Review of Kagemusha (1980) by Richard D — 02 Mar 2017
A common thief set to be executed is observed by the brother of Shingen, the leader of the Takeda Clan. Due to his remarkable resemblance to Shingen, his life is spared and he is trained to be Shingen's double.
When Shingen is killed by an mishap during the siege of a rival's castle, the thief is cast in the role permanently so that the clan's enemies do not realize the Takeda Clan have lost their leader.
The experience of successfully impersonating the warlord changes the thief's attitudes toward honour and tradition. Kurosawa is one of the great film adapters of Shakespeare and this film stands out as the most Shakespearean film he made that isn't actually based on Shakespeare.
Like a lot of Shakespeare's great tragedies, it's based on historical fact, but is a work of fiction. This is my favourite of Kurosawa's later works. It balances gorgeous large scale battle scenes with scenes of intimate drama involving incredibly well-drawn characters.
This review of Kagemusha (1980) was written by Richard D on 02 Mar 2017.
Kagemusha has generally received very positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
