Sword of the Beast (1965)

After killing a counselor of his clan, a fugitive samurai befriends a couple poaching the shogun's gold in the mountains.

Director:

Hideo Gosha

Writers:

Hideo Gosha, Eizaburo Shiba

Stars:

Mikijirô Hira, Gô Katô, Shima Iwashita

Cast

Credited cast:
Mikijirô Hira	...	Yuuki Gennosuke
Gô Katô	...	Jurata Yamane
Shima Iwashita	...	Taka
Toshie Kimura	...	Misa
Kantarô Suga	...	Daizaburo
Yôko Mihara	...	Osen
Kunie Tanaka	...	Tanji
Eijirô Tôno	...	Minister
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Shigeru Amachi
Hajime Araki
Tsuyoshi Date
Ryûji Fujisawa
Torahiko Hamada
Tôru Hatozaki
Sentarô Hayashi

Storyline

Gennosuke, a clan retainer, kills one of the clan ministers as part of a plot to achieve reform. He is pursued by his former comrades, each hoping to complete the vendetta put on Gennosuke by the clan. With the help of a master swordsman, Yamane, Gennosuke has a chance at survival.

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Plot Keywords:

thug | homicide | attempted rape | forced sex | mission | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Hideo Gosha's 2nd feature film.

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Quotes

Minister: Wait! We're not connected at all. Why kill me?
Yuuki Gennosuke: No, we *are* connected because I'll see you in hell.

User Reviews

what separates humanity from beasts?

On the surface this may seem like a typical samurai action flick but like Kurosawa and Kobyashi films there are many social implications beneath the surface.

The movie seems to revolve around the irony that while Gennosuke, the main character who is basically cast out of society in to the wild and forced to constantly fight for his survival like an animal, is actually the only character that tries to show any qualities above that of a beast.

Every other character from a group of bandits he encounters to the group of clansmen trying to exact revenge after Gennosuke killed their leader, to a man and his wife from a separate clan trying to steal gold to improve their clan status are either acting for revenge, power, or greed. The greed exists because most of the movie takes place around a mountain where gold has just been discovered and Gennosuke is befriended by a poor man hoping to find some for himself.

Throughout the movie there is constant backstabbing, deception, and generally brutal acts committed by a multitude of these characters. For instance the man from a separate clan living with his wife on a shack by the river are attacked by bandits in the woods trying to steal the gold they have already mined; they hold the wife hostage in demand for his booty but the man would rather give up his wife then part with his gold. Her saving grace is when Gennosuke shows up on the the scene and acts with the courage and compassion to save her life. The husband does come around a little later in the movie but in the end his rival clan plans to kill everyone on the mountain and save the gold for themselves threatening the couple, Gennosuke, and his persuers.

Gosha does a great job with his imagery, demonstrating a wild, dark world threatening to swallow humans whole. Throughout the film, which is almost all outdoors are scenes of men disappearing into woods or buried beneath shrubbery. In fact, it's quite reminiscent of another Japanese Classic, Rashamon. Some of the shots are virtually identical, ie the sun being concealed over the forest canopy or disappearing behind a mountain.

One of the best touches is towards the end when soldiers from the rival clan are planning to take the mountain, and kill anyone who knows about the gold. One of them sounds a battle horn to signal the approach, a battle horn made to sound conspicuously like some kind of strange animal call.

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

18 September 1965 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Sword of the Beast

Filming Locations:

Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shochiku, Shochiku-Fuji Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1