Cheap The Sword of Doom - Criterion Collection (DVD) (Kihachi Okamoto) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Sword of Doom - Criterion Collection

Hack and Slash
"The Sword of Doom" ("Dai-bosatsu Toge" or "Pass of the Great Bodhisattva ") is entirely unlike most films in the Samurai genre. Harder than most, crueler than most, and certainly more bloody than any other Samurai film from this time period, it is a difficult film to define and for some impossible to enjoy. <
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>At first, the plot seems straight forward. An outcast Samurai, Ryunosuke enters into a match with Bunnojo Utsuki, upstanding member of the fencing school where Ryunosuke was expelled from. Defending himself from an illegal attack, Ryunosuke kills Bunnojo. Bunnojo's brother, Hyoma, vows revenge and begins to train himself to be strong enough to kill the powerful Ryunosuke. Into this revenge-motif there are added elements of the Shinsengumi army of Kyoto, and the Shogun loyalists, as well as a pair of women seeking to find their place in a dangerous world. <
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>However, nothing else of "The Sword of Doom" is straight forward. Ryunosuke is a sociopath, an emotionless killer of almost-supernatural skills with his sword. His motivations are cloudy, and sheer momentum seems to be his driving force. It is easy to label him a villain, yet it cannot be denied that each of his kills are justified, and he himself does not seek death. Hyoma's vendetta against Ryunosuke is almost pathetic, as it is obvious he would only die in the challenge. He struggles to gain an advantage, but the outcome is never in doubt. Fencing school master Toranosuke Shimada (Mifune Toshiro) is a bridge between the two men, being the only one skillful enough to give Ryunosuke pause, he trains Hyoma. In the background are the political motivations of the Shogun-loyalists, whom hire Ryunoske to kill for them. <
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>Tatsuya Nakadai is incredible as Ryunoske, a driven, intense performance. Nakadai is a veteren of many famous Samurai films, being the gunslinger in "Yojimbo" and the honorable Hanshiro Tsugumo in "Seppuku." Mifune is a stand-out as well, although his role is small. He exudes the necessary charisma to challenge Ryunoske. <
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>An action film, a psychology play, an art film..."The Sword of Doom" could be considered any of these. Definitely a "Love it or Hate it" movie, with emphatic opinions on both sides, it is an important entry in the Samurai genre, and everyone should give themselves a chance to see in what camp they fall. As for me, I love it.

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stunning
The cinematography of this film is breathtaking and very effective. I am not familiar with Okamoto as a director, but this film deeply impresses me. The sword fighting scenes in particular are all shot very much in the moment and bring the film to a state of very high art. The freeze at the end is shocking and thought provoking. There is also a kind of metaphoric joke in the mill scene which was quite entertaining. I would strongly recommend this film.

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good film, bad DVD, no bonus material
This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film. <
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>"The Sword of Doom" known in Japan as "Dai-bosatsu tôge" is a depiction of a samurai swordsman who is inherently evil and kills an opponent during a fencing match. The dead man's family pursues the killer. <
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>The film is very good and has some great scenes but the DVD has no special features at all except for the essay in the liner notes which I don't think count. <
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>This is the first Criterion DVD without special features for a long time and think it was a mistake for them to release a film without special features.