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Kagemusha

Play trailer Poster for Kagemusha PG 1980 2h 59m History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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89% Tomatometer 27 Reviews 92% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Akira Kurosawa's lauded feudal epic presents the tale of a petty thief (Tatsuya Nakadai) who is recruited to impersonate Shingen (also Nakadai), an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. When Shingen dies, his generals reluctantly agree to have the impostor take over as the powerful ruler. He soon begins to appreciate life as Shingen, but his commitment to the role is tested when he must lead his troops into battle against the forces of a rival warlord.

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Kagemusha

Kagemusha

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Critics Consensus

Epic in scope and awash with striking color, Kagemusha marks Akira Kurosawa's successful return to the samurai epic.

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Critics Reviews

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Kevin Maher The Times (UK) 03/13/2021
4/5
Monumental. Go to Full Review
Gary Arnold Washington Post 05/07/2017
"Kagemusha" is such a gratifying come-back picture for a justifiably revered filmmaker that one feels churlish harboring certain reservations. Go to Full Review
Keith Uhlich Time Out 11/17/2011
3/5
At worst, the film is an empty vessel that places blind trust in affected stillness and symmetry. But Kagemusha quite often switches on a dime to more deep and meaningful textures. Go to Full Review
Panos Kotzathanasis Asian Movie Pulse 03/03/2024
8.5
From the symbolic opening to the haunting final battle, “Kagemusha” remains a triumph, a brushstroke on the canvas of cinema's finest. Go to Full Review
Rob Aldam Backseat Mafia 03/02/2021
An epic tale of smoke and mirrors set in a period rife with political intrigue. Go to Full Review
Jesús Fernández Santos El Pais (Spain) 08/15/2019
Beyond the exquisite visual effects and battles, what is most interesting about the story is its protagonist: a double who turns into the shadow of the warrior Kagemusha. [Full Review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Rosana B @RosanaBotafogo 08/24/2024 A palavra Kagemusha significa dublê ou sombra de um guerreiro, aqui temos uma obra japonesa prestigiada e premiada, mas ficcionalizada da morte de Takeda Shingen, em meio a fatos históricos, o que não me agradou muito, curto biografias, mas quase tudo aqui é criacionista. Assisti ao filme alternando e picado, o que o tornou mais longo ainda, e interminável, a criancinha, a netinha do farsante sem dúvida rouba as cenas, apenas ela me cativa… Uma excelente produção entediante e aborrecida. See more Alan g @RT02800715 08/07/2024 A great martial movie, grand in scope and acting but how did they get the dates and armor wrong. The movie takes place in 1574 but Shingen died in 1573. Also his armor is incorrect. Other than that is it a good movie. See more Leaburn O @RT35452347 05/21/2023 One of my absolute favourite Kurosawa films. This samurai film actually has an interesting plot and the battle scenes are epic in scale. See more Ola G @Ollie1972 09/05/2022 During the Sengoku period, Takeda Shingen, daimyō of the Takeda clan, meets a thief his brother Nobukado spared from crucifixion due to the thief's uncanny resemblance to Shingen; the brothers agree that he would prove useful as a double, and they decide to use the thief as a kagemusha, a political decoy. Later, while the Takeda army lays siege to a castle belonging to Tokugawa Ieyasu, Shingen is shot while observing the battlefield. He then orders his forces to withdraw and commands his generals to keep his death a secret for three years before succumbing to his wound. Meanwhile, Shingen's rivals Oda Nobunaga, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Uesugi Kenshin each contemplate the consequences of Shingen's withdrawal, unaware of his death. Nobukado presents the thief to Shingen's generals, proposing to have him impersonate Shingen full-time. Although the thief is unaware of Shingen's death initially, he eventually finds Shingen's preserved corpse in a large jar, having believed it to contain treasure. The generals then decide they cannot trust the thief and release him. Later, the jar is dropped into Lake Suwa, which spies working for the Tokugawa and Oda forces witness. Suspecting that Shingen has died, the spies go to report their observation, but the thief, having overheard the spies, returns to the Takeda forces and offers to work as a kagemusha... Kagemusha won numerous honours in Japan and abroad, marking the beginning of Kurosawa's most successful decade in international awards, the 1980s. In 2016, The Hollywood Reporter ranked the film 10th among 69 counted winners of the Palme d'Or to date, concluding "Set against the wars of 16th-century Japan, Kurosawa's majestic samurai epic is still awe-inspiring, not only in its historical pageantry, but for imagery that communicates complex ideas about reality, belief and meaning." To me this Akira Kurosawa film is not amongst his best work despite the fact it won the Palme D´Or in 1980. It´s a stretched out magnificent looking empty bore that never seems to end with a not that intriguing plotline and with wobbly editing. It´s simply a pretentious and static film in my opinion that never leaves the ground. And adding a feeling that Akira Kurosawa had "lost" a bit of his magic by then, but yet he was "Akira Kurosawa" and could get away with anything in 1980. Kurosawa´s best work was done in the 50s-60s. And in black and white which was a defining visual feature for Kurosawa. Trivia: The film won the Palme d'Or at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival (tied with All That Jazz). It was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and received other honours. In 2009 the film was voted at No. 59 on the list of The Greatest Japanese Films of All Time by Japanese film magazine Kinema Junpo. See more 03/09/2022 Obviously it is visually stunning but the narrative is just as compelling. Kurosawa is playing with classic themes of identity here and the historical setting works well for this. See more andres s @RT93190512 01/18/2022 Hwooow! Holy shit I can already tell this is going to be a slow paced movie. Better buckle up. Ok that shot of the warrior running down the steps and jumping over the other solders that are sleeping was incredible. Supremely exciting and impressively shot, and performed as well. Beautifully colored movie. The way the movie is shot with all the myriad of colors, lighting, cinematography and costuming makes it feel astoundingly nostalgic and magical. It feels like something I've seen before, but I know I've never seen it. And the locations! Omg the locations and the temples are gorgeous. Another thing: Were there like no girls alive during this period in Japan? Lol. I always feel like there's only one or two women that might pop up and the rest of the population are just men. You can definitely tell the movie was made in the 80's because of the overall aesthetic and colors/patterns used for the costumes - and I think that's great! It adds some flavor to it. Wow, that shot of the snowed up mountain in the background where they're carrying Shingen in the little cart was incredible. Definitely an epic sort of movie, considering the ridiculous amount of extras and the three-hour runtime. Wow that was fucked up how they kicked the impersonator out once they had no use for him and the mistresses along with the soldiers realized it wasn't their lord. They basically cast him out, while it was raining and everything. My gripe with this movie is that I wish the pacing was faster and I wish the movie was shorter and got to the point quicker. With that being said, this is Kurosawa's most lavishly colored movie he's ever made. That scene of the dream with all the vivid and bright colors was breathtaking. Not my favorite Kurosawa movie by any stretch, but still a pretty good one. I would not watch it again though lol. See more Read all reviews
Kagemusha

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Movie Info

Synopsis Akira Kurosawa's lauded feudal epic presents the tale of a petty thief (Tatsuya Nakadai) who is recruited to impersonate Shingen (also Nakadai), an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. When Shingen dies, his generals reluctantly agree to have the impostor take over as the powerful ruler. He soon begins to appreciate life as Shingen, but his commitment to the role is tested when he must lead his troops into battle against the forces of a rival warlord.
Director
Akira Kurosawa
Producer
Akira Kurosawa
Screenwriter
Masato Ide, Akira Kurosawa
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
20th Century Fox
Rating
PG
Genre
History, Drama
Original Language
Japanese
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 6, 1980, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 17, 2016
Runtime
2h 59m
Sound Mix
Dolby
Aspect Ratio
35mm, Flat (1.85:1)