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IMDbPro

Sleepy Eyes of Death: Sword of Adventure

Original title: Nemuri Kyôshirô: Shôbu
  • 19641964
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 23m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
256
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
161,182
74,116
Sleepy Eyes of Death: Sword of Adventure (1964)
ActionDrama
The orphan swordsman wanders into a town and stumbles upon the opportunity to do righteous deeds. He finds a larger plot is afoot with a corrupt court system, a well meaning public servant a... Read allThe orphan swordsman wanders into a town and stumbles upon the opportunity to do righteous deeds. He finds a larger plot is afoot with a corrupt court system, a well meaning public servant and lots of danger for all involved.The orphan swordsman wanders into a town and stumbles upon the opportunity to do righteous deeds. He finds a larger plot is afoot with a corrupt court system, a well meaning public servant and lots of danger for all involved.
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
256
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
161,182
74,116
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Kenji Misumi
    • Writers
      • Seiji Hoshikawa
      • Renzaburô Shibata(novel)
    • Stars
      • Raizô Ichikawa
      • Kôichi Aihara
      • San'emon Arashi
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Kenji Misumi
    • Writers
      • Seiji Hoshikawa
      • Renzaburô Shibata(novel)
    • Stars
      • Raizô Ichikawa
      • Kôichi Aihara
      • San'emon Arashi
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 4User reviews
    • 5Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • Photos20

    Sleepy Eyes of Death: Sword of Adventure (1964)
    Sleepy Eyes of Death: Sword of Adventure (1964)
    Sleepy Eyes of Death: Sword of Adventure (1964)
    Sleepy Eyes of Death: Sword of Adventure (1964)
    Raizô Ichikawa in Sleepy Eyes of Death: Sword of Adventure (1964)
    Shiho Fujimura and Raizô Ichikawa in Sleepy Eyes of Death: Sword of Adventure (1964)
    Shiho Fujimura and Raizô Ichikawa in Sleepy Eyes of Death: Sword of Adventure (1964)
    Shiho Fujimura and Raizô Ichikawa in Sleepy Eyes of Death: Sword of Adventure (1964)
    Shiho Fujimura and Raizô Ichikawa in Sleepy Eyes of Death: Sword of Adventure (1964)
    Sleepy Eyes of Death: Sword of Adventure (1964)
    Naoko Kubo in Sleepy Eyes of Death: Sword of Adventure (1964)
    Raizô Ichikawa in Sleepy Eyes of Death: Sword of Adventure (1964)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Raizô Ichikawa
    Raizô Ichikawa
    • Nemuri Kyoshiro
    Kôichi Aihara
    San'emon Arashi
    Shinjirô Asano
    Okuzan Asao
    Hajime Etsukawa
    Jun Fujikawa
    Shiho Fujimura
    Shiho Fujimura
    Ryûtarô Gomi
    Ryûtarô Gomi
    Yutaro Gomi
    Yûko Hamada
    Yûko Hamada
      Seishirô Hara
      Yukio Horikita
      Kin'ya Ichikawa
      Tadashi Iwata
      Rush John
      Kenichi Kagami
      Yoshi Katô
      Yoshi Katô
      • Asahina Iori
      • Director
        • Kenji Misumi
      • Writers
        • Seiji Hoshikawa
        • Renzaburô Shibata(novel)
      • All cast & crew
      • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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      Storyline

      Edit

      Did you know

      Edit
      • Trivia
        Nemuri Kyoshiro body-count: 31.
      • Connections
        Featured in Best in Action: 1964 (2020)

      User reviews4

      Review
      Top review
      "The sword is for killing, nothing more nothing less"
      If a most important milestone in the history of chambara exists, that is probably Kurosawa's release of Yojimbo and its sardonic fatalist central character played by Toshiro Mifune. It is Yojimbo that practically divides the earlier traditional samurai films of Mizoguchi or Inagaki from stuff like Nemuri Kyoshiro that sprung in the early 60's. The first two releases that followed in Yojimbo/Sanjuro's wake were the Sleepy Eyes of Death series and the TV series of Three Outlaw Samurai which were later adapted for a feature film that started Hideo Gosha's career.

      The second installment in one of the most popular chambara series along with Zatoichi is directed by Kenji Misumi, a contractor for Daiei studios at the time, who would later go on to achieve orgasmic levels of comic-book violence with Lone Wolf and Cub. Playing the titular character is Raizo Ichikawa who collaborated with Misumi in his Daibosatsu Toge trilogy from 1961, Satan's Sword.

      Nemuri Kyoshiro is a shady figure, as much an outcast of society as his genre antecedent (Sanjuro) but with a different and darker mentality. In Sword of Adventure he tries to protect a financial adviser working for the Shogunate, whose strict policies have incurred the wrath of one of the Shogun's daughters and rich merchants. An assortment of murderers, bribed, paid or blackmailed for the cause, assemble and take their shots at Nemuri. This is a genre film with a serialized character so there is little doubt to the outcome of the duels. Those are nicely stylized and executed and the cinematography and camera-work are all an improvement on Satan's Sword, as is Raizo Ichikawa's performance. I'm not a big fan of his work, his look and mannerisms somehow effeminate and not as scruffy and savage looking as those of Mifune or Wakayama, but he brings a sardonic joy to his character that works within the context of the movie.
      helpful•6
      1
      • chaos-rampant
      • Aug 18, 2008

      Details

      Edit
      • Release date
        • January 9, 1964 (Japan)
      • Country of origin
        • Japan
      • Language
        • Japanese
      • Also known as
        • Son of the Black Mass 2: Adventures of Nemuri Kyoshiro
      • Production company
        • Daiei Studios
      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

      Technical specs

      Edit
      • Runtime
        1 hour 23 minutes
      • Color
        • Color
      • Sound mix
        • Mono
      • Aspect ratio
        • 2.35 : 1

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