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Kagemusha (1980)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
6 October 1980 (USA) morePlot:
When a powerful warlord in medieval Japan dies, a poor thief recruited to impersonate him finds difficulty... more | add synopsisAwards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 19 wins & 3 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(15 articles)
What I Watched, What You Watched: Installment #6 (From Rope Of Silicon. 30 August 2009, 2:58 AM, PDT)
Blu-Ray Review: Criterion Edition of Akira Kurosawa’s Legendary ‘Kagemusha’
(From HollywoodChicago.com. 20 August 2009, 6:43 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
My God, Look at Those Colors! more (68 total)Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Tatsuya Nakadai | ... | Shingen Takeda / Kagemusha | |
| Tsutomu Yamazaki | ... | Nobukado Takeda | |
| Kenichi Hagiwara | ... | Katsuyori Takeda | |
| Jinpachi Nezu | ... | Sohachiro Tsuchiya | |
| Hideji Otaki | ... | Masakage Yamagata | |
| Daisuke Ryu | ... | Nobunaga Oda | |
| Masayuki Yui | ... | Ieyasu Tokugawa | |
| Kaori Momoi | ... | Otsuyanokata | |
| Mitsuko Baisho | ... | Oyunokata | |
| Hideo Murota | ... | Nobufusa Baba | |
| Takayuki Shiho | ... | Masatoyo Naito | |
| Kôji Shimizu | ... | Katsusuke Atobe | |
| Noboru Shimizu | ... | Masatane Hara | |
| Sen Yamamoto | ... | Nobushige Oyamada | |
| Shuhei Sugimori | ... | Masanobu Kosaka |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Kagemusha (The Shadow Warrior)Kagemusha the Shadow Warrior
Shadow Warrior
The Double
Kagemusha (Denmark) [da]
Kagemusha - A Sombra do Guerreiro (Portugal) [pt]
Kagemusha - Der Schatten des Kriegers (West Germany) [de]
Kagemusha - Director's Cut (France) (director's cut) [fr]
Kagemusha - l'ombra del guerriero (Italy) [it]
Kagemusha - spökgeneralen (Sweden) [sv]
Kagemusha - varjokenraali (Finland) [fi]
Kagemusha, a Sombra de um Samurai (Brazil) [pt]
Kagemusha, l'ombre du guerrier (France) [fr]
Kagemusha, la sombra del guerrero (Spain) [es]
Kagemusha, o iskios tou polemisti (Greece) [el]
Kagemusha, sjena jena ratnika (Yugoslavia: Serbian title) [sr]
Sobowtór (Poland) [pl]
more
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
180 min | Argentina:162 min | USA:162 minCountry:
JapanLanguage:
JapaneseColor:
Color (Eastmancolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreSound Mix:
DolbyCertification:
Iceland:12 | South Korea:12 (1998) | Portugal:M/12 | Australia:PG | Sweden:15 | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PGFun Stuff
Trivia:
In Region 1 territories, this was Akira Kurosawa's first film to be released on the Blu-Ray Disc format. moreGoofs:
Revealing mistakes: Obvious bald caps on nearly every adult male character in the film. moreQuotes:
[the double's aides are worried that others will find out he is an impostor]Masakage Yamagata: Little Takemaru was a problem, but the horse is worse. It can tell. Only the late lord could ride it.
Nobufusa Baba: If the double falls off, everyone will suspect.
Nobukado Takeda: Lord Shingen has been ill. He must refrain from riding.
Masakage Yamagata: Good idea.
Masatane Hara: There are many other problems. We must be careful to keep the late lord's intentions.
Katsusuke Atobe: Tonight he will have to meet the late lord's mistresses. How will he be with them?
Masakage Yamagata: Our master has been ill. He must refrain from riding.
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Akira Kurosawa is certainly one of the most important directors who ever lived. Most of his most famous films were made in the 50s and 60s. Rashomon, Ikiru, Yojimbo, and The Seven Samurai may be the four most famous films he made, and they were all in black and white. That format was wonderful. His films had a definitive look in that era.
I would like to suggest, though, that he was the single best director of the color image who has existed thus far (whose work I am familiar with). I have only seen two of his color films (I don't even know how many he made), this film and Ran, but his sense of color in these two films is exquisite. I had to pause it several times during Kagemusha just to stare at the beautiful composition.
I personally think that Kurosawa's talents rested mainly in the technical aspects of his films rather than the content (and I'm sure many people would argue against me here). So as for the film itself, I'd give it a 9/10 for two reasons. I was only emotionally involved during small sections of the film (the end was particularly powerful), and the story was somewhat difficult to follow (I was confused during Yojimbo and The Seven Samurai, too). I prefer Ran to this film (and to all the other films of his I've seen, which include Rashomon, The Seven Samurai, and Yojimbo). Still, Kagemusha is very good.