![[box cover]](../../reviewimgs/s/swordofdoom_cc.jpg)
Sword of Doom: The Criterion Collection
The most famous work by legendary Japanese director Kihachi Okamoto, 1965's Sword of Doom (known in Japan as Dai-bosatsu tôge, "The Incident at Daibosatsu Pass") tells the tale of a cold-hearted, cruel young samurai named Ryunosuke Tsukuye (famed Japanese star Tatsuya Nakadai). After we see Ryunosuke cut down an old pilgrim for no apparent reason whatsoever, it's hardly surprising when he then bargains with Hama (Michito Aratama), the wife of his opponent in an upcoming match, to exchange sexual favors for allowing her husband to win — and then lures the man into making an illegal attack and strikes him dead. Challenged by the husband's vengeful family — and cutting them all down without breaking a sweat — Ryunosuke takes the manipulative Hama as his mistress and begins a downward spiral of disgrace and financial distress. As he becomes increasingly violent and bitter, Ryunosuke eventually faces his considerable enemies and his life of remorseless killing finally destroys his sanity. Coming to the samurai genre after making mostly crime pictures, director Kihachi brought a visual style to the genre that might not quite rival Kurosawa, but is impressive nonetheless. Considered one of the truly great samurai pictures, Sword of Doom has been stolen from and copied endlessly over the years, by both Japanese and Western directors alike (compare the final showdown to Tarantino's "House of Blue Leaves" segment in Kill Bill: Vol. 1, for example). Tatsuya Nakadai is hypnotic as Ryunosuke, whose motivations are never made clear — is he a sociopath or, given the eventual revelations of the wrongdoing of those he kills, is he a divine instrument? The swordplay in the film ranges from the merely adequate to the sublime, with a fight involving Toshiro Mifune (who appears at about the halfway point in a small but pivotal role) standing as a highlight, as does that final, brutal battle. Cinematographer Hiroshi Murai has a canny sense of framing action — whether by using a dojo's roofline to create a faux-proscenium in which to present an exhibition match or by slowly moving the camera to make the cowering Hama disappear behind Ryunosuke's dark, looming form, the visuals in Sword of Doom always help to tell the story (one of the hallmarks of great cinema). The Criterion Collection's DVD release offers a very, very good restored anamorphic transfer (2.35:1) — perhaps not quite as spectacular as with some of their other releases, but despite some remaining dust and several scenes that seem far too dark, it's an impressive presentation (Criterion previously released Sword of Doom) on Laserdisc, with a good transfer that's been improved here by additional restoration). The monaural Dolby Digital soundtrack (in Japanese with optional English subtitles) is also very good, with clean, clear dialogue and a nice mix with the soundtrack music by Masaru Satô. Included with the disc is a booklet containing an excellent essay by Geoffrey O'Brien detailing the film's origins as a serialized novel, stage production, and earlier movie, as well as explaining some of the more obscure (to Westerners) points of the plot. Keep-case.
—Dawn Taylor
