Rating: 
Summary: Kagemusha
Review: "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.
Rating: 
Summary: FINALLY AAARRRGHHHHHH!!!!
Review: Absolute must see. Kurosawa fan or not. Every aspect of this film is flawless. According to Criterion it has a release date some time in January!!! Wooohooooo!!!
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece
Review: Another masterpiece from Akira Kurosawa. If you liked 'Ran', then you would not want to miss this poignant portrayal of a man thrust into the midst of a great conflict in a turbulent period of the Japanese history.
Rating:
Summary: At long last!
Review: At last, the full version of this film! I'm confident the DVD will have the usual high quality one associates with the Criterion Collection. I missed the limited run of the full-length version in theaters, two years ago, and am looking forward to this *a lot*. Yes, Coppola and Lucas produced the film and they should be thanked for it. Unfortunately, they also asked Kurosawa to shorten the film, for purely business reasons, thus mutilating the vision of a man they claim to admire.
Which tends to mitigate the sincerity of their praise.
Rating:
Summary: Better than Ran
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Exactly like almost any other Kurosawa movie
Review: Exactly like almost any other Kurosawa movie; in other words, "brilliant".
The scripting, acting, shooting, and directing are all absolutely wonderful. It is a film filled with emotion, pulling strings with both the delight of a child and a man's sacrifice for another man he never knew.
Though it is certainly not as lighthearted (or fun) like Kurosawa's Samurai flicks (Yojimbo, Hidden Fortress), nor as epic as Seven Samurai, nor as thought provoking as Rashomon, Kagemusha holds a very prized place on my shelf of DVD's.
Rating:
Summary: "Shadow Warrior" >> intro to Samurai languages & Shinto
Review: First, this is the great film of the historical genre from Japan. Second, it may be the model for recent history in Iraq. ...As a drama of manners, "Kagemusha" serves as a thorough introduction to the presentation layer of the Samurai in Tokogawa Japan. At the ending scenes, this shadow-warrior is able to take to heart the projection of honor and spirit within Shinto. We owe a prayer of thanks to Lucas and Coppola. Without them, neither "Ran" nor "Kagemusha." Two wonderful, great men. Tatsuya Nakadai (acting Lord Shingen and the double) immerses us in a world where male Samurai had a 50% chance of dying in battle. Their language of grunts and body gestures is still the subject of deep study in Japan. The performances here takes us to a key hole, where we can see this world acted out. "Ran" -- in comparison -- is embroiled in the conflicts between Buddhist sensibility, personified with Sue' and the other non-warrior characters, and the code of Bushido and its core Shinto beliefs. The revenge-spirit within the wife is Shinto at its purest. She destroys the whole clan of her family's murderers. Willingly, she gives her most-honorable head to the blade. Here in "Kagemusha" the sacrifice of one's life is given freely by dozens of Samurai. Whole squads of soldiers throw their bodies before arrows aimed at the false Lord. As it happened then. The achievement of this film is that we almost understand what is happening. And what sacrifices will we be willing to make, if SARS tests us next year, in the winter of 2004 ??? How important are courage and loyalty to us ? How will we die ?
Rating:
Summary: Historical drama, Kurosawa style
Review: For regular viewers of Kurosawa's work, Kagemusha at times seems rather slow-paced in its plot-work. However, the epic feel of the movie will keep you riveted and the plot eventually speeds up to its darkly satisfying conclusion. One of Kurosawa's last works, and one of his first in color, Kagemusha will leave you breathless in its imagery and devices - if you appreciate the samurai era then this historically-based epic is for you!
Rating:
Summary: Wish I had waited....
Review: for the DVD. Great movie but poor VHS quality. Very grainy. Hope the DVD cleans it up.
Rating:
Summary: Flawless visuals complete vindicate shaky performances.
Review: Here's one example of a film whose power lies firmly in the visual and aesthetic departments. Kagemusha is beautiful beyond belief, filled with cinematic wonder, confident in the sheer force of imagery. Much has been made of the melodramatic style of acting that Nakadai Tatsuyo indulges in, both here and in Ran (1985). Kagemusha benefits from the fact that it doesn't give Nakadai as much incentive to overplay -- as opposed to the King Lear madness of Ran, which provided Nakadai with a stage to receive his overacting. Kagemusha, thankfully, dwells in the exquisite art designs (Kurosawa Akira took years to draw out the storyboards, having been unable to get the film produced for a long time), perfect compositions, inexhaustible wealth of colours, and sublime lighting. Deservedly the highest-grossing Japanese film of its time and, I would argue, Kurosawa's masterpiece.
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