Average Rating: 6.9/10
Reviews Counted: 7
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 2
No consensus yet.
Release Date: Jan 1, 1966 Wide
liked it
Average Rating: 4.1/5
User Ratings: 5,277
In this epic Japanese samurai adventure, a bloodthirsty young fighter (Tatsuya Nakadai) kills a man in competition and is pursued by the slain warrior's brother. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Jan 1, 1966 Wide
Mar 15, 2005
All Critics (12) | Top Critics (2) | Fresh (9) | Rotten (3) | DVD (14)
Given a sweeping epic treatment.
[A] visually stunning epic.
clean, swift, and brutal
...there's no real flow or sense of pacing at work here.
a superb samurai drama
Okamoto appreciates actors' faces, detailed beautifully in black-and-white cinematography...
Open-minded viewers will be treated to a gripping work of style and tension - an expression of rage and conditioning that's remarkably vicious for a 1960s adventure yarn.
The first rule of Shogunate Japan is, "Don't mess with The Sword of Doom."
A film defined by its meticulously precise construction.
Vicious, physical set pieces are counterbalanced by cinematographer Hiroshi Murai's moody and sometimes delicate black & white frames.
Tatsuya Nakadai in one of his most impressive performances in this nihilistic samurai film were doom indeed seems to be the only option for Ryonosuke, and everyone around him.
November 22, 2006
Super Reviewer
outstanding! this tale of a psychotic samurai ends rather abruptly as it was meant to be pt. 1 of a trilogy. we can only imagine how that would have turned out but pt. 1 is pretty freakin fantastic. awesome performance by tatsuya nakadai, many incredible fight scenes; the sword is the soul! i wish i could give it
March 23, 2008
Super Reviewer
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