Cheap Kagemusha - Criterion Collection (DVD) (Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki) (Akira Kurosawa) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Kagemusha - Criterion Collection

Kagemusha
"Kagemusha" is Kurosawa's 1980 samurai war epic starring Tatsuya Nakadai is set during the late 1500s in Japan, the time period in which the country was torn apart by war. The film begins with a long shot of 3 men seated in a room. One is Shingen Takeda, warlord of the Takeda clan, the other is his brother, Nobukado, and the third is a strange man who looks almost identical to Shingen. Nobukado tells his brother: "I have imperonated you for a long time, but this is incredible." This is the primary focus of the film. The story revolves around the Takeda clan, and the leader, Shingen. But one day when he dies, he has to be replaced, and the double found at the beginning of the film is used. We learn step by step his painful stages in suppressing himself to become another. In the process, Kurosawa intercuts with the other 2 warlords trying to kill Shingen, Oda (Daisuke Ryu) and Ieyasu (Masayuki Yui; both actors would act in "Ran"). In creating a war epic, an epic that sometimes feels like a history lesson, Kurosawa has also created a study of identity while intertwining religious and philosophical Buddhist overtones.
I have seen this film many times and I have had different interpretations every time I saw it. I think that this might be the most solid of them all. For starters, some knowledge of the time period is necessary if one wants a truly compelling and fulfilling experience. Without that, there are lose ends and confusion between characters.
This is a good film; in fact, a very good film, but certainly not at the level of his next film, "Ran." It's not really fair to judge this film on the same level as that, but it is almost inevitable as I have seen "Ran" many times. There are strong visual similarities on both. I do not think this is at the very top of the master's list of films. I would put it on the 10 best films bu Kurosawa, but not top 5. It is not edited to maximum impact. There are scenes that go on for too long showing soldiers march up and down hills. At times there are far too many silent moments between characters, and certain characters suffer from depth and development. Katsuyori, Shingen's son, is rather flat and one dimensional. The Kagemusha's changing into the lord is compelling to watch, as Nobukado notices the phases the double goes through as he becomes another. Kurosawa raises the interesting and profound question of identity and delves into the issue. At times, I wish there was more time devoted to the character of the double rather than time spent in the historical area. The battle scenes are powerful, but Kurosawa would later outdo them in "Ran."
Many have said that one of the problems in the film is the lead actor. It is true that the great Mifune is sorely missed, but Nakadai does a fine job carrying both roles in the film. They say he is too subdued and quiet in his role. But then again, that is the character. The side performances are good as well, but some did't have much to go with, as the script in ceratin areas was not strong.
The visuals are among the highlights of the film. Kurosawa stages a lot of his scenes as paintings (the beautifuly frightening dream the double has comes to mind). Technically the film is well done. Kurosawa has changed his camera techniques from his earlier films and rarely does close-ups and or quick cuts between scenes. His camera is mostly steady and focuses on many long and atmospheric shots, creating a sense of calm and serene beauty even during battles. The music is fine, but at times is too distracting and melodramatic. Once again, Kurosawa would fix this in "Ran" when Takemitsu would do the score.
It's pretty unfair how I keep bringing up "Ran" but as I said before, it is inevitable. I would originally give this film 3 stars until the last half hour which contains some of the most powerful footage I have ever scene.***SPOILER ALERT*** From the moment in which everyone finds out that the double is who he is, the film becomes so sad, so powerful. The scene in which the double is forced out in the rain is truly heartbreaking to watch. And the final battle scene is simply breathtaking, horrific, and yet beautiful at the same time. Quick cuts are used as the rifles fire at the Takeda clan, and we can tell, through different perspectives that the Takeda clan is no more. Kurosawa manages to paint a world of hell yet do it artistically without glamorizing war. The images of the dead horses and soldiers dipped in blood echoes Kurosawa's own past when his brother showed him a city in Japan after an earthquake hit. His brother would not let him look away, and Kurosawa manages to convey that personal and intimate feeling to us. And the final image of the dead kagemusha floating past the banner in the lake is just hypnotic. Kurosawa ends the film just at the right moment.
"Kagemusha" has fine performances, an involving story, decent music (at times a little too western-sounding), great photography, interesting characters (Though the script does fall short in certain areas), profound meanings (as all Kurosawa films do), and one hell of a finale. The last half hour boosts this from a good to a great film.

---

Epic film with phenominal surreal images.
Wow, what a movie experience! "Kagemusha (The Shadow Warrior)" is my favorite film from direct Akira Kurosawa, which is saying one heck of a lot when one considers "Rashomon", "Seven Samurai", and "Ran". I sat riveted to the television screen during the entire presentation. It is a story of a petty thief who, because he looks very much like the great Warlord Shingen, is given the chance to redeem himself and play the great Warlord's double. The heart of the film is the inner change and new found strength that progresses through the thief as he learns to become the Warlord. Awesome in its imagery, "Kagemusha" will mesmerize you and move you. Between 1 and 10, this powerful Kurosawa classic gets a 10. With his passing, along with Stanley Kubrick, the world has lost two great treasures.

---

Better than Ran
Comparing Kagemusha with Ran is a thread that runs through many of the reviews. Both are dramas centered around warlords during Japan's feudal era, and were directed by Kurosawa late in his career. Both films are visually stunning, but there are differences in how the stories are presented. Ran seems affected by its self-conscious adaptation of King Lear, and has a more theatrical (and less cinematic) feel about it. The acting is very stylized, as if in adapting Shakespeare's play Kurosawa also wanted to reaffirm the Japanese qualities through similarities to traditional ritualistic Noh dramas.

The story of Kagemusha seems more of a natural portrayal in comparison. The loyalty of the thief to the warlord is perhaps a quintessentially Japanese story, and is beautifully evoked in many small scenes throughout the film. It is the battle scenes which are highly stylized in this film, as they serve to illustrate the changing fortunes of the clans, and are not centerpieces. They are a part of the amazing beauty of the film's images. One of my favorite images of all the films I have seen is that of the warlord's unhappy son plotting in a traditional room, while in the background we can see the blue of a lake being whipped up by a storm.

Some people will prefer Ran, and others will like best Kurosawa's earlier and more earthy films, such as Yojimbo. They are all wonderful, but for myself Kagemusha is his crowning achievement.