Hideo Gosha

Sword of the Beast

Sword of the Beast

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.

Film Info

  • Japan
  • 1965
  • 85 minutes
  • Black & White
  • 2.35:1
  • Japanese
  • Spine #311

Special Features

  • New, restored high-definition digital transfer
  • A new essay by Japanese-film and -culture critic Patrick Macias
  • New and improved English subtitle translation

New cover by Eric Skillman

Available In

Collector's Set

Rebel Samurai: Sixties Swordplay Classics

Rebel Samurai: Sixties Swordplay Classics

DVD Box Set

4 Discs

$79.96

Special Features

  • New, restored high-definition digital transfer
  • A new essay by Japanese-film and -culture critic Patrick Macias
  • New and improved English subtitle translation

New cover by Eric Skillman

Sword of the Beast
Cast
Mikijiro Hira
Gennosuke Yuki
Go Kato
Jurota Yamane
Shima Iwashita
Taka
Eijiro Tono
Counselor of Jurota’s clan
Shigeru Amachi
Vice-counselor of Gennosuke’s clan
Kunie Tanaka
Tanji
Toshie Kimura
Misa
Kantaro Suga
Daizaburo
Takeshi Kato
Gundayu
Yoko Mihara
Osen
Credits
Director
Hideo Gosha
Screenplay
Hideo Gosha
Screenplay
Eizaburo Shiba
Cinematography
Toshitada Tsuchiya
Art direction
Mamoru Abe

Current

Sword of the Beast:Rebel Samurai Cinema
Sword of the Beast:Rebel Samurai Cinema
Mirroring changes in awareness, politics, and lifestyle occurring across the globe, the chanbara (or Japanese swordplay film) underwent a significant metamorphosis in the early 1960s, acquiring a decidedly more radical spirit. Seemingly without warni…

By Chris D.