Directed by Kihachi Okamoto
Written by Shinobu Hashimoto
Based on the novel by Kaizan Nakazato
The Sword of Doom is a captivating film set during the final days of Shogunate rule. The main character is Ryunosuke, a fighter of magnificent skill who lives his own twisted version of the samurai code. When he first appears in the film, he takes on the role of an avenging angel. An old man prays to Buddha in hopes that his life will mercifully end soon, so he is no longer a burden to his granddaughter. Ryunosuke grants the old man's request, but the viewer soon learns that Ryunosuke might not have acted out of compassion. His father tells Ryunosuke that there is a cruelty in his fighting style and that "cruelty doesn't stop with your sword. It seems to have seeped into your mind and body." I was intrigued by the idea of a samurai character that I hadn't seen before.
A match has been scheduled between Ryunosuke and Bunnojo of the Kogen fighting school. Ryunosuke's father requests that he lose the match because it is so important to Bunnojo. Ryunosuke is later visited by Hama, who claims to be Bunnojo's sister, and she too requests that Ryunosuke lose the match. He tells her "a swordsman prizes his skill like a woman prizes her chastity," and asks her if she would surrender it. She understands and does, but Bunnojo soon finds out. Since she has brought shame and disgrace to the family, Bunnojo seeks revenge. During the match, a draw is declared, yet those aren't the final results.
The story jumps ahead two years. Ryunosuke has become a drunk and is living with Hama and a young child. They blame each other for the state they find themselves in, neither accepting the role they played. Ryunosuke works for little money under an alias as an assassin for a group of samurais. The group is splintering into different factions who all want control and scheme to get it.
Article comments
1 - Chris Beaumont
Nice, I've been wanting to check this out, but new very little about it. ALthough it really isn't all that unusual for Criterion not to have extras, granted they have some great sets, but it is like 50/50 whether there will be supplementals. Thanks, I'll have to check this out.
2 - Cletus Nelson
Sword of Doom often seems unstructured and scattered but I've read on-line that the character of Ryunosuke was intended to convey the saga of an "avenging angel" rooted in Japanese mythic tradition.
Go back through the movie and watch it again---are the people he kills merely the victims of his violence or are their deaths justifiable as part of some reshuffling of the cosmic order?
Glad to hear it's now on DVD!
3 - El Bicho
Cletus,
You and the online writers who talk about Ryunosuke being an angel are the ones who need to watch the film again because I don't see any evidence that leads to that conclusion.
While of some of the killings may have been justifiable, why do we see both his father and Shimada talk about how evil Ryunosuke, yet no counter-arguement is made on his behalf?
If Ryunosuke is righteous, why would he be haunted by the ghosts of those he killed? I have many other questions, but don't want to ruin the plot for others.
It is quite possible that the online writers you mention are referring to the intention of Ryunosuke's character in the novel and not the film. Adaptations are not always accurate to their source material.
4 - El Bicho
Chris,
I have been reviewing Criterion discs for the past six months. I don't dispute the accuracy of your percentages being correct at one point in time, but since I have been working with them, they have really been doing a much better job of finding supplemntal material.
Go to their website and check out what's been released this year and what they have scheduled, and you'll discover that only 2 out of 24 don't have any extras. Plus, they are going back to restore and remaster some films like "M" and "Jules and Jim," adding newly found and created supplements.
http://www.criterionco.com/asp/