a review of 大菩萨岭

The Sword of Doom reflects the growing Americanism in post-war Japan, effectively being a classic US Western set in feudal Japan. I was pleased to see that Japanese filmmakers already exhibited a critical view upon their own former culture. While US Westerns from those years were still predominantly glorifying their murdering gunmen, The Sword of Doom tells the dismal tale of a tortured swordsman who's increasingly fighting his inner demons. The lead character — played by the charismatic Tatsuya Nakadai — has an intriguingly melancholic, disillusioned glance in his eyes, and Toshiro Mifune also displays his usual powerful screen presence. The story seems to build up toward a traditional, epic final duel, but there's an unexpected twist at the end, including some great nightmarish scenes where the lead character starts losing his mind when ghosts of his past come to haunt him. The cinematography in The Sword of Doom is gorgeous, featuring immaculate aesthetics of samurai-era Japan: beautiful sets and wardrobes, portrayed in atmospheric black and white photography with meticulous screen compositions. The storytelling class doesn't reach the greatness of maestro Kurosawa, but the film is definitely an old school gem. I'd give The Sword of Doom a rating of 7.5 out of 10.