SWORD OF DOOM
DIRECTOR: KIHACHI OKAMOTO
JAPAN, 1966
Unlike previous cinematic samurai, bound in honor and pure of heart (if not of action), the central figure in SWORD OF DOOM is a swordsman without scruple. Ryunosuke Tsukue (chillingly played by Tatsuya Nakadai) is a skilled fighter who hones his craft by killing all who cross his path, from an old man encountered by chance on a mountain pass to a fellow fencer whose wife begs for mercy. He finds his foil, however, in a virtuous fencing teacher (played by—who else?—Toshirô Mifune), whose wise words, “The sword is the soul,” begin to haunt Ryunosuke, leading to his frenzied disintegration in the brutal final scene. (120 mins.)