The Sword of Doom (1967) directed by Kihachi Okamoto
In the beginning of The Sword of Doom, an elderly pilgrim prays at a shrine for death so he would no longer be a burden to his granddaughter who cares for him. As if to answer his prayers, a mysterious samurai appears seemingly from thin air and grants him his wish by slashing him down mercilessly. This samurai is Ryunosuke Tsukue and he can best be described as pure evil in human form. Here is a man who has honed his craft so perfectly that he has become a literal harbinger of death, leaving behind bodies for no other reason than that he simply can.
There is a fencing match where he must face off against a member of his former school. The man he must face off against is no match for him so his wife comes to Ryunosuke to beg to let her husband win so he does not lose his position and honor. Ryunosuke agrees only if she sleeps with him and in a disturbing scene he forces himself upon her in what could only be described as rape. The husband finds out about this and takes the match personally attempting to defeat him with an illegal maneuver. Ryunosuke parries his attack and gives a swift blow to the head that kills him. The man's school seeks revenge against Ryunosuke and attempt an ambush. In one of the film's several lengthy and bloody fight sequences, Ryunosuke slays them one by one. In perhaps the film's signature composition, he stands in the center of the frame walking through the misty forest with bodies lying in his wake.
The film is broken into several episodic chapters. From what I have read, The Sword of Doom was based on a serialized newspaper story that spanned over thirty years. These chapters kind of give the film a disjointed feel as the central plot is loosely strung together, but it basically focuses on the exploits of this distinctively villainous anti-hero. As a disgraced samurai, Ryunosuke can only find work with a band of thieves. He now has a son with the woman he raped and whose husband he killed and it is a torturous and painful relationship for her but Ryunosuke is all that she has. The husband's brother seeks revenge against Ryunosuke but first must receive training from the finest swordsman in the land Shimada, played by Toshiro mother-effing Mifune.
Shimada is the antithesis of Ryunosuke. One is virtuous and dignified while the other is amoral. He doesn't have a lot of screen time but Mifune makes the most of it and is given a lengthy fight scene of his own which totally kicks ass. In it, Shimada slays a bunch of assassins in a snowy exterior set, providing a nice contrast between the white snow and the dark blood of his victims. It also reveals the difference between Shimada and Ryunosuke. Shimada only kills when he has to and hates the idea of taking life while Ryunosuke relishes in it. When he witnesses Shimada at work it shakes him to his very core as he reflects on the darkness of his heart.
The film fast forwards yet again when the younger brother is ready for his duel with Ryunosuke, yet interestingly this match does not happen and is actually a sort of afterthought. There are many questions left unanswered in this film due to its episodic nature and that this was supposed to be the first of a series of movies that never came. Instead the film's finale comes when Ryunosuke is confronted with his own conscience. He sees the spirits of all the victims he has killed in shadows on the walls and he slashes violently out of control in a demented state. Soon real people enter the scene to kill him in yet another lengthy fight sequence. The would-be assassins come out of the woodwork and as soon as one is slain another takes his place as Ryunosuke slays one after another after another. The fight literally never ends as the movie ends with a freeze frame in the middle of the scene, focusing in on Ryunosuke's anguished face of pain, rage and perhaps ecstasy.
I think the real reason why the film ends with this freeze frame is because this was meant to be the first of a series of films and the next film would simply just pick up where this one left off. They never intended this to be the only and thus last film. In a way though this is the perfect ending because it captures the essence of the film, the never ending violence and perpetual state of evil in Ryunosuke. He is literally trapped in this scene forever fighting off his personal demons and enemies in his own personal hell.
The Sword of Doom is far from perfect as its story could have been tightened up but it is an undeniably interesting film. It has great black and white cinematography which serve as a perfect backdrop for its stylized violence. I will say one thing though that always confused me, why is it that in a one against thirty sword fight, the bad guys take turns fighting him rather than just rush him? There were so many times when Ryunosuke (or Shimada in his scene) could have been attacked from behind when he was preoccupied with the guy in front of him. He only has one sword, we have fifty. Just surround him and hack away. Don't fight him one at a time!
Grade: B
In the beginning of The Sword of Doom, an elderly pilgrim prays at a shrine for death so he would no longer be a burden to his granddaughter who cares for him. As if to answer his prayers, a mysterious samurai appears seemingly from thin air and grants him his wish by slashing him down mercilessly. This samurai is Ryunosuke Tsukue and he can best be described as pure evil in human form. Here is a man who has honed his craft so perfectly that he has become a literal harbinger of death, leaving behind bodies for no other reason than that he simply can.
There is a fencing match where he must face off against a member of his former school. The man he must face off against is no match for him so his wife comes to Ryunosuke to beg to let her husband win so he does not lose his position and honor. Ryunosuke agrees only if she sleeps with him and in a disturbing scene he forces himself upon her in what could only be described as rape. The husband finds out about this and takes the match personally attempting to defeat him with an illegal maneuver. Ryunosuke parries his attack and gives a swift blow to the head that kills him. The man's school seeks revenge against Ryunosuke and attempt an ambush. In one of the film's several lengthy and bloody fight sequences, Ryunosuke slays them one by one. In perhaps the film's signature composition, he stands in the center of the frame walking through the misty forest with bodies lying in his wake.
The film is broken into several episodic chapters. From what I have read, The Sword of Doom was based on a serialized newspaper story that spanned over thirty years. These chapters kind of give the film a disjointed feel as the central plot is loosely strung together, but it basically focuses on the exploits of this distinctively villainous anti-hero. As a disgraced samurai, Ryunosuke can only find work with a band of thieves. He now has a son with the woman he raped and whose husband he killed and it is a torturous and painful relationship for her but Ryunosuke is all that she has. The husband's brother seeks revenge against Ryunosuke but first must receive training from the finest swordsman in the land Shimada, played by Toshiro mother-effing Mifune.
Shimada is the antithesis of Ryunosuke. One is virtuous and dignified while the other is amoral. He doesn't have a lot of screen time but Mifune makes the most of it and is given a lengthy fight scene of his own which totally kicks ass. In it, Shimada slays a bunch of assassins in a snowy exterior set, providing a nice contrast between the white snow and the dark blood of his victims. It also reveals the difference between Shimada and Ryunosuke. Shimada only kills when he has to and hates the idea of taking life while Ryunosuke relishes in it. When he witnesses Shimada at work it shakes him to his very core as he reflects on the darkness of his heart.
The film fast forwards yet again when the younger brother is ready for his duel with Ryunosuke, yet interestingly this match does not happen and is actually a sort of afterthought. There are many questions left unanswered in this film due to its episodic nature and that this was supposed to be the first of a series of movies that never came. Instead the film's finale comes when Ryunosuke is confronted with his own conscience. He sees the spirits of all the victims he has killed in shadows on the walls and he slashes violently out of control in a demented state. Soon real people enter the scene to kill him in yet another lengthy fight sequence. The would-be assassins come out of the woodwork and as soon as one is slain another takes his place as Ryunosuke slays one after another after another. The fight literally never ends as the movie ends with a freeze frame in the middle of the scene, focusing in on Ryunosuke's anguished face of pain, rage and perhaps ecstasy.
I think the real reason why the film ends with this freeze frame is because this was meant to be the first of a series of films and the next film would simply just pick up where this one left off. They never intended this to be the only and thus last film. In a way though this is the perfect ending because it captures the essence of the film, the never ending violence and perpetual state of evil in Ryunosuke. He is literally trapped in this scene forever fighting off his personal demons and enemies in his own personal hell.
The Sword of Doom is far from perfect as its story could have been tightened up but it is an undeniably interesting film. It has great black and white cinematography which serve as a perfect backdrop for its stylized violence. I will say one thing though that always confused me, why is it that in a one against thirty sword fight, the bad guys take turns fighting him rather than just rush him? There were so many times when Ryunosuke (or Shimada in his scene) could have been attacked from behind when he was preoccupied with the guy in front of him. He only has one sword, we have fifty. Just surround him and hack away. Don't fight him one at a time!
Grade: B
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