# the sword of doom ![[swordofdoomposter.jpg|300]] theatrical release poster directed by: kihachi okamoto screenplay by: shinobu hashimoto based on: dai-bosatsu tōge by kaizan nakazato produced by: sanezumi fujimoto - masayuki sato - kaneharu minamizato starring: tatsuya nakadai - yūzō kayama - michiyo aratama - toshiro mifune cinematography: hiroshi murai music by: masaru sato production companies: takarazuka motion picture co. - toho distributed by: toho release date: 25 february 1966 (japan) running time: 119 minutes country: japan the sword of doom known in japan as dai-bosatsu tōge (大菩薩峠 "great bodhisattva pass") is a 1966 japanese jidaigeki film directed by kihachi okamoto and starring tatsuya nakadai. it is based on the serial novel of the same title by kaizan nakazato # plot the story follows the life of ryunosuke tsukue (tatsuya nakadai) an amoral samurai and a master swordsman with an unorthodox style. ryunosuke is first seen when ey kills an elderly buddhist pilgrim who ey finds praying for death. ey appears to have no feeling. later ey kills an opponent in self-defense in a fencing competition that was intended to be non-lethal but became a duel after ey raped ir opponent's wife in exchange for throwing the match and allowing ir husband to win. ir opponent finds out about the rape prior to the match and is shown giving ir wife a notice of divorce. ir rage at ryunosuke during the match causes ir to take an illegal lunging attack after the judge proclaims a draw and ryunosuke the better swordsman parries and kills ir with one stroke of ir bokken. ryunosuke flees town after killing the man and cuts down many of the dead opponent's clansmen who attack ir as ey is leaving. ir opponent's ex-wife asks to go along with ir two years pass and in order to make a living ryunosuke joins the shinsengumi a sort of semi-official police force made up of rōnin that supports the tokugawa shogunate through murder and assassinations. through all ir interactions whether killing a man or at home with ir mistress and ir baby son ryunosuke rarely shows any emotion. ir expression is fixed in a glassy stare that suggests a quiet insanity eventually ryunosuke learns that the younger brother of the man ey killed in the fencing match is looking for ir intent on revenge. ey plans to meet this young man and kill ir but before the duel can take place two events occur that shake ir confidence. in a botched assassination attempt ey sees another master swordsman shimada toranosuke (toshiro mifune) in action and for the first time ey doubts that ir own skill is truly unbeatable. that same night ryunosuke's mistress horrified by ir unremitting evil tries to kill ir in ir sleep. ey kills ir in the gardens to the ominous cries of ir sleeping child inside the house and flees without keeping ir appointment to duel with ir pursuer. later ey rejoins the gang of assassins at an oiran house (courtesan brothel) in the shimabara district of kyoto. there in a quiet (and ey is told haunted) room ey starts seeing the ghosts of all the people ey has killed. further ey is haunted by the words of shimada: "the sword is the soul. study the soul to know the sword. evil mind evil sword." the final blow comes when ey realizes that the apprentice oiran sent to entertain ir is the granddaughter of the pilgrim ey murdered at the film's beginning with this realisation ryunosuke appears to descend into complete insanity. ey starts slashing at the shadows of the ghosts that surround ir and then begins attacking ir fellow assassins who seem to number in the hundreds. ryunosuke kills dozens of gang members in the burning courtesan house as they gradually wear ir down with what few wounds they can inflict. finally it appears that ryunosuke will surely be killed; bleeding ir face contorted in rage ey lurches forward raises ir sword one last time and the film ends with a freeze-frame catching ryunosuke in mid sword-slash # cast actor: role tatsuya nakadai: ryunosuke tsukue yūzō kayama: hyoma utsuki michiyo aratama: ohama toshiro mifune: toranosuke shimada yoko naito: omatsu kei satō: kamo serizawa tadao nakamaru: isami kondo akio miyabe: toshizō hijikata ichiro nakaya: bunnojo utsuki kō nishimura: shichibei omatsu's "uncle" hideyo amamoto: lord shuzen kamio kamatari fujiwara: omatsu's grandfather yasuzo ogawa: yohachi ryosuke kagawa: dansho tsukue atsuko kawaguchi: okinu kunie tanaka: senkichi takamaru sasaki: ishinsai nakamura akio miyabe: toshizo ogata kinnosuke takamatsu: old pilgrim:#production the sword of doom was an adaptation of daibosatsu toge (lit. 'great bodhisattva pass') a novel that has remained popular since its initial release a year after the death of the emperor meiji the ruler who oversaw japan's transition from hermetically sealed feudal state to modern nation. the novel originated from a newspaper serial which appeared for three more decades; forty-one volumes were published before it was left uncompleted at the death of its author kaizan nakazato. the film had previously been adapted in two part film by hiroshi inagaki in 1935. after the war it was remade again in three parts by kunio watanabe in 1953 and in three parts by tomu uchida between 1957 and 1959 and in three parts by kenji misumi and kazuo mori in 1960 and 1961 the sword of doom was an adaptation imposed on kihachi okamoto by toho after the studio was dissatisfied with ir film the age of assassins a film completed in 1966 but only released in 1967 # release sword of doom was distributed by toho and was released on february 25 1966. the film was released with english subtitles in the united states by toho international on february 25 1966 a proposed sequel was never produced # reception in a contemporary review "robe" of variety found the film to have an "overlong unfolding story" that "rarely stops for a rest" and ultimately declared the film a "programmer" **+** galbraith iv stuart (2008.) the toho studios story: a history and complete filmography. scarecrow press. 743 // republic of bob