Kagemusha ***** (1980, Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ken’ichi Hagiwara, Jinpachi Nezu) – Classic Movie Review 6426

The great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa is on commanding form in this thrilling 1980 film from his older age (he was 70) with a story about a 16th-century nobleman who saves the life of a thief (both played by Tatsuya Nakadai) because of his remarkable resemblance to him.

When the lord is killed in battle, the robber double (a kagemusha) is substituted, but the lord’s son (Tsutomu Yamazaki) wants to take over.

Kagemusha was nominated for two Oscars, Best Foreign Language Film and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Yoshirô Muraki). It was nominated as Best Foreign Film at the Golden Globes. It won two BAFTA Film Awards, for Best Direction and Best Costume Design.

Kurosawa’s spectacular visual splendour and mastery of conjuring up the details of medieval life are at their height, though, as co-writer with Masato Ide, he perhaps lets his theme of the corrupting effects of power slightly evade him in the complex minutiae of the characters and events.

The Kurosawa admirers George Lucas and Francis Coppola helped it into production. It is shot in Eastmancolor by Takao Saito, Masaharu Ueda, Shoji Ueda, Kazuo Miyagawa and Asaichi Nakai, produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka, Akira Kurosawa, George Lucas and Francis Coppola, scored by Shinichiro Ikebe and designed by Yoshirô Muraki.

Also in the cast are Ken’ichi Hagiwara, Jinpachi Nezu, Kota Yui, Hideji Otaki, Hideo Murata, Takayuki Shito, Shuhei Sugimori and Noburo Shimizu.

The original Japanese theatrical release runs 180 minutes but the export International Cut edition is cut by 20 minutes to 160 minutes.

It is the Palme d’Or best film award winner at the Cannes Film Festival in 1980, tied with All That Jazz (1979).

Kurosawa made four more films – Ran, Dreams, Rhapsody in August and Maadadayo.

Kagemusha is also known as The Double and as Shadow Warrior.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 6426

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