Review of Kagemusha (1980) by Anna B — 21 Jul 2014

Some late Kurasawa movie magic. Kagemusha (meaning Shadow Warrior in Japanese)is a must see. Everything about this movie is incredible. The score is epic. The cast numbers in the hundreds if not thousands.

The attention to detail is amazing. Similar to Ran with the great Yasuda Nakadai(who took over as Kurasawa's go-to leading actor after a beef with Toshiro Mifune) plays a thief saved from execution because he looks like lord Shingen.

Shingen and his brother use him as the lords double. Shingen is shot down with an arrow and fatally wounded. His death is kept a secret from everyone. Even the thief impersonating him doesn't know until he tries to steal from a large jar thinking it's treasure only to find Shingens corpse inside.

He is found and captured. Its the Prince and the Pauper set in 15th century Japan basically. There's no cgi or cheap special effects. Just good old fashioned movie making by the greatest director of all time.

Kurasawa had trouble financing his projects late in life. It's hard to believe given his pedigree, it wasn't until his buddies Steven Spielberg and Francis Ford Coppola (both huge fans) found some American financiers.

A beautiful movie that never seems to drag even at 3 hours. Not as good as Ran but close. A masterpiece.