'Sword' proves psychotic and violent

In the world of Chambara (Japanese for sword fighting) cinema, there are two kinds of films. The first comes in the form of hokey, poorly organized samurai films which present unrealistic battles and pathetic attempts at a storyline. The second are those rare gems of mastery from the likes of Akira Kurosawa and various other legendary filmmakers. They're the kind of films that portray warriors as masters of their blade who wage battles on an epic scale in a serious manner. Kihachi Okamoto's "The Sword of Doom" (Daibosatsu Toge) is one of those rare gems.\n"The Sword of Doom" tells the story of a wandering ronin who goes by the name of Ryunosuke Tsukue. He is on a simple quest: to unleash carnage and destroy all opposition in his path. Nothing can stop him. No one can defeat him. From the slaughter of an innocent grandfather to countless battles against dozens of samurai, Ryunosuke carves a murderous path of destruction all across Japan.\nWhat makes the film so incredible is the relentless amount of violence that is captured on the celluloid. For being made in 1966, you would swear after watching it that it was made within the last decade. Remember the scene in Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill Vol. 1" where the Bride fights the Crazy 88 all over the tea house? Well, strip out all the stylistic flair and replace it with sheer brutality and you can see how "The Sword of Doom" served as an influence on QT's flick. While the battles alone are astonishing to watch, the acting is top notch. Ryunosuke, played by Tatsuya Nakadai (you might recognize him as the gun-toting Unosuke from Kurosawa's "Yojimbo"), is purely maniacal with his sudden movements and flickering eyes. Nakadai's performance keeps you on the edge of your seat and at times creates a tension since you never know when he'll lash out at the nearest bystander. Kurosawa regular Toshirô Mifune plays a small but intimidating role as the dueling instructor Toranosuke Shimada. Mifune's showdown against well over a dozen samurai is one of the most beautifully photographed battles in Chambara cinema as he dashes about in the night's snowfall overcoming his assailants. \nUnfortunately, the DVD itself is greatly lacking in terms of extras. All you get is an essay from film critic Geoffrey O'Brien. No trailers, no interviews, nothing. Being that this is a Criterion Collection release though, one can assume that they looked for all the materials they could possibly find and just ended up with nothing else of value. Plus director Kihachi Okamoto's recent passing away also pretty much cancelled any hopes of a retrospective interview on one of his finest works. The essay is a pretty good read and the DVD transfer and subtitling job are both excellent considering how flawless the film looks and reads. \nIf you're looking for a Chambara film that doesn't hold back, then "The Sword of Doom" is right up your alley. The pure psychosis of Ryunosuke makes for an amazing character study of how far one man's madness can push him to the brink of total self-destruction. Pair this with the film's unrestrained violence and the end result is an experience unlike any other found in Japanese cinema.