The movie Satan's Sword is adopted from Kaizan Nakazato's famous novel Daibosatu Touge(also known as The Great Bodhisattva Pass).It is Japan's one of the most famous novels and filmed 5 times. It has been said that Nakazato Kaizan wrote this to describe human karma based on Buddhism. The story in this trilogy is about 20% of the whole story in his novel. This is the first movie of the Satan's Sword trilogy. The story of Tsukue Ryunosuke, an amoral swordsman who slays other people with no apparent reason pursued by the brother of his fencing competition victim, he wanders through the country in the end of Edo period gradually deepening his insanity.

I'd like to skip repeating details of the movie since other users had already done it with their reviews. Instead, I am going to state my personal opinion about a theme (hidden message) of this movie, and Raizo Ichikawa's portrayal of Ryunosuke and how it was played out. "Satan's Sword" wasn't made to only show spectacular sword fights or to demonstrate bad guy verses good guy type of story. The theme of this movie is something that causes viewers to look at a dark side of reality in the life.

"Satan's Sword" was directed much closer to the original novel than Chiezo Kataoka (aka Souls in the Moonlight) and Tatsuya Nakadai ( Sword of Doom) versions. Ryunosuke's inner turmoil and detachment from the world around him were well played by Raizo Ichikawa. His play is subtle but there is some quiet intensity in Ichikawa himself that is worked to magnify Ryunosuke's inner turmoil. His expression of motion (force)within stillness, or motion in the still, is a characteristic of samurai and worked very well in portraying Ryunosuke. Because Ichikawa was young (29) the time he played, Ryunosuke's nihilism wasn't well portrayed but his deep voice and his unique kabuki style speaking created a distinctive Ryunosuke character.

When compared with Chiezo Kataoka and Tatsuya Nakadai versions of the same title movies, I liked Ichikawa version better because his Ryunosuke wasn't portrayed as nearly psychopath as in Nakadai version. I am almost certain that Ryunosuke in Nakazato's original novel wasn't psychopath or insane. Although Ryunosuke is an amoral lost soul, possessed by his sword, and has no sympathy to others, these do not necessarily make him insane or mentally ill. However, Kataoka version Ryunosuke is little too old and he doesn't seem all the way amoral.

An astonishing final scene in the third movie of the trilogy left me with some feelings of confusion and helplessness but it allowed me to think something more. Perhaps, within the lingering feelings with a room for thought, there is the message of the Satan's Sword trilogy.

All in all, the movie "Satan's sword" was filmed by the best technical stuff of the Daiei at that time. The visual effect in this movie is stunningly beautiful and every scene settings were masterfully done. It was a creation of Japanese movie golden era. This is a great movie in its message (theme),scale and artistic means that fully entertaining. I highly recommend people to watch all three movies of the Satan's Sword.

Satan's Sword (or Daibosatsu Toge, The Great Buddha Pass) is based on a very long, unfinished series of books published in Japan (all unread by me). These books have been adapted a few times to the screen. The best known in the west is Sword of Doom, starring Tatsuya Nakadai and, in a supporting role, Toshiro Mifune. Although that film is easier to find (and has a Criterion Collection blu-ray release),I preferred this trilogy of films starring Ichikawa Raizo.

The first film introduces the rather long list of characters. At the film's heart is Ryunosuke Tsuke, the anti-hero of the series. Ryunosuke enters the film by cold bloodedly murdering an old man travelling on the Great Buddha Pass. Why does Ryunoskue do this? He likes to kill people. Next, the wife of a samurai competitor comes to see Ryunosuke , begging him to throw their upcoming match, so her husband can rise in the clan. Ryunosuke sexually assaults the woman and deliberately kills her husband in the duel. That is just the type of man he is.

This first entry packs a lot of plot into 105 minutes. In addition to Ryunosuke and the dead samurai's widow, the film features Hyoma, the vengeance seeking brother of the samurai Ryunosuke killed. There is also O-Matsu, the young woman who was travelling with the old man Ryunosuke murdered on The Great Buddha Pass. In addition, the film features some political intrigue involving groups loyal to the shogun and other groups rebelling against the shogun. I do not know much about Japanese history, so some of the intricacies were lost on this viewer. The film certainly has more plot than swordplay and even ends on a cliffhanger in mid-action.

Satan's Sword has two big strengths. First and foremost is Ichikawa Raizo. I have admired the actor ever since I saw him as Kyoshiro Nemuri in the later Sleepy Eyes of Death/Son of the Black Mass movies. Few actors play a smug, anti-hero better. Ryunosuke Tsuke is a horrible person, yet the viewer cannot take his eyes off of him, thanks to Ichikawa Raizo's intense screen presence. The film's second strength is its colorful photography. Director Kenji Misumi has a wonderful eye for color and composition.

The first entry in this Daibosatsu Toge adaptation may seem a little slow for those looking for action. The film features a couple of good swordfights, but it is mostly a drama. However, the film looks nice and Ichikawa Raizo is wonderful.

My missus, who is Japanese, tells me that Raizo Ichikawa was a very big star around the time this film was made. Well, I can't say he does much for me. In fact, I think his mostly minimal acting style is one of the reasons that this film, first of a trilogy, is fairly uninteresting.

The effeminate yet deep-voiced Raizo plays a swordfighter with superb skills in the slashing department but minimal skills in relationships. A lot more could have happened than actually did, and it took quite a long time about it. The main enjoyment of this picture is some of the great costumes, period interior decorating and architecture and scenery. The other two films are better, but only slightly.