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.

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?

"The Sword of Doom" is one of Tatsuya Nakadai's best performances. His best in my opinion was in the role of Hidatora in Kurosawa's "RAN." Tatsuya is an unusually sensitive actor compared to other actors of his generation who seemed to spit out their lines. His facial gestures and body movement conveyed as much as words at times.The film contains one of the most memorable scenes ever shot; the fight pitting Toshiro Mifune against some 20 assassins in a snow storm borrowed by Quentin Tarantino for "Kill Bill." It is a moving narrative and at times Tatsuya reminds me of Marlon Brando in his early films in his moody performance.

It is too bad the trilogy was never finished. This was to be the first film of the trilogy which is why it leaves much of the story untold. One would have to consult the original work by the author in order to follow the story to its conclusion.

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.

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.