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

Director:

Kihachi Okamoto

Writers:

Shinobu Hashimoto (screenplay)
Kaizan Nakazato (novel)

Release Date:

1 July 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Samurai | Hand To Hand Combat | Samurai Warrior | Playing Footsie | Playing Footsie While In Bed

Cast

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
Kyôji Hayakawa
Atsuko Kawaguchi	...	Okinu
Shôji Ôki
Hiroshi Hasegawa
Kanzô Uni
Kôji Kakiki
Hirohito Kimura
Shôji Kosugi
Shin Ibuki
Seishirô Kuno
Keiichi Taki
Takao Zushi
Hiroyoshi Yamaguchi
Hiroshi Tanaka
Yasuharu Okoyama
Kinnosuke Takamatsu	...	Old Pilgrim
Tsuyoshi Watanabe
Jirô Makino
Chikako Sono
Fumiko Umeka
Toshirô Mifune	...	Toranosuke Shimada

Directed by
Kihachi Okamoto

Writing credits
Shinobu Hashimoto		(screenplay)
Kaizan Nakazato		(novel)

Produced by
Sanezumi Fujimoto	....	producer
Konparu Nanri	....	producer
Masayuki Satô	....	producer

Original Music by
Masaru Satô

Cinematography by
Hiroshi Murai

Film Editing by
Yoshitami Kuroiwa

Art Direction by
Takashi Matsuyama

Production Management
Hiroyasu Tsutsumi	....	executive in charge of production

Sound Department
Hisashi Shimonaga	....	sound effects editor
Shin Watarai	....	sound

Stunts
Ryû Kuze	....	fight choreographer

Camera and Electrical Department
Tsuruzo Nishikawa	....	lighting technician
Jun Yamazaki	....	still photographer

Production Companies

• Takarazuka Eiga Company Ltd.
• Toho Company

Distributors

• Toho Company (1966) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Toho Company (1967) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Criterion Collection, The (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (USA) (laserdisc)
• Home Vision Entertainment (HVE) (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Home Vision Entertainment (HVE) (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Dai-bosatsu tôge" - Japan (original title)

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Germany:16 | USA:Not Rated

Company:

Takarazuka Eiga Company Ltd.

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.

Quotes:

Toranosuke Shimada:The sword is the soul. Study the soul to know the sword. Evil mind, evil sword.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Heart String Marionette (2012)

Awesome swordplay. Intense drama.

Imagine Nakadai's murderous Onosuke from Yojimbo; then raise the level of his single-minded purpose an order of magnitude to the fated dancer of The Red Shoes and you get a vague idea of Ryunosuke, a psychopathic samuari hunted by the righteous and villainous alike. Hiroshi Murai's gritty B& W photography is awesome; and the choreography and staging of the swordfighting sequences are far and away the most rivetting I've ever seen (and I think I've seen most of them) -- not romantically stylized as in Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy -- something like the subtlety of Kurosawa meets the textured action of John Woo. The characters are intense and memorable. The final freeze frame may put you in mind of Butch Cassidy. You'll never forget it.