Sword in the Moonlight

I must agree with the fellow reviewer who found this version of Daibosatsu Toge (The Great Buddha Pass) not as interesting as the Ichikawa Raizo version from a few years later.

Sword in the Moonlight is a decent samurai film, but since I have watched Sword of Doom and all three Satan's Sword movies, I felt somewhat underwhelmed by this version. Of course, I am aware that the Sword in the Moonlight films came before Satan's Sword, but it comes after the Ichikawa Raizo in my film viewing life. There are differences. For instance, in Sword in the Moonlight, the villainous Ryunosuke Tsukue does not sleep with his rival's wife until after the duel. I was also glad that this first film did not end on a cliffhanger like the first two Satan Sword films. Sword in the Moonlight has aspects to recommend it.

In the end, I think the problem rests with the leading actor. Chiezo Kataoka is a decent actor, but he is no Ichikawa Raizo. Furthermore, he was in his mid-fifties when he made Sword in the Moonlight, which seems a bit old for Ryunosuke Tsukue, at least for me (others may not have that problem).

I have not read the source material, so perhaps Sword in the Moonlight might be closer to the spirit of the books. I do know that, as cinema, I preferred Satan's Sword from 1960.

I have to say I saw the 1960 version starring Raizô Ichikawa first.

Lead actor does really do a lot of difference. I feel Chiezô Kataoka seems to old for what I feel Tsukue Ryunosuke should be. I may be wrong there of course :) But I think the 1960 version of Tsukue Ryunosuke seems more cold and scary. and the scenes were just set up in a much better way saying a lot more.

Otherwise I guess it is okay but I would go directly for the 1960 version if I was going to choose. i feel both mood and the lead does a big difference for me giving the advantage to the later version.

This is the first of Tomu Uchida's trilogy of films (1957, 1958, 1959) which make up his version of the 'Daibosatsu tôge' story. There are, of course, other adaptations, but I will confine my comments to this one.

Uchida is one of the greatest Japanese directors, and he shows many of his qualities in this extraordinarily beautiful and visually imaginative film. Individual shots, especially those of Dojo and Inn interiors, are stunningly composed and wonderful for the eye to linger on.

The anti-hero - a wandering ronin samurai whose philosophy and 'silent' school of swordsmanship incline him to the 'dark side' - is an unusual character to find at the centre of a samurai film, and the fighting is confined to a handful of precisely choreographed minimalist "ballets", of great power. Ryonosuke is played by the ageing, almost immobile and reptilian-voiced Chiezô Kataoka, in one of his most compelling portrayals. His alter ego, the young samurai, Hyoma, represents the 'light side' and is perfectly portrayed by the young Kinnosuke Nakamura.

The characters and action around this pair develop a Shakespearean depth and range as the trilogy progresses. Though all is not perfect - the action can seem over-compressed (perhaps due to cuts) which works against the stately and noble pace of the whole five-hour epic. But even if this is not Uchida's greatest film - not quite reaching the consistency of 'Bloody Spear on Mount Fuji' or his five-part 'Miyamoto Musashi' sequence - it is full of breathtaking cinematography, excellent acting and exquisite artistic composition. Hugely absorbing!