarding Hyoma's (Yuzo Kayama)intended vengeance and his budding romance with a pretty young courtesan named Omatsu (Yoko Naito)never came to fruition and effective closure. The climax is satisfying enough on an action standpoint but it did leave some questions unanswered. It opted to focus its sights on Ryunosuke's descent into madness, on a killing spree, cutting down everyone in his path while being haunted by the `ghosts' of his empty past.
Ultimately, you will be led to conclude that an "evil soul is an evil sword", that gestures, whether good or bad, are what makes a man. Action defines the essence of a human being. On this aspect, "Sword of Doom" succeeds hands down. Murder and violence can eat a man up from inside, no matter how cold and ruthless one may be. It will extinguish a man from the inside...
Highest Possible Recommendation! [5- stars]
| | Reviewed on 2007-10-24
Great Film
I have read some of the reviews. The film is spectacular, it is amazing, and Nakadai is reason enough to watch it. He is a great actor and this is proof.
Good films grow with you as you watch them again. Repeated viewing is a necessary thing with most films in the Criterion Collection. A film is much more complex then an essay, and it takes a few readings to understand an essay. I want to address some of the complaints.
They gripe about the ending. The ending is perfect. There is nothing more to say. Whether he dies or not that is his doom. You cannot go more insane, he reached the end either way. Being the main character, the story ends because the main character is being consumed by his rage and madness. You want closure, you want standard plots? Go see 300 and all that Hollywood trash. Appreciate a film for it uniqueness, not all films need to fit a mold. Its called imagination, the land of many different possibilities. This is not a book, or novel. Its a film, completely different from novels. There is no editing in novels, it is unique to film. Kubrick said that editing is the reason he directs. See Welles or Gilliam for great examples of what editing does. Brazil is maybe the best example; the studio edit is extremely bad and some people complaining here seem like they would prefer the studio edit over Gilliam's.
Film is a great medium with many possibilities. This is one of the possibilities, and seems rather unique by the amount of complaints. The main character is not the young samurai, nor the orphaned woman. The main character is the insane sword man, and his sword. The last fight was triggered by him going insane and his ally being assassinated, which means he will be next to die. There is no mystery to me what triggered his attack. If you need to invoke god as a reason you are watching the wrong film. Buddhism is not about gods.
Watch it again, and again, and wash Hollywood's influence off of you. | | Reviewed on 2007-10-22 
so kill bill right now
i ended up slightly disappointed by "sword of doom," if only because it seemed confused between its stalwart samurai-film aspirations (read: mind-numbing slowness) and its new-wavey leanings. and that kind of left me feeling like "huh?" i guess.
take the final scene for instance. arguably, there is no reasonable precedent for the "bloodbath" (which was decidedly less shocking than some of the amazon cinephiles, given to hyperbole, might suggest), outside of the obvious relationship to ryunosuke's climaxing madness-- more than anything, the final scene's abrupt, freeze-frame ending; the way the camera turns the traditional japanese interior into a claustrophobic hell-hole; ryunosuke's freestylin' sword technique; the whole thinly-veiled psychosexual conflict thang going on...all kind of point towards a random experiment in form, in the vein of a shinoda or an oshima, tacked on to a standard late-golden-age samurai flick. the film is kind of in limbo because it doesn't really give the viewer the "kool new thing" excitement that new-wave, by definition, is meant to provide-- but it just don't feel like no classic, neither. probably by nature of it being made roughly ten years too late.
anyway, what "sword of doom" IS great for is providing a pretty duh reference point for the notorious (and infinitely more bloody) "house of blue leaves" scene (see, another new wave reference, new-wave-of-american-theatre anybody?) from tarantino's "kill bill vol. 1." it makes you all like "dude, i totally see where he got that." and then you feel all smart and slightly more worldly. | | Reviewed on 2007-10-12
If you already have everything else in your collection...
I am a pretty big fan of classic samurai films. My favorite film of all time is "Seven Samurai". "The Sword of Doom", generally speaking, has decent qualities that do justice to that genre. I agree with many of the positive comments stated in the reviews here. However, with that said, I have to say that I wouldn't recommend this one to anyone but die hard fans of the genre who already have everything else. This is due to the fact that the ending leaves the viewer feeling as though they would like to have the past couple hours back.
I understand the reason that the movie was left so, but to me, staying true to the original text that spawned the movie may honor the original writer, but it insults anyone viewing the film. There were threads of plot in the film that interested me quite a bit, only to be left untied at the unexpected, completely ungratifying end. The story should have been finished by a skilled writer who really enjoyed what was there already. Then we would all be happy. As it is, I have to say walk around this one because there are plenty of other films in the genre that have endings. | |
| |
| |
