The way Mike Yamasaki explain things very thoroughly and politely just makes me thinks he's a great person. "When handing a sword, and if you trust the one you're handing it to. Make sure the blade is pointing towards you."

Japanese sword-making is a tradition that goes back centuries, and one that’s carried on to this day. Each sword takes dedication, skill and can take over 18 months to create. The resulting blades can be worth thousands of dollars. So what makes them so expensive?

Becoming a swordsmith in Japan takes a 5-year apprenticeship, and there are only around 180 working smiths today. Master Akihira has been making these swords for 21 years at his studio just outside of Tokyo, Japan.

Japanese swords have always been more than just weapons, they were artworks, status symbols, and throughout history had a huge spiritual importance.

Each sword is a unique artwork and one that is made to be admired as you would a painting. As sheets of steel are folded into each other again and again wood grain-like patterns form, and these patterns coupled with the skill of the swordmaster create a completely unique blade.

Knowing what to look for in each sword is important, characteristics like the angle of the blade and the way the metal is folded could give away the era in which it was made, and even who made it. Every small detail is treated as equally important.

Looking at the months of work that go into creating each blade, it's easy to see why these swords command such a high price. And as there are less and less sword masters across Japan, these works of art are only going to become more valuable.

I'm always going to have a soft spot for this movie. I remember going to see this when I was in 5th grade and was just amazed, this movie was the epidomy of everything I was into back then. Plus every kid was jealous if your parents took you to see Ninja Assassin.

The actor's are splendid same goes for the cameraman, but the final one look like the big hair guy dropping his guard. This is one of the most bat shit insane movies I've ever seen.

The swordplay in this film is pretty fantastic. I could only spot one moment where choreography and cinematic timing truly deterred from the fighting - but that can be expected when the film is produced by a Fencing society - specifically the Art of Cross-Cutting Association (Stowarzyszenie Sztuka Krzyzowa) and two renowned fencers (the Sieniawski Brothers). Poland has a long history of excellent sabre fights, from Potop / The Deluge (1974) to more contemporary films such as these, and that lineage shows in the fencing displayed in Polish cinema.

The film itself is separated into two parts, with a cinematic narrative story based on the life of a young member of the Szlachta, or nobility, and his progress with the sabre, and the second part is a documentary format, detailing the historical sources and interpretations that went into making the film, and how the sword used in it was made (with swordmaker Zbigniew Juszkiewicz). It feels a lot like a directors cut, to be honest.

I kinda wish they had released a cinematic cut, and a directors cut. But I understand their reasoning behind the format.

Overall, I enjoyed the film. The narration (in Polish) was clear, and the acting was pleasant. The fencing, as noted, was brilliant (video on that topic soon). Some of the documentary commentary was... less great. I disagree with Juszkiewicz' assertion that aligning a blade with earths magnetic poles during a quench influnces the curvature.

Overall, a good watch for anyone into Polish Sabre, or the szlachta.