The Sword of Doom12A

Directed by Kihachi Okamoto | Japan | 1966 | 1h 59m | Japanese w/ English subtitles | Starring Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Yûzô Kayama, Yôko Naitô, Tadao Nakamaru

In feudal Japan, Ryunosuke Tsukue is a ruthless swordsman and government assassin, guided by neither conscience nor code. During what should be a friendly fencing match, he kills his opponent without hesitation, setting off a chain of bloodshed and revenge that tightens around him. Starring Tatsuya Nakadai and Toshiro Mifune, this gripping tale follows a sociopathic samurai caught in a storm of violence and moral decay. Kihachi Okamoto’s 1960s action classic is a bold portrait of a man who embraces evil and slowly descends into madness.

Classic Season: Samurai Summer

Reviews

‘A film defined by its meticulously precise construction.’
★★★★★
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine

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We showed The Sword of Doom between August 11, 2025 and August 12, 2025.

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Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road.We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We only show a few adverts – less than most cinemas – and we only play a couple of trailers, so please don’t be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!

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