Featured Audience Ratings

• Randy T

  
  A sociopathic swordsman hacks and hews his way toward his inevitable undoing, or so it seems. Director Okamoto expertly builds both tension and tempo as his samurai epic progresses, but be aware that the ending is rather odd and anticlimactic.

• Tsubaki S

  
  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.

• Stella D

  
  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… More
  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 more stars :((

• Ken S

  
  Ryunosuke Tatsue would f@*k Anton Chigurh in prison. This movie is amazingly bad ass. The camera work i's like the love child of Kurosawa and Leone, simply incredible. A must see

• Michael G

  
  The first half hour of Sword of Doom is incredibly suspenseful and nothing short of brilliant. Nakadai plays Tsuke incredibly and frighteningly without blinking. The sword fights are equally nerve-wracking and phenomenal--namely the end sequence. Visually Sword of Doom is stunning… More
  The first half hour of Sword of Doom is incredibly suspenseful and nothing short of brilliant. Nakadai plays Tsuke incredibly and frighteningly without blinking. The sword fights are equally nerve-wracking and phenomenal--namely the end sequence. Visually Sword of Doom is stunning although it's without closure on a couple levels. But overall, violent and masterful.

• danny d

  
  I had a tough time giving this film 3 stars. i rate it this high because the film seemed to be going in a good direction through the first 1hr and 30 min, the characters were cool, and most of the sword play coreography was very good, but the last 30 min was beyond terrible. i cant… More
  I had a tough time giving this film 3 stars. i rate it this high because the film seemed to be going in a good direction through the first 1hr and 30 min, the characters were cool, and most of the sword play coreography was very good, but the last 30 min was beyond terrible. i cant believe a film with such a great start could end so poorly. when the film is over there is no closure on any single character in the film. Nakadai's character appears to be on his way to death but that is uncertain, and the way one would expect him to meet his doom based on the story is not the way he appears to die. I was most dissapointed with not knowing exactly what happens to tashiro mifune's character. the acting in this film was top notch but im not sure if i have ever finished a film less sastisfied that with this one.

• Cindy I

  
  Not bad for a samurai movie, but Okamoto is not Kurosawa. A bit confusing in that there are multiple storylines going on, and the transitions and resolutions between them are handled a bit clumsily. Some storylines just seem to drop, or go in a direction illogical to the plot. Toshiro… More
  Not bad for a samurai movie, but Okamoto is not Kurosawa. A bit confusing in that there are multiple storylines going on, and the transitions and resolutions between them are handled a bit clumsily. Some storylines just seem to drop, or go in a direction illogical to the plot. Toshiro Mifune has a small part that of course shines over everyone else. All in all, this film was rather disappointing.

• Luke B

  
  The film is packed with stunning sword fights, especially for 1966. Mifune cuts his way through many samurai without breaking a sweat, and the early ambush sequence is brilliantly shot and executed. The film suffers from its lack of conclusion, the build up to the confrontation… More
  The film is packed with stunning sword fights, especially for 1966. Mifune cuts his way through many samurai without breaking a sweat, and the early ambush sequence is brilliantly shot and executed. The film suffers from its lack of conclusion, the build up to the confrontation between two of the main characters never happens. I understand it was one part of a much bigger work that was never completed, unfortunately leaving plots and subplots unresolved.

• Walter M

  
  [font=Century Gothic]"Sword of Doom" starts in 1860 as an old man and his grandaughter climb a mountain pass on a pilgrimage. While she goes to get water, he prays to not be a burden to her. Unlucky for him, his prayers are answered when he is killed by Ryunosuke(Tatsuya… More
  [font=Century Gothic]"Sword of Doom" starts in 1860 as an old man and his grandaughter climb a mountain pass on a pilgrimage. While she goes to get water, he prays to not be a burden to her. Unlucky for him, his prayers are answered when he is killed by Ryunosuke(Tatsuya Nakadai) who is a superbly skilled swordsman lacking in the ethics department. The following day he has a match against Bunnujo(Ichiro Nakaya). If Bunnujo loses the match, he forfeits his training school which is his livelihood. For this reason, Ryunosuke's father dearly wants his son to lose the match but he does not budge until Bunnujo's wife, Ohama(Michiyo Aratama), shows up and throws herself at him. On the day of the match, Bunnujo finds out about their meeting, thus making a tense situation worse than it already is...[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"Sword of Doom" is a very artfully directed and photographed movie. The fight scenes, especially the climax are very exciting. The main theme of the movie is that it takes more than great talent to be a great person. Humiltiy and compassion help a great deal. [/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]But after the initial part, the film starts to jump around a lot instead of just focusing on Ryunosuke. Some important plot threads are left unresolved. I might have liked "Sword of Doom" had I a little more knowledge of Japanese history.[/font]

• Chris B

  
  The Sword of Doom has been on my short list of films to watch since I first eyed the Criterion Dvd years ago, the cover is haunting, and I finally caved and watched it before any word of a Blu-ray upgrade. I'll say this, if they ever realize one I'll be at the store on day… More
  The Sword of Doom has been on my short list of films to watch since I first eyed the Criterion Dvd years ago, the cover is haunting, and I finally caved and watched it before any word of a Blu-ray upgrade. I'll say this, if they ever realize one I'll be at the store on day 1 with money in hand! The Sword of Doom is an epic samurai film with a wonderfully detailed plot and characters and some of the finest, longest and most epic in every sense of the word set pieces! I can't praise the film enough for being one of the most intense and action driven samurai films of all time! Highly Recommended!

• Wu C

  
  It's like following an evil samurai for a few weeks. Some nice swordplay that influenced alot of the 70's & 80's samurai films. Slow in some parts, but the final battle sequence is dynamite.

Read all 11 featured audience ratings