I had heard of Sword of Doom for years but never read anything that would have lead me to believe the film was more than above-average.
It is a dense and very Japanese film in it's outlook. It's very jarring when you get to the end as many things are built up in a way that would end in a great duel to the death if this was a Hollywood style film. Fortunately, it isn't. The film takes two wild shifts in the last 10 minutes and the film ends without what you thought was was going to happen happen. I initially wondered why it ended so abruptly but I realized that the filmmakers had a more subtle plan hiding under the shocking final fight. The hints are there, you just can't take what's being said lightly. It has more in common with the usual twists and turns of real life than a contrived drama.
(Update Sept 2005) I just found out that this film was the first installment of a planned trilogy that was never completed. That might explain the abrupt ending but I like my interpretation better since we will never see the intended continuation.
Beside the intensely brutal fight at the end, this film features many corrupt main characters, much like the Italian westerns of the time. This is a tough movie but it's one of the best samurai dramas I've seen.
It is a dense and very Japanese film in it's outlook. It's very jarring when you get to the end as many things are built up in a way that would end in a great duel to the death if this was a Hollywood style film. Fortunately, it isn't. The film takes two wild shifts in the last 10 minutes and the film ends without what you thought was was going to happen happen. I initially wondered why it ended so abruptly but I realized that the filmmakers had a more subtle plan hiding under the shocking final fight. The hints are there, you just can't take what's being said lightly. It has more in common with the usual twists and turns of real life than a contrived drama.
(Update Sept 2005) I just found out that this film was the first installment of a planned trilogy that was never completed. That might explain the abrupt ending but I like my interpretation better since we will never see the intended continuation.
Beside the intensely brutal fight at the end, this film features many corrupt main characters, much like the Italian westerns of the time. This is a tough movie but it's one of the best samurai dramas I've seen.