The Sword of Doom (1966) - Kihachi Okamoto
The film is a jidaigeki (historical film) starring the great Tatsuya Nakadai (Harakiri) and Toshiro Mifune (Yojimbo). The synopsis: "
Japan, 1860. In the twilight of an Age, we follow the bloody journey of an amoral samurai who kills without compassion or scruples, dedicating his life to evil." Unlike many chanbaras and jidaigekis that accompany the journey of a samurai to the top or questioning ronin, or the unfolding of a mission, we have a dark and cruel story about a ruthless samurai named Ryunosuke (Tatsuya Nakadai) who kills without hesitation. The central character of the movie would be the villain in an ordinary play but Kihachi Okamoto shows us this amoral samurai at the center of the story making us follow his bloody journey. The film is based on a serial novel released through a newspaper in the 1910s and followed for several years. Written by Kaizan Nakazato, the serial novel never had a resolution and likewise The Sword of Doom did not either. Although the film covers only a few parts of the novel, the film is abruptly ended and part of that decision was made by the fact that the film was initially intended to be the first part of a trilogy but has never been continued. The ending that may have irritated many people in its launch works very well from the artistic point of view. Creating a 'climax' and an 'anticlimax' at the same time.
The film (which is in black and white) is wonderful to see, the battle in the forest around the fog, the battle in the snow where Toshiro Mifune kills dozens of enemies in front of Ryunosuke and the violent final sequence in the brothel give us a aesthetic beauty typical of the samurai films of the 60s. If after seeing Harakiri (1962) there is still some doubt that Tatsuya Nakadai is an incredible actor, The Sword of Doom will end this doubt! Although his character here is not as complex as in Masaki Kobayashi's classic, his performance delivers cool cold expressions. Only with the eyes, Nakadai manages to demonstrate his evil personality. Undoubtedly a very versatile actor, watch his performance in The Human Condition to compare. Hiroshi Murai who has worked on photography for so many other films of the genre, such as Samurai Killer for example, delivers here one of his most remarkable works in black and white. The beautiful restored version makes all this even more beautiful!
Little can be said of Toshiru Mifune in the film, he looks great, and although his character does not add anything new to him (as an actor), it is always very enjoyable to see him acting, arguably one of the greats of the genre ! The Sword of Doom may not be the best gateway to the genre but it is undoubtedly an essential movie for movie lovers in general!
★★★★★
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There is also a 60's trilogy directed by Kenji Misumi (Lone Wolf and Cub film series) and Kazuo Mori (Samurai Vendetta), called Satan's Sword, which is an adaptation of the same literary work.