Le sabre du mal

Three years before The Wild Bunch(1969) and the same year as Django(1966) came a film called Dai-Bosatsu Toge/Sword of Doom(1966) which was one of first body count action dramas in 1966. Not only a terrific samurai film but also a terrifing portrait of a samurai warrior who's on the brink of madness. Tatsuya Nakadai gives one of his best performances that is surpassed only by his excellent performances in the following Kurosawa films, Kagemusha(1980) and Ran(1984). Sword of Doom(1966) contains elements that reminds me of Henry:Portrait of a Serial Killer(1986) because Ryunosuke also kills at random and is a very scary person. Toshiro Mifune is magnificent in his role as the wise samurai teacher, Shimada. The high body count ending would influences people like Sam Peckinpah and John Woo as well as the Lone Wolf and Cub films. Dai-Bosatsu Toge is about a lone samurai warrior who is unable to live outside of his sword. The cinematography is great and the story is very interesting. The film has some scenes of graphic violence that must have shocked Japanese audiences back in 1966. The film ends on an amazing body count blood bath battle that is ahead of its time. One of the most underrated Samurai pics of all time.

The villain of this piece is one of the most memorable in Japanese, maybe even film, history. His crazed looks and more than that his oddness, seem just right for a killer, it's more the look of a dangerous unpredictable animal than a human being.

Much of what's said by others about this movie is true, but I'm writing to give you a few very minor tips that I think will enhance the movie. I'm not really giving anything away, but just to set your perceptions.

First Tishiro Mifune has what amounts to a very small part, he's an important part but does not star in the film by any stretch. Also the plot it somewhat confused upon first viewing. The final sword fight is very very good and bloody but....

The problem with the ending is that it doesn't resolve a major subplot. Kinda I suppose like a Cohen brothers movie it sets up stuff that it has no interest, I guess, in dealing with in conventional ways, but in this case as in the case of the rare "lesser" Cohen Brothers movies this time it does hurt the film.

Still memorable, villain saves the day, both in performance and direction. Too bad they didn't quite keep it all together plot wise and ending wise.

Imagine your favorite action movie, then take out all the cheesy one-liners ("Asta la vista, baby!"), the irritating sidekick, the love interest, the techno-porn, and the off-handed moralistic ending. Then add a Commando-league body count, incredible swordplay, and great photography, and you've got Sword of Doom. This is a wrenching, visceral drama about an antagonist armed not with a stolen nuclear device, but with the best sword-fighting skills in Japan and a psychopath's indifference to human life. Unlike other more recent movies that try to portray the same raw, killing-machine kind of character, Sword of Doom does not resort to grimy photography or an adolescent delight in visual assault. Instead you get pure, distilled, ultra-kinetic fighting suffused with a thrilling coldness.

There is, of course, no question that the protagonist here is the handsome and insane Ryunosuke. And I can see that his insanity, alienation, and disassociation all come together in a climax of hallucination and compulsion. But there are things that I do not see. First, why is he insane? That is, what is his origin and the origin of his evil style of sword play? Second, why is there at least one very absorbing subplot which is developed and then dropped? I mean the romance between the "grand daughter" and Mifune's chief student and the tension regarding their welfare that builds up because of the plan of revenge? Is there some overriding master plan here; or some historical, cultural, etc. concept that I am missing?

Here, in one of Nakadai's best performances, he plays a young, seemingly evil Samurai who lives by his own moral code. He ruthlessly slays anyone who he thinks should die, and it's hard to say whether his killings are unjust or deserved, even though his actions might seem despicable at first. For example, in the beginning of the film, he encounters an ageing pilgrim praying for a quick death. Upon hearing this, Nadakai's character kills him in one swift move. This scene sets the tone for the rest of the movie.

Nakadai's fighting style echo's his attitude to an extent, it's an ultra defensive style in which he never strikes the first blow. In an iconic scene later on in the film, Mifune's older and wiser samurai tells Nakadai, "The sword is the soul. Study the soul to know the sword. Evil mind, evil sword." In Japanese culture, the sword and style of a samurai could be seen as a window to his soul and "Sword of Doom" beautifully yet brutally echoes this sentiment. In the penultimate scene of the film, Nakadai's samurai is haunted by his past actions and starts to hallucinate, he is clearly a broken man and regrets some of his actions.

The ending of the film is surely a controversial one but I personally loved it. Nothing is resolved, apparently there were sequels planned but they never came to light for one reason or another. Nevertheless, it didn't take away anything from the film and for me it actually added to the mystique and moral ambiguity of Nakadai's character.

Impeccably shot and beautifully choreographed, the film is a feast for the eyes. Nakadai's performance as a self destructive samurai was highly intense and full of emotion, his shift in character alone was astonishing and really displayed Nakadai's talent as a versatile actor. Mifune is also in the film and has his fair share of excellent scenes and lines. In summary, an excellent film that I'd recommend to anyone with a remote interest in Samurai movies.