The Angry hills (1959) - Sword of Doom (1966)

The Angry Hills (1959) – Robert Mitchum stars as an American journalist in 1941 Greece who becomes involved with the Greek resistance after the German invasion. Well cast and well acted, it is beautifully shot in Greece by Robert Aldrich. The actresses in particular are good and very beautiful. However, it’s also un-involving, rambling and sometimes downright dull. Blame the script or maybe the source novel by Leon Uris. A movie about the Greek Civil War probably would’ve been more interesting and done better box office in 1959.

Sword of Doom (1966) - A disappointment. The film tells the story of a sociopath samurai who leaves a trail of blood and vendettas wherever he goes. Well acted and photographed, l was expecting a little more given the high praise and the Criterion release. Our anti-hero Samurai is interesting at first, but his lack of emotion and unchanging attitude soon turns him – and his story - into a bore. After an hour, I no longer cared if he lived or died. Even worse, are the silly fights where one Samurai kills 15 opponents. Like Bruce Lee’s clay pigeons - no one thinks of attacking him all at once. Too bad, because the supporting characters are quite good and the film seems like a life-like portrayal of Feudal Japan (actually the 1850s).