Review of Kagemusha (1980) by Chris Z — 12 Oct 2009
It's freaking Kagemusha. It's Kurosawa. Of course it's brilliant. Even as a dry practice run for Ran, it simply cements Kurosawa as the greatest filmmaker ever. Period. Bar none. Don't even talk to me about it. He is the greatest and that's all there is to discuss.
The Criterion BD of this is a disappointment. Yes it is AVC, but it's a paltry ~20mbps which just isn't nearly enough bitrate for this grainy film. Macroblocking is significant, and makes the grain look chunky and unnatural. It still remains the definitive presentation for in-home viewing, but a disappointing effort from the usually excellent Criterion Collection.
This review of Kagemusha (1980) was written by Chris Z on 12 Oct 2009.
Kagemusha has generally received very positive reviews.
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