Presented with an engaging visual style that draws on such Japanese arts as silkscreening, The Secrets of the Samurai Sword gives a brief overview of the development of Samurai culture in Japan before exploring in actual microscopic detail various blades used by Samurai warriors. Slow motion imagery captures the alarming destructive capabilities of these swords, as they effortlessly slice through everything from bamboo stalks to entire bales of hay.

While some of this episode borders on the silly (electron microscope examinations delving into how pure various blades are, metalically speaking), some of the information gleaned is fascinating and frankly counter-intuitive, as when it is revealed that it is a metal's microscopic defects (such as results from repeated bending) that give it its greater strength. Some of the smelting footage in this sequence is interesting, including another slo-mo section showing sparks of slag exiting a blade in production.

While there's nothing earth shattering in this NOVA outing, it will probably provide enough information and visual flair for any student of weaponry and Japanese history to merit an evening's rental.

The DVD

Video:
The unenhanced 1.78:1 image is nicely defined and has some nice art-based elements serving as visual segues. Colors and contrast are both excellent.

Sound:
The standard stereo soundtrack is fine, consisting mostly of voiceover and the always ubiquitous talking heads. Some more native Japanese music would have been welcome.

Extras:
A standard DVD-ROM link to NOVA's site and some promos for other titles are the only extras offered.

Final Thoughts:
It's a little hard to see why this frankly strange approach to the Samurai's history was undertaken by NOVA, but it is at least unique and features a heretofore unexplored facet of this ancient warrior class. If you're looking for an in-depth exploration of the development of the Samurai, keep looking. If you have a particular interest in blade-forging, this just may be the perfect 50 minutes for you.

____________________________________________
"G-d made stars galore" & "Hey, what kind of a crappy fortune is this?" ZMK, modern prophet