The Sword of Doom

BUY AT: Amazon.com Amazon.ca

See more details, packaging, or compare

Synopsis

Tatsuya Nakadai and Toshiro Mifune star in the story of a wandering samurai who exists in a maelstrom of violence. A gifted swordsman-plying his trade during the turbulent final days of Shogunate rule-Ryunosuke (Nakadai) kills without remorse, without mercy. It is a way of life that ultimately leads to madness. The Criterion Collection is proud to present director Kihachi Okamoto's swordplay classic The Sword of Doom, the thrilling tale of a man who chooses to devote his life to evil.

Picture 7/10

The Criterion Collection’s original DVD for Kihachi Okamoto’s The Sword of Doom delivers the film on a dual-layer disc in its original aspect ratio of about 2.35:1. The image has been enhanced for widescreen televisions.

The transfer has a few minor issues but on the whole it’s a strong enough standard-definition transfer. The close-ups have a high amount of detail, and some of the finer ones even pop, but some long shots look a bit mushy and blurry. Contrast looks to be boosted a bit, with whites coming off a bit brighter than they should and darker scenes lacking in shadow details. Film grain has been left in place but isn’t rendered entirely well, looking a bit noisy, but I didn’t find it too distracting.

The print has been nicely cleaned up and damage isn’t heavy, with only a few specs of dirt and some pulsating here and there. Otherwise it looks really clean. Altogether, despite some minor problems, it’s a decent looking DVD presentation.

Audio 6/10

The Japanese audio track is presented in Dolby Digital 1.0 mono. There’s very little range and a certain hollowness to the track, but dialogue comes through cleanly, as does music, though in both cases with a slight edge. It sounds to be free of damage and noise, though.

Extras 1/10

There’s nothing of note here unfortunately, and somewhat surprisingly. The only on-disc supplement is the film’s theatrical trailer. The insert contains an essay by Geoffrey O’Brien, which manages to cover a lot about the film, Okamoto, and the story the film is based on. It’s a great read but it reminds you how much more could have probably been added to the supplements.

Closing

The film deserves some more analytical features, and I’ve always found it odd it didn’t get a bigger special edition (Criterion’s recent Blu-ray somewhat remedies that with a new audio commentary) but it has a decent enough standard-definition transfer.

BUY AT: Amazon.com Amazon.ca

 
 
Directed by: Kihachi Okamoto
Year: 1966
Time: 121 min.
 
Series: The Criterion Collection
Edition #: 280
Licensor: Toho Co.
Release Date: March 15 2005
MSRP: $29.95
 
DVD
1 Disc | DVD-9
2.35:1 ratio
 (Anamorphic)
Japanese 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles: English
Region 1
 
 Trailer   Insert featuring an essay by critic Geoffrey O'Brien