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Whistle Stopper - NOVA: Secrets of the Samurai Sword
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List Price: $19.95
Our Price: $10.50
Your Save: $ 9.45 ( 47% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: WGBH BOSTON
Starring: Nova
Directed By: Nova
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
Brand: WGBH BOSTON VIDEO
EAN: 0783421419193
Format: Closed-captioned
Label: WGBH BOSTON
Manufacturer: WGBH BOSTON
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: WGBH BOSTON
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2008-01-08
Running Time: 56
Studio: WGBH BOSTON
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: The Soul of the Samurai
Comment: Roughly an hour long fascinating documentary of how the infamous sword of the Samurai, the Katana, is made. Learn in detail about every interesting facet of the history and the amazing amount of work and skill that goes into making what is, I believe, the best sword in the world for over a thousand years.
Starting at the very beginning with the smelting of the special high grade iron sand that is only found in certain stream beds in Japan, to the 36 hour forging process involved by a skilled master in making the initial block of iron called Tamahageny. Pieces of which are passed onto another forge master to make the sword template and then to yet another master craftsman who polishes & sharpen and embellishes the blade with engravings etc.
Seen recently on the National Geographic Channel and featuring Dr Stephen Turnbull and Ian Bottomley, this major work is made all the more captivating with many clips of some of the last master sword makers around.
To see the amount of the physical work & effort and time and labour that goes into making one of these masterpieces is truly amazing. Modern day metallurgists are astounded and even baffled by way these swords are so perfectly made without relying on computers or robots or the use of complex formulas, chemistry or other measuring equipment, just the naked eye to measure the temperature of the flame and years of experience.
UK Viewers: WARNING!! Please make sure that your DVD can play with Region 1 DVD's and that your TV is NTSC compatible first.
If you enjoy this then do look out for "Samurai: The Last Warrior. The Path of Honour, the Sword of Revenge" which is also a REGION 1 + NTSC DVD. This documentary explains the history, evolution and final demise of the Samurai.
Customer Rating:
Summary: NOVA: Secrets of the Samurai Sword
Comment: A very interesting documentary on the art and science involved in manufacturing a samurai sword. The journey begins with the selection of the metal and the viewer then follows craftsmen producing a sword using the same techniques as their ancestors. Interwoven are scenes with swordsmen demonstrating their skills on bamboo targets and a brief history of the samurai and historical use of these weapons. Modern science is used to explain the strength of the sword and the reason behind the shape of the blade. My only criticism is making the handles, which can be quite ornate, was not explored. The focus is on the blade.
Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in martial arts and weaponry in particular.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Very interesting
Comment: This was a very interesting documentary on the making of samuai swords. Particularly the more technical parts concerning the metallurgy and what happens to the molecular structure of the steel and carbon during the forging process. I learned something there that I had not known before. I would recommend this to anyone who has a curiousity about sword-making, particularly the Japanese process.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Swords over Samurai
Comment: Remember in "Kill Bill 1" how it was so special that Beatrix had a Hattori Hamza sword? Well, this documentary covers all the effort put into making samurai swords. (Then again, when that Hobbit named his weapon Sting, the West can praise swords too.) This documentary showed how it took 15 people six months to make one sword. There is a documentary on samurais themselves in existence. Perhaps interested viewers should watch the two programs consecutively.
The science of making the sword is privileged over the samurai themselves. Chemistry or engineering majors may like this work much more than East Asian Studies majors. One interviewee said, "Atoms don't minding doing blah, blah, blah." He actually gave atoms anthropomorphic traits.
Of course, the samurai lived decades before Freud and thousands of miles away from Vienna. Still, I can't help but think of the phallic nature of swords. At one point, the narrator says, "One person called samurai films 'sword porn.'" Still, I cracked up when the narrator said, "No samurai wants to be caught with a broken sword." He never laughs at his own double entendre.
This program showed Westerners and Japanese, English speakers and Japanese ones. Still, all the academics were white and all the blacksmiths were Japanese. I don't know why they didn't include any Japanese scholars in this. The documentary begins with showing a modern, female samurai, but I've never seen female samurai in old films or woodblock prints. I wish the documentary had spoken about when women began learning these skills usually associated with men.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Studio: Wgbh Wholesale Release Date: 01/29/2008 Run time: 56 minutes
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