The Shadow of a Man Can Never Desert That Man...

From 1950 to 1965, Akira Kurosawa had released and made fourteen films, many of them were considered masterpieces. After 1965's Red Beard that starred regular Toshiro Mifune, the film was the last film he made with the actor and in the black-and-white photography presentation. Following this period, Kurosawa was signed on to do a huge production of the film Tora! Tora! Tora! for 20th Century Fox where he thought he would work with British director David Lean. When that turned out not to be true and two years of work turned to trouble due to studio interference, Kurosawa left the project where none of the material he used made it to the final cut of the film. He returned with 1970's Dodesukaden that received a lukewarm response with critics and audience that would followed by a suicide attempt.

After recovering from his depression and suicide attempt, Kurosawa made Dersu Uzala in 1975 in Russia that won him an Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Despite his international reputation, Kurosawa still had trouble to finance his projects and such. Yet, he was still revered by many film directors including two Americans who were changing the face of cinema. The two men were Francis Ford Coppola, who made landmark films for The Godfather movies, The Conversation, and Apocalypse Now, and George Lucas, the man behind such hits as American Graffiti and Star Wars, who were huge fans of the Japanese director. When they learned Kurosawa was seeking finance for his next project, the two young American directors helped out by not just in finance but also give him international distribution for his 1980 film Kagemusha.

Directed by Akira Kurosawa with a script he co-wrote with Masato Ide, the film is about a poor-class criminal who becomes a double for a dying warlord during a troubled period in 16th Century Japan. With help from Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas, the film is an epic film that shows Kurosawa leaning towards his ambitions and study of character. With a cast that includes longtime regular Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kenichi Hagiwara, Daisuke Ryu, Hideo Murota, and in his final appearance (in the full, uncut Japanese version), Takashi Shimura. Kagemusha is a superb, provocative film from Akira Kurosawa & co.

It's late 16th Century Japan as a civil war is brewing between three warlords. On one side is Shingen (Tatsuya Nakadai) who leads the Takeda clan with his brother Nobukado (Tsutomu Yamzaki). Opposing Shingen and have just joined sides are Oda Nobunaga (Daisuke Ryo) and Tokugawa Ieyasu (Masayuki Yui). With war now reaching at its bloodiest, Nobukado finds a petty thief who looks exactly like his brother. After an interrogation, the thief reluctantly takes the job to be Shingen's double in case anything happens. With Shingen's son Katsuyori (Kenichi Hagiwara) and General Yamagata Masakage (Hideji Otaki) making plans to take siege of Ieyasu's castle, Shingen talks to Yamagata about the siege while Shingen wants to hear music. Then on that night he hears a mysterious flute, a gunshot is heard as Shingen is mortally wounded.

When Nobunaga and Ieyasu both hear about Shingen's assassination, each men in their different bases react differently as Nobunaga wants the full story while Ieyasu is carefully planning his next move as he has respect for Shingen. During a meeting with his closest associates including Nobukado, Yamagata, and Katsuyori, Shingen discusses a plan to use his double to make sure his enemies don't attack since they still have fear for him. He hopes to buy some time for the next three years as Shingen is trying not to die as he hopes to have his flags raised in the capital of Kyoto. Unfortunately, both Yamagata and a doctor (Kamatari Fujiwara) are forced to see Shingen die at a hill as Nobukado makes a plan to use the double. The double reluctantly fills in the position as he appears in front of Shingen’s soldier and three spies to make sure he is still well.

The news that Shingen is alive disturbs his enemies as they're thinking he's using a double. When the double learns that Shingen is dead, he becomes unsure of playing the role until he catches the three spies during a secret funeral. The double is sent to Shingen's castle as he is forced to play the role of Shingen with much help from Nobukado. Though he couldn't convince Shingen's horse that he is Shingen, he does manage to convince Shingen's grandson as he befriends the young child as if he was his own grandchild.

Unhappy with the new situation is Katsuyori who knows that his own son is the next heir as he couldn't believe that he has to call the double father in front of colleagues and such. While Yamagata is trying to figure out what to do next, Ieyasu decides to attack the castles of the Takeda clan to get attention as Katsuyori hopes to gain glory by leading the attack. During a meeting with the double as Shingen, Katsuyori asks a question that nearly blows the double's cover but the double’s sincere, heartfelt response did manage to win over the rest of the people in the meeting.

With Katsuyori leading the battle, things aren't going well as Nobukado decides to help out with the double as Shingen by making his presence known. Though it was a victorious moment, Katsuyori was not happy in not attaining any sort of glory or respect as he is now convinced that his father in any form will overshadow him. With the three years almost ending, it would take a simple act of joy and love that would destroy everything as the double is forced to watch in horror as he learned about his role and why Nobukado risked everything for his clan.

While the film may seem like a typical samurai epic film, the film is really about a petty thief who becomes this outside voyeur having to watch the way warlords work and such while trying to understand the man he is playing and how he treats people and such. The film is really a study of character in not just the double but also Nobukado, who was his brother's double for a while.

The film is in some respect is about these two men while a brother is having to play puppet master on what the double should do yet be one of his few friends that included General Yamagata. Then, there's Katsuyori, a son who seemed to have gained little respect from everyone and his attempts to gain his father's respect is equaled by his frustrations and lust for glory and power. His greed is also his flaw where Nobukado knows why he is trying to do these things but his father wouldn't because Shingen is doing what a father does.

Kurosawa's script is very brilliant, notably in structure with the first act being about Shingen and the introduction of the double, the second act about the double being Shingen, and the third act is about the double's big mistake and climatic battle. Kurosawa's direction is solid and more theatrical in any of his previous films. Particularly the film's opening scene that is a six-minute shot with special effects for both Nakadai's performance as Shingen and double that is a single shot without any movement.

While the film starts off slow, Kurosawa's structuring of the script and his direction to convey the sense of tension and drama that goes on in these meetings works to show this world of 16th Century Japan. Most of the scenes are done with little edits for dramatic effect to convey the emotion of these meetings while the action and battle scene are done with great style as well as the editing by Kurosawa for the film's emotional aftermath in the final battle scene. Overall, it's a brilliant work from the Japanese auteur.

Cinematographers Takao Saito and Masaharu Ueda do amazing work with film's photography, notably for the exteriors where the look of the sunlight is just beautiful while the interiors are wonderfully lit to convey the intimacy of the meetings. Art director Yoshiro Muraki also does great work in the look of traditional Japanese homes to give the film a look of authenticity and prestige. The costumes by Seiichiro Hagakusawa is exquisite for the coloring of robes and costumes to convey that sense of royalty in the characters to maintain their presence and position of power.

Sound recordist Fumio Yanoguchi and effects editor Ichiro Minami does fantastic work with the use of sound to capture the intensity of battle as well as the tension preceding those sequences. The music of Shinichiro Ikebe is great for its use of traditional, Japanese drum music and intense, orchestral arrangement for some of the film’s dramatic moments as well as the battle sequences for its momentum.

The film's cast is superb with small yet memorable performances from Takayuki Shiho, Koji Shimizu, Noburo Shimizu, and Sen Yamamato as Shingen's servants, Kamatari Fujiwara as a doctor, Kota Yui as the adorable grandson of Shingen, and in his final appearance in a Kurosawa film, Takashi Shimura in a role that's seen in the full, uncut 180-minute version of the film. Hideo Murota is great as Shingen's bodyguard Nobufasa Baba while Hideji Otaki is also great as Shingen's leading general who gives his master criticism while trying to do what is right for the clan's survival.

Daisuke Ryu is brilliant as the vicious, deranged Nobunaga while Masayuki Yui is more subdued yet amazing as the intelligent, powerful Ieyasu. Kenichi Hagiwara is excellent as the reckless, greedy Katsuyori whose desire for glory and power is tested when he is forced to be son to the double of his father while trying to take control of his clan to the dismay of his elders.

Tsutomu Yamzaki is magnificent in his role as Nobukado, the man who is running everything yet understands the role of the double who is playing his brother. Yamakazi's subtle, engaging performance is brilliant as he and Tatsuya Nakadai have amazing camaraderie with Nakadai providing great support as he is in some ways, the film's moral conscience who knows what kind of power his brother has and how the double should maintain it.

Tatsuya Nakadai is brilliant as the ruthless, powerful Shingen who has all the makings of a great leader but is more complex as the petty thief who becomes his double. Nakadai's performance is so exquisite, having to double duty in playing two leading character is a challenge but he did rose to that challenge. Nakadai's performance not only carries the film but also maintains its engaging tone in its emphasis on character study. It's an overall, fantastic and eerie performance from one of Kurosawa's great actors.

Released in 1980, the film went through troubles during its production after its original leading actor Shintaro Katsu was fired from production while funding for the film was troubling until Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas stepped in. After premiering that April in Japan, the film played at the Cannes Film Festival a month later where it would win the Palme D'or along with Bob Fosse's All That Jazz. The film proved to be a comeback of sorts for Kurosawa as it would set the stage for what would become one of his finest films yet five years later entitled Ran.

Though it's not a masterpiece (in its 162-minute international version) and falls a bit short in comparison to Kurosawa's earlier work. Kagemusha is still a poignant, character-driven, provocative film from Akira Kurosawa and company. Thanks in large parts to the performances of Tatsuya Nakadai and Tsutomu Yamzaki, it's a great film of character study and loyalty set to one of Japan's most historical moments. While it's one of his essential latter-day films, it's also a worthy introduction of sorts to what Kurosawa was going through at the stage of his career. In the end, for a film that is profound in its character and presentation, Kagemusha is a film that is highly recommended to see.

Akira Kurosawa Reviews:

Rashomon (1950):

http://www.epinions.com/content_407108882052

Ikiru (1952):

http://www.epinions.com/content_407750217348

The Seven Samurai (1954):

http://www.epinions.com/content_408014655108

Throne of Blood (1957):

http://www.epinions.com/content_408499228292

The Hidden Fortress (1958):

http://www.epinions.com/content_451715567236

The Bad Sleep Well (1960):

http://www.epinions.com/content_452052291204

Yojimbo (1961):

http://www.epinions.com/content_409156357764

Sanjuro (1962):

http://www.epinions.com/content_410131467908

High & Low (1963):

http://www.epinions.com/content_447766892164

Ran (1985):

http://www.epinions.com/content_412004683396