| Director Kihachi Okamoto's brilliantly
staged Sword of Doom, a film which really
sets the framework for countless “anti-hero”
samurai pictures that would follow. Sword
of Doom is a very gothic look at a genre
which had started to become formulaic by the time
Okamoto's film hit the big screen in the mid 1960's.
There is still an immense feeling of honor that
one gets from the principal characters, but instead
of focusing on a young man out for revenge, Okamoto
instead focuses on the killer, many would say
the story's villain, and in this respect makes
his picture stand out from others up to this point.
Sword of Doom really excels in a number
of areas, including a well woven story, interesting
character development, excellent acting which
is complimented by equally impressive cinematography,
and topped off by Masaru
Sato's interesting score for the film.
The plot of Sword of Doom
is rather complex, the film starts with Ryunosuke
Tsukue out on stroll on Daibosatsu Pass when he
comes across an elderly grandfather, recently
separated from his granddaughter, Omatsu, who
left to fetch some water. Overhearing his prayers
to Buddha and the burden that he is on granddaughter,
Ryunosuke approaches the old man and quickly kills
him. Ryunosuke then heads back to his village
only to meet Shichbei, a thief as later discovered.
Ryunosuke makes a quick slash with his sword as
the thief narrowly escapes, descending quickly
up the hillside. Shichbei then comes across the
weeping Omatsu having found her deceased grandfather.
Meanwhile, Ryunosuke has returned to the village
and is immediately bombarded with requests to
let Bunnojo Utsugi win against him in tomorrow's
tournament. The village is also paid a visit by
Hama, Bunnojo's wife, to try and plead with Ryunosuke
to let her husband win. Ryunosuke informs her
that he holds the tournament as dear as a woman
holds her own chastity, asking if she would give
that up, a question which eventually leads to
the pair having sex that night in an old mill.
Hama's self-sacrifice is for naught,
though, as her husband learns of her whereabouts
on the previous night and presents her with a
declaration of divorce before entering the match.
Bunnojo then vows, despite the rules, to kill
Ryunosuke during the match. However, his plan
backfires and instead Ryunosuke ends up killing
Bunnojo while parrying a blow. Hama, left with
no place to go, follows Ryunosuke. Two years later,
Ryunosuke is found living with Hama, who has given
birth to their child, and is employed as part
of Shincho's group. Ryunosuke visits Shimada's
fencing school, and has a match with Hyoma Utsugi,
Bunnjo's brother although this is unknown to Ryunosuke.
The lone swordsman wins the match and then leaves
after Shimada refuses to face him. Hyomi also
leaves and, on his way home, is caught in a sudden
downpour. Trying to find shelter from the rain,
Hyomi stops outside of a house for shelter and
meets Omatsu. Their meeting is cut short, though,
as Omatsu is called back inside. It's discovered
that Shichbei, the stranger who came across Omatsu
when she found her slain grandfather, has taken
Omatsu as his own and has left her in the care
of a flower teacher as he continues his trade
as a thief without rising suspicion from the young
girl.
In the meantime, Ryunosuke comes
across one of his father's old servants, Yohachi,
and learns that the man he faced at Shimada's
fencing school was the brother of Bunnjo. Meanwhile,
Omatsu's caretaker begins shopping her around
to different lords, and ends up sending her to
Kyoto. Shichbei confronts her with this, and ends
up having to threaten her to learn of Omatsu's
whereabouts. That night, as part of a sting set
up by Shincho's group, Ryunosuke and the others
in the group set out in the snow ready for battle.
They mistake their target, however, and end up
attacking fencing teacher Shimada, who kills almost
all of his attacks while Ryunosuke stares onward,
never entering the fray. Shaken by this turn of
events, Ryunosuke returns home and quarrels with
Hama before eventually going to sleep. Hama, having
made up her made, takes out a dagger and attempts
to kill Ryunosuke once and for all. Her plan fails,
though, and she ends up being chased out into
the snow and killed herself.
Later, as fate would have it, Shichbei,
Omatsu and Hyomi all met in Kyoto. Hyomi's feelings
for Omatsu are instantly apparent to Shichebi,
who also appears to approve of the two being together.
Eventually, the pair learns of Hyomi's grudge
against Ryunosuke and agree to help. It's discovered
that Ryunosuke is staying with the newly formed
Shinsen group and Omatsu agrees to go there to
retrieve information for Hyomi. Hyomi and Shichbei,
who reveals the gun that he is armed with, start
their plan to attack Ryunosuke when he emerges
from the party. However, Omatsu is discovered,
and left to the company of Ryunosuke. Alone with
Omatsu, Ryunosuke begins to take notice to the
shadows as his mind starts to play tricks with
him. Just as Omatsu tells the story of her grandfather
and the pilgrimage they were on near Daibosatsu
Pass, Ryunosuke draws his sword and starts attacking
his surroundings. The shadows take on the form
of Omatsu's grandfather, Shimada and Hama
as Ryunosuke appears to drift into madness. Eventually
a fire breaks out, as a flurry of attackers sweep
in to kill Ryunosuke. Their numbers are great,
and the lone swordsman becomes severally wounded
as he continues to fight...
The story of the film is very well
constructed; the weaving of what seem to be minor
characters during the film's introduction into
the latter part of the story is brilliantly played
out here. The introduction of the Ryunosuke character,
his killing the grandfather, is another great
element, as it keeps the audience on their toes
for the rest of the picture, and showcases Ryunosuke
as being unpredictable. For example, the scenes
where Ryunosuke is with Hama and reaches for his
sword always seem to generate a reaction from
the viewer, despite the fact that nothing ever
comes from it. The most controversial element
of the story would have to be the closure of the
film, though. An abrupt ending that lacks a conclusion
and ends as the film is in the middle of the climax.
It's a fairly "artsy" final cut to the
film, and tends to divide the audience on whether
it was a wise choice or not. One can't argue,
though, that it defiantly makes the film more
thought provoking. The odds of survival for Ryunosuke
seem incredibly stacked against him, as he is
severally wounded and fighting several other warriors
while the surrounding structure is on fire. Not
to mention that Hyomi and Shichbei wait outside
with the intent to kill the wandering swordsman.
What could have been a rather straight forward
closure to the picture is instead one that generates
a lot of conversation, both positive and adverse,
in regards to how Okamoto handled this element
of the film. Personally, it's something which
bothered me at first, but became something I appreciated
more and more after playing around with the notion
in my head.
At heart, The Sword of Doom
is a very character driven story, and the amount
of character development seen in the film tends
to compliment this angle well. Ryunosuke's character
tends to be more interesting than others, though.
As the rest of the cast is slowly developed, the
audience seems to realize they actually know less
and less about Ryunosuke, as he continues to throw
into doubt suggested character elements. The hints
at his inner demons, his furious reaction to being
referred to as an "outcast" by his wife
for example, tell one that he is an incredibly
troubled character, but his very dark, and often
sinister, nature make it hard to sympathize with
him. The other major characters are well developed
here, and it's interesting to see how they interact
with the unpredictable Ryunosuke. Hama is another
good example of this, as the audience sees her
character evolve from one who is dedicated to
her husband, then her child, and finally a character
that is so succumbed by self-loathing that she
attempts to kill Ryunosuke. Hyomi is another noteworthy
case here, as his character feels distinctly naive
when first introduced but slowly develops into
a more self confident figure as the film progresses.
What really compliments the diverse
characters, though, is the acting, which by all
standards is excellent here. Tatsuya
Nakadai is at the top of his game as the lone
swordsman Ryunosuke, and plays the character perfectly.
His cold, distant, stares make Ryunosuke imposing
for nearly every instance that he is on screen.
Nakadai never breaks character here, while also
showing off his craft in very subtle ways. Ryunosuke
is a character of few words, and not one to give
away his inner emotions, but Nakadai plays with
this aspect as he gives away slight hints at the
character's inner feelings. Whether it is
a slight flaring of his nostrils or the annoyed
tapping of his pinky against his knee while asked
to let Bunnojo win in the tournament, an action
that is showcased well by Hiroshi Murai's cinematography,
Nakadai seems to reveal what he can about the
character while staying true to the role. The
breakthrough moment in the film, though, comes
near the closure as Nakadai's portrayal of Ryunosuke
going, what appears to be, mad is quite chilling.
In fact, paired with the noise of people crying
out in pain with each sword stroke, this has to
be one of the more unsettling moments in any Toho
film. Overall, Nakadai's performance here is meticulously
calculated, as the actor truly showcases why his
craft is often hailed as second only to that of
the great Toshiro
Mifune in Japan.
The other principal actors in the
film do their part, each bringing a distinct personality
to their individual characters. Michiyo Aratama
as Hama is well cast, giving a performance with
a great deal of self loathing, while her relationship
with Ryunosuke has to be one of the more diverse
seen in an onscreen "couple." Yuzo Kayama
is great as Hyomi, brother of Bunnojo, playing
with the naive aspect of his character while still
allowing the audience to understand the deep hatred
he has for Ryunosuke. Unfortunately, the actor's
range is put into doubt here. His portrayal of
Hyomi seems to mirror that of Noboru Yasumoto
in the 1965 film Red
Beard, but his talents are still welcomed
here and the portrayal fits both characters in
this instance. Toshiro
Mifune, as the stern faced teacher Toranosuke
Shimada, is, as always, good. It could be argued,
given the actor's immense talent, that he is fairly
underused here, but Mifune still does wonders
with the supporting role that he is given. Yoko
Naito, as the seductively innocent Omatsu, is
excellent here as well, and the chemistry she
has with Kayama is apparent from the start, even
if the two actors aren't given a great deal of
screen time together. Finally, rounding out the
main characters, Ko Nishimura, as the thief Shichbei,
does a commendable job, as he pulls off a very
charming character who has the distinct aura of
a swindler about him. He plays the almost double
role of a thief and Omatsu's caretaker very well
here, and the amount of love he has for the young
girl feels genuine.
When discussing Sword of Doom,
it's hard not to discuss the excellent cinematography
constructed by Hiroshi Murai. From start to finish,
the film is a host to numerous, highly memorable,
shots which do a lot to heighten the mood during
a particular scene. One of the early examples
of the fine cinematography showcased in the movie
occurs during the scene where the grandfather
is praying to end the burden that he forces on
his young granddaughter. The scene is heavy with
foreshadowing, and is interrupted abruptly by
Ryunosuke, with his first spoken line in the film,
as the grandfather moves his head slightly to
reveal to the audience that Ryunosuke had actually
been present the entire time. Another noteworthy
aspect in regards to cinematography is the duel
in the fog, as Ryunosuke fends off countless attackers.
The camera work during this scene is well established,
as the audience is given a nice elevated shot
of the battle and is allowed to see the entire
fight play out. It's a refreshing scene
in contrast to more contemporarily staged fights
which rely heavily on fast cuts during the battles.
The scene ends with the iconic shot of Ryunosuke
walking away, into the fog, as a trail of dead
fighters are left in his wake.
Another of those really great instances
of cinematography in the film occurs during Hama's
long drawn out death scene, a sequence which feels
at home in a horror film in the way that Murai
establishes it. The use of shadows here is excellent,
making Ryunosuke seem even more imposing, while
the surrounding pieces of wood placed in front
of the camera, almost like bars, really sends
home that feeling of being trapped and helpless
that Hama is experiencing. It's probably one of
the more expertly set up sequences to be found
in any Toho film.
As for the soundtrack to Sword
of Doom, it's well composed here, as Masaru
Sato continues to perfect his craft. His work
in Sword of Doom doesn't bring much attention
to the score itself, but flows well in the context
of the movie. Sato's theme that plays during the
snow battle with Mifune does have a distinct feel
similar to some of his work in Ebirah,
Horror of the Deep (1966) though.
In closing,
The Sword of Doom is an excellent, very
dark, film whose only real fault is the division
caused by the rather "artsy" closure
to the film and the fact that it isn't at the
near perfect level of some of the other "heavy
hitters" in the genre, such as Seven
Samurai (1954) or Yojimbo
(1961). By all accounts, though, one of the better
movies out there, regardless of nationality.
|
(4.5/5)
