User reviews

On the surface this may seem like a typical samurai action flick but like Kurosawa and Kobyashi films there are many social implications beneath the surface.

The movie seems to revolve around the irony that while Gennosuke, the main character who is basically cast out of society in to the wild and forced to constantly fight for his survival like an animal, is actually the only character that tries to show any qualities above that of a beast.

Every other character from a group of bandits he encounters to the group of clansmen trying to exact revenge after Gennosuke killed their leader, to a man and his wife from a separate clan trying to steal gold to improve their clan status are either acting for revenge, power, or greed. The greed exists because most of the movie takes place around a mountain where gold has just been discovered and Gennosuke is befriended by a poor man hoping to find some for himself.

Throughout the movie there is constant backstabbing, deception, and generally brutal acts committed by a multitude of these characters. For instance the man from a separate clan living with his wife on a shack by the river are attacked by bandits in the woods trying to steal the gold they have already mined; they hold the wife hostage in demand for his booty but the man would rather give up his wife then part with his gold. Her saving grace is when Gennosuke shows up on the the scene and acts with the courage and compassion to save her life. The husband does come around a little later in the movie but in the end his rival clan plans to kill everyone on the mountain and save the gold for themselves threatening the couple, Gennosuke, and his persuers.

Gosha does a great job with his imagery, demonstrating a wild, dark world threatening to swallow humans whole. Throughout the film, which is almost all outdoors are scenes of men disappearing into woods or buried beneath shrubbery. In fact, it's quite reminiscent of another Japanese Classic, Rashamon. Some of the shots are virtually identical, ie the sun being concealed over the forest canopy or disappearing behind a mountain.

One of the best touches is towards the end when soldiers from the rival clan are planning to take the mountain, and kill anyone who knows about the gold. One of them sounds a battle horn to signal the approach, a battle horn made to sound conspicuously like some kind of strange animal call.

The film begins with a group of VERY determined samurai chasing another one in an attempt to kill him. You really don't know why, but it seems they've been chasing him for a long time. I really like the story-telling method where only slowly is the reason for this and other sub-plots revealed AFTER the major action has introduced the characters. While this could have made the film confusing, it didn't drag this mystery on for too long and ultimately created quite a tale. I particularly liked the overall theme of the meaninglessness of the corrupt samurai system--this could make the film a "downer" for some, but I really liked how it was a rebuttal to the myth of the beauty and elegance of the code of the warrior (much like the myth in Western society of knighthood and chivalry).

There were quite a few films made in Japan about the corruptness of the Japanese feudal system (such as THE 47 RONIN and SAMURAI SPY), so the overall focus of this anti-samurai film isn't that unusual. However, for fans of this genre, the film has good acting, writing and direction--so it certainly is recommended. It's just that there are other even better Japanese films that are worth seeing first.

As others have mentioned, this is a solid film about corruption among feudal samurai. The acting and cinematography are both good and the evolution in the characters throughout the film is solid. The action scenes, while not all too common, are very frenetic and gripping.

It is easy to see why this was a Criterion release. There are certainly a number of good samurai movies, but this one isn't like all the others. The title may easily be confused in English with "Sword of Doom" and the protagonist does look quite a bit like Tatsuya Nakadai, but these movies and their themes are completely different.

The movie also stayed with me after watching it. It left me thinking about cults, fraternities and clans. Individuals who dedicate themselves most selflessly to a cause or group, aren't they the easiest group members to sacrifice?

One of Gosha's earlier movies, it contains all the elements that made him a "chambara" director to be admired and emulated: Well-composed and thoughtful cinematography, a cynical view of authority (with certain implications for modern Japanese society), human drama, and OF COURSE, some excellent swordplay!

Certainly a solid and watchable samurai drama, both for "popcorn" and "cinema" appeal. I'd see Goyokin and/or Hitokiri first, but see this one next!

This early Hideo Gosha jidai-geki that was released by Criterion opens quite abruptly with a ronin named Gennosuke being hunted down for having killed his clan's counsellor. We're at 1857, on the brink of the Meiji reformation that saw Japan opening to the west after years of seclusion and the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate. The central plot revolves around the struggle between the old and new in a country on the verge of change. Although short in duration (clocking in at 85 minutes), the story never lets up with numerous twists and a fast pace. A series of events will find Gennosuke and a prospector he meets along the way searching for gold in a mountain, until they get caught up in another clan's schemes. Nothing is what it seems though, and therein lies the beauty of Sword of the Beast. As the story progresses both forwards and backwards (with glimpses in Gennosuke's past in the form of flashbacks), the characters' motives are fully fleshed out and this provides the extra dramatic oomph that pushes Sword of the Beast above "merely OK" territory. Behind all the swordfighting (and there's enough of it to be enjoyed here, certainly not Lone Wolf and Cub though), Gosha has a story to communicate.

With beautiful natural exteriors photographed in stark black and white, confident directing from Gosha, very good swordfighting scenes from actors who know their trade and decent performances all around, Sword of the Beast should appeal to all jidai-geki fans. It's neither as monolithic and tragic as Masaki Kobayashi's work from the same time nor as lyrical as Kurosawa's, but it stands somewhere in the middle, stripped to the essentials with a focus on story and theme.

The plot of this film with all its brilliantly weaved in subplots, is as fresh as it was on release simply for its varied human emotions involved.It is brilliantly constructed plot for its masterful simplicity and coherence.I beg to differ with the previous review that the plot is complicated.It has been masterfully shot by Toshitada Tsuchiya.Though not as exclusively done in Hara Kiri, the issue of the insurmountable Samurai-pride is touched upon and exposed for its obvious conflict with human values and frailties.The universal theme of power-centers exploiting desperate individuals for its ends and expending with them once the latter serve out the former's purpose is explored in this film.The theme of the ever-resillient individuals faced with debilitating order and the need to escape the same to be free and alive is the principal theme of this film. Even in its length the film is just one and a half hours.It is so good one would wish it were longer!! This film is highly recommended for anyone interested in films, along with Samurai-drama fans and those who appreciate good cinematography. Definitely a classic.

There are many films set in the feudal period of Japan that can be read as commentary on contemporary Japanese life. Here a couple of well-meaning and excellent sword-fighters are used by their superiors to further selfish agendas. The "beast" of the title is not a crazy samurai but rather the noble hero who is forced by treachery to forgo his social connections and travel from place to place like a roaming beast.

As western values permeate Japan, the conflict between the individual, as personified by the wandering noble ronin who gives up attempting to reconnect with normalcy (or in American cinema, the western hero who rises above social norm and becomes an ideal to attain), and the good samurai who upholds social stability to the detriment of his own needs (no real American equivalent) found itself expressed in period Japanese films. Many Japanese films of the 1960's and 70's feature characters who reject old fashioned values in the name of justice, yet suffer and never really are able to enjoy their good deeds. This film is set in the time after Commander Perry's ships essentially invaded Japanese territory and threw Japanese society for a spin.

Well-made, good acting and a solid directorial effort makes this a good samurai film even if the repeated flash-backs might be confusing. Unfortunately there are some excellent films that cover this topic already so this particular film seems unremarkable by comparison.

Good film and recommended.

After a long time of break from samurai movies i decided to watch Sword of The beast from legendary director Hideo Gosha. This was the second movie i have watched from Hideo Gosha, the first was solid yakuza flick Violent City or Violent Streets from 1974. Sword of the Beast is fascinating movie, it is not just ordinary Samurai movie, it is deeply philosophical and society critical. After the watch you start to question who is real beast, the main protagonist or antagonist Yuki Gennosuke or all around him, how the movie is moving till the end Yuki became more hero than anti hero, he is the only who have heart and morality in this samurai world. Hideo Gosha look on samurai times was very critical so for me this is anti samurai movie. Atmosphere in the movie is dark and sometimes cynical and nihilistic, great sword fights and very brutal and agressive for it's time. Perfect cast and acting from the main Mikijiro Hira and also Go Kato. This was definetely the golden age of Japanese cinema the 50's and 60's, everyone who is interested in Japan, Japanese cinema and Samurais must watch this gem of world cinema. Definetely i will watch other movies from Hideo Gosha.

Gennosuke (Mikijiro Hira), a low-ranking samurai on the run from his own clan after killing a councillor teams up with a peasant to prospect gold on a mountain owned by the Shogunate where they face other poachers, bandits, and the samurai sent to avenge the dead councillor. The film reflects both the revisionist trend that was popular in the 1960s chambara films (as well as in their American counterpart, the 'western') and historical shifts in Japanese feudal society in the mid-1800s as Western influences spread. Gennosuke renounces the traditional strict codes of his class by participating in the murder of a samurai superior and then going on the run after finding out that he was simply a stooge in a local power struggle - to be used, betrayed, and abandoned. The asymmetry of hierarchical societies is a central theme, with absolute obedience expected from vassals while lords are free to be as capricious as they wish, owing neither loyalty nor honesty to those serving them. Typical of Hedeo Gosha's early films, 'Sword of Beast' paints a fairly bleak picture of human nature but ends on a relatively upbeat note (amidst the carnage) as the characters realise that loyalty and respect is earned, not inherited. The Criterion Collection version recently shown on TCM showcases the film's excellent cinematography and is nicely subtitled in English. Recommended.

For all the classic jidaigeki to have ever been made that broached ponderous themes with epic storytelling and a mind for artistry, it's somewhat refreshing to see an instance that goes against that grain. 'Sword of the beast' is a fairly direct, no-frills samurai flick that launches us into the plot even as the opening credits flash on-screen, and scenes move as quickly as fugitive Gennosuke as blades clash. The story is compelling, the action exciting, and the production rich and satisfying, but this is a representation of the genre that's relatively reduced, or at least relatively streamlined. To some degree it may not be as perfectly striking and impressive as some of its brethren, but nevertheless we get exactly what we want, and it's well worth checking out.

The narrative is one of grossly unequal power structures and malfeasance, aspirations and daring, and cold determination as samurai Gennosuke, being pursued after killing a counselor, gets involved in a bid to take gold from a mountain claimed by higher authorities. Further information emerges as the length draws on, and in the meanwhile unexpectedly strong characterizations round out stark but surprisingly flavorful scene writing to sustain the vibrancy here. Plentiful violence ensues with fantastic stunts, fight choreography and effects, providing the bursts of invigoration we commonly anticipate of such pictures. And that latter phrase rather extends to most all elements, for though this declines the more grandiose propensities of much kindred fare, the filming locations are gorgeous, and the sets and costume design fetching and filled with detail. Gosha Hideo's direction is perhaps a tad brusque, yet purposefully so in keeping with the spirit of the proceedings, and the filmmaker ably summons the potency laid out in the screenplay he penned with Shiba Eizaburo.

Especially in being a bit straightforward in presentation and curt in tone, 'Sword of the beast' sometimes almost feels like a precursor to exploitation movies amidst the violence and sexuality. To this add a touch of the western as multiple parties show interest in the mountain and begin to converge there. All the same the plot bears enough complexity to be interesting, engaging, and rewarding on its own accord, and the film is otherwise sufficiently well made - including vivid cinematography, sharp editing, and nice flourishes of music - to make the viewing experience one that's very worthwhile. Moreover, the cast give fine performances befitting the harsh tenor, from foremost Hira Mikijiro, or Kato Takeshi, to those in supporting parts like Kimura Toshie, or Iwashita Shima. The sum total isn't a feature that is absolutely gripping, or demands viewership, yet meaningful themes and story beats adjoin the action and the otherwise excellence, and some moments are especially well done, including a climax that brings everything together with ugly clarity and impact.

Strictly speaking it may have some rough edges, but only ever by design, and there are no abject flaws here. How much one appreciates 'Sword of the beast' will come down to the style of storytelling and film-making that one favors, for while we do get tinges of the more august, measured mastery we routinely saw from the likes of Kurosawa Akira, Kobayashi Masaki, or Inagaki Hiroshi, mostly this title is inclined more toward pure, unadorned expression of everything we treasure in jidaigeki. If in any way it doesn't stand quite as tall as its peers, it's only as a matter of personal preference. For my part I find this to be overall superb, and if anything just not as powerful or profound as it might have been with a smidgen more finesse - although, for the level on which Gosha and his contemporaries operated, the distinction ultimately doesn't mean all that much. Scrutinize the minutiae as we may, what it comes down to is that 'Sword of the beast' is terrific, absorbing, and enjoyable, and whatever your impetus for watching, I'm pleased to give it my solid recommendation.

This is Gosha's first or second movie he made in his carrer, after watching his other great movies like goyokin and tenchu, I said what the hell might as well get his other movies, this movie has an exeptional plot and has some great sword fights, especially in the abandoned hut, when the two main characters started going at it...

PS: his other movie that I really like was three outlaw samurai..

A story about the crumbling old world Japan in mid-19th century. Samurai traditions falling apart as modern beliefs replace old ones; great backdrop for a film.

Nice work, although some of the chase scenes were a bit ridiculous.

An unusual samurai tale instead all happening takes place at small village or something like that, all unfolding of the history lays down in a forbidden area where has a creek on high mountain, a couple are prospecting gold under a opposite clan command, which doesn't has the rights over this area, a runaway samurai sees his future in steal this gold as form to be free from their angry pursuers who crying out for revenge, a fabulous landscape displayed on the canyon where running clean calm waters slide around the rocks on the creek, there are a countless little waterfalls neither, surrounded by a native florest, a little rough hut is an unsafe shelter for the poor couple, who fight with others thieves, in those amazing environment the story develops itself, a fabulous new approach to a psychological side, easy understanding by the audience for this marvelous genre!!!

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First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 9