The Sword of Doom (1966)
"Dai-bosatsu tôge" (original title)

Through his unconscionable actions against others, a sociopath samurai builds a trail of vendettas that follow him closely.

Director:

Kihachi Okamoto

Writers:

Shinobu Hashimoto (screenplay), Kaizan Nakazato (novel)

Stars:

Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Yûzô Kayama

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tatsuya Nakadai	...	Ryunosuke Tsukue
Michiyo Aratama	...	Ohama
Yûzô Kayama	...	Hyoma Utsuki
Yôko Naitô	...	Omatsu
Tadao Nakamaru	...	Isamu Kondo
Kei Satô	...	Kamo Serizawa
Kô Nishimura	...	Shichibei, Omatsu's 'uncle'
Ichirô Nakatani	...	Bunnojo Utsuki
Kunie Tanaka	...	Senkichi
Takamaru Sasaki	...	Ishinsai Nakamura
Ryôsuke Kagawa	...	Dansho Tsukue
Kamatari Fujiwara	...	Omatsu's grandfather
Hideyo Amamoto
Akio Miyabe	...	Toshizo Ogata
Yasuzô Ogawa	...	Yohachi

Storyline

Ryunosuke is a sociopathic samurai without compassion or scruples. When he is scheduled for an exhibition match at his fencing school, the wife of his opponent begs Ryunosuke to throw the match, offering her own virtue in trade. Ryunosuke accepts her offer, but kills her husband in the match. Over time, Ryunosuke is pursued by the brother of the man he killed. The brother trains with the master fencer Shimada. In the meantime, however, Ryunosuke earns the enmity of the band of assassins he runs with, and it becomes a question of who shall face him in final conflict.

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Plot Keywords:

samurai | hand to hand combat | samurai warrior | playing footsie | playing footsie while in bed | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

1 July 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Sword of Doom

Company Credits

Production Co:

Takarazuka Eiga Company Ltd., Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The abrupt ending of the film is due to the fact that it was originally intended to be the first part in a trilogy of films based on a lengthy Japanese novel. Nakazato Kaizan's 41 volume historical novel focused on the Edo period in Japanese history when the shogunate collapsed and a new government arose that revolved around the Emperor. It was the longest novel in Japan - encompassing 1533 chapters and over 5 and a half million Japanese characters - until the publication of Sohachi Yamaoka's serialized novel "Tokugawa Ieyasu", which is reportedly the longest novel in any language.

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Quotes

Ryunosuke Tsukue: I, Ryunosuke Tsukue, trust only my sword in this world. When I fight, I have no family.

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Connections

Version of Sword in the Moonlight (1957)

User Reviews

truly great and original piece of film-making

Sword of doom is a truly great and original piece of film-making. As soon as the film had started, and the dark and eerie soundtrack kicked in, I knew I was about to enjoy a gem of japanese cinema. The most original element of the film is that the main character Ryunosuke is a real mean, killing machine, seriously, he is the lead in the film, but whereas in any other samurai/martial arts film he would normally turn up for a few scenes of mayhem, then turn up at the very end for a much deserved death. Well in this film the villain is the lead, Ryunosuke is such an interesting character, that days after watching this film you will find yourself thinking I wonder if... or what if that had happened. Sword of doom is one of those movies that just sticks in your head days after viewing time has ended. It doesn't even matter that the ending comes quite abruptly, that just let's the viewer imagine their own conclusion to the film. Sword of doom is without doubt the darkest and the most mysterious martial arts/samurai film that i've ever had the pleasure of viewing. The action scenes in the film are first rate too, with very believable sword duels. I put this film right up there with the very best that eastern cinema has to offer. 10/10