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Sword of the Beast

Sword of the Beast

Action · Drama · 1965

Legendary swordplay filmmaker Hideo Gosha's Sword of the Beast chronicles the flight of the low-level swordsman Gennosuke, who kills one of his ministers as part of a reform plot. His former comrades then turn on him, and this betrayal so shakes his sense of honor that he decides to live in the wild, like an animal. There he joins up with a motley group who are illegally mining the shogun’s gold, and, with the aid of another swordsman, gets a chance not just at survival but to recover his name and honor.

Movie details

Sword of the Beast

1965 Action · Drama 1h 25m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.5 / 10

Community rating

Legendary swordplay filmmaker Hideo Gosha's Sword of the Beast chronicles the flight of the low-level swordsman Gennosuke, who kills one of his ministers as part of a reform plot. His former comrades then turn on him, and this betrayal so shakes his sense of honor that he decides to live in the wild, like an animal. There he joins up with a motley group who are illegally mining the shogun’s gold, and, with the aid of another swordsman, gets a chance not just at survival but to recover his name and honor.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Sword of the Beast?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Hideo Gosha

Written by

Eizaburo Shiba · Hideo Gosha

Mikijiro Hira

Mikijiro Hira

Yuuki Gennosuke

Gō Katō

Gō Katō

Jurata Yamane

Shima Iwashita

Shima Iwashita

Taka

Kunie Tanaka

Kunie Tanaka

Tanji

Eijirō Tōno

Eijirō Tōno

Minister

Toshie Kimura

Toshie Kimura

Misa

Kantarō Suga

Kantarō Suga

Daizaburo

Court is in session

Put Sword of the Beast on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.