Review of Sword of the Beast (1965) by Matthew G — 05 Dec 2010

Sword of the Beast tells the tale of fugitive samurai Gennosuke (Mikijiro Hira). Fleeing from his pursuers after he slays his clan counselor, he meets Gundayu (Takeshi Kato), a penniless farmer, who reveals his get-rich-quick scheme to poach gold from the shogun's mountain. Gennosuke is intrigued and decides to join Gundayu, but the two find they're not the only ones after the gold. A pack of bandits is already hot on the trail; meanwhile, master swordsman Jurata Yamane (Go Kato) and his attractive wife Taka (Shima Iwashita) are holed up in a shack, where they've been panning a mountain stream for some time and have accumulated a formidable sum of gold. Inevitably, this is all a recipe for bloodshed and, as the blades flash, we learn more about Gennosuke and how he was betrayed by his clan.

Actually the plot is quite convoluted for a film with such a short runtime. Sword of the Beast is my first Hideo Gosha film and, after all the hype I've heard, I must confess myself disappointed, especially considering Sword of the Beast is his most well-known film outside Japan. It hardly seemed original either. The pursuits, the gold, the clans-isn't that a pretty good description of Akira Kurosawa's 1958 masterpiece The Hidden Fortress?

Well, unfortunately, Sword of the Beast couldn't hold half a candle to the likes of The Hidden Fortress. I had a number of problems with this film. Firstly, the sword fights could be missed if you so much as blink at the wrong moment, which doesn't make for very good entertainment. Aren't samurai films supposed to have a little more action than this? The abrupt ending also harms this film, though I can't deny feeling a small amount of relief because I was finding the whole experience more than tedious.

Unfortunately, Sword of the Beast didn't satisfy my appetite for a good jidaigeki, but I haven't given up on Hideo Gosha. Sword of the Beast was a competent enough film for a sophomoric effort and there's certainly the potential here for something much better. Let's just hope I enjoy Goyokin (1969), Onimasa (1982), or The Geisha (1983) more than I enjoyed this one.