Slashing Swords Review: This 1927 samurai movie is actually kind of wild

If you have an hour and a half and want to see someone look really, really angry in black and white, this is for you.

I watched Slashing Swords last night and my eyes are still kind of tired from the flickering.

It's basically a samurai movie about a very bad man doing very bad things to a kid. 🗡️

If you hate old movies where people gesture wildly, you’ll probably want to skip this one.

But for the rest of us, it’s actually kind of a blast.

The plot is pretty standard stuff if you’ve seen more than two of these.

We got a magistrate who is basically the medieval version of a corporate villain.

He wants to kill a baby.

Yes, a literal child.

Why? Because that kid is the heir to a big estate.

The magistrate wants his own 'orphan' to take the spot so he can pull the strings like a puppet master.

It’s a classic power grab move that feels like it belongs in a soap opera.

Then we have Ryūnosuke Tsukigata showing up.

He plays the mysterious stranger and he looks like he hasn't slept in three weeks.

I love how he just wanders into the frame and you know he’s going to ruin everyone’s day.

There is this one shot where he’s just staring.

Like, staring into the soul of the camera for what feels like five minutes.

It goes on for way too long and I started to feel like I was the one who stole the baby.

The action is what really surprised me about this one.

Usually, films from this era feel like people are dancing slowly in a park.

Not here.

Daisuke Itô, the guy who wrote and directed it, must have had way too much coffee on set.

The camera actually moves!

It shakes and zooms and follows the swords like it’s a modern shaky-cam movie.

It feels messy in a good way, like you’re actually in the middle of a crowded street fight. 🎥

I noticed some of the extras in the background of the big scenes.

They look genuinely confused about where to stand.

In one scene, a guy in the back just trips over a bucket and they didn't even cut it out.

I love that kind of stuff because it makes the whole thing feel more real than a big budget flick like The King of Kings.

The magistrate’s 'orphan' kid is also kind of funny to watch.

He just sits there looking bored while people are literally dying for his future career.

There's a moment where the magistrate is explaining his evil plan to his cronies.

He’s doing that thing where he strokes his chin way too much to show he's thinking.

We get it, you’re evil! 😈

The ending gets really chaotic with all the swordplay.

There is so much dust kicked up from the ground that I couldn't tell who was stabbing who for a second.

But the music I was listening to with it (a modern score I found) made it feel like a rock concert.

It’s not as polished as something like Night Life, but it has way more heart.

One thing that bugged me was the lighting in the