Kagemusha (The Shadow Warrior)

Although its stately drama is somewhat distant compared to Akira Kurosawa's other samurai epics, Kagemusha ranks among the Japanese master's finest films...and it almost wasn't made. The 1970s found Kurosawa in personal and financial despair: following the box-office failure of his 1970 film Dodes'ka-den and a suicide attempt, Kurosawa (who had earned a reputation for being a perfectionist who ran over time and budget on his films) was unable to find financial backing in Japan. He made an Oscar-winning comeback with his acclaimed 1975 film Dersu Uzala, filmed in Siberia with Russian financing. With only partial Japanese backing for his epic project Kagemusha, the 70-year-old master was stuck in creative limbo for five years, drawing and painting elaborate storyboards until he received American support from Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas; the latter was flush with Star Wars profits, and urged 20th Century Fox to co-finance Kurosawa's 1980 production--at the time the most expensive film in Japanese history. Set in the late 16th century, Kagemusha centers on the Takeda clan, one of three warlord clans battling for control of Japan at the end of the feudal period. When clan head Lord Shingen (Tatsuya Nakadai) is mortally wounded in battle and near death, he orders that his death be kept secret and that his kagemusha (or "shadow warrior") take his place for a period of three years to prevent clan disruption and enemy takeover. The identical double is a petty thief (also played by Nakadai) spared from execution due to his uncanny resemblance to Lord Shingen, but his true identity cannot prevent the tides of fate from rising over the Takeda clan in a climactic scene of battlefield devastation. Through stunning visuals and meticulous attention to every physical and stylistic detail, Kurosawa made a film that restored his status as Japan's greatest filmmaker, and the success of Kagemusha enabled the director to make his 1985 masterpiece, Ran. Criterion's two-disc DVD set is a definitive offering, and the supplemental disc includes a 19-minute featurette in which Lucas and Coppola discuss their generous involvement; a 41-minute segment on the making of Kagemusha from the Japanese Toho Masterworks TV series about Kurosawa; a storyboard-to-film comparison feature; and a splendid 43-minute reconstruction of Kagemusha using Kurosawa's original paintings and sketches. A 48-page booklet reproduces many of these magnificent paintings, along with an insightful critical essay, an interview with Kurosawa, and biographical profiles by Japanese film historian Donald Richie. As always, Criterion's DVDs represent the pinnacle of quality. Highly recommended. (J. Shannon)[Blu-ray Review—Aug. 18, 2009—Criterion, 180 min., in Japanese w/English subtitles, not rated, $39.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1980's Kagemusha sports a great transfer. Blu-ray extras include an “Image: Kurosawa's Continuity” featurette reconstructing the film through Kurosawa's paintings and sketches (44 min.), a “making-of” documentary (41 min.), a “Lucas, Coppola and Kurosawa” interview with George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola discussing Kurosawa and the film (19 min.), “A Vision Realized” storyboard-to-film comparison gallery, a collection of brief Suntory Whiskey commercials filmed on the set, trailers, and a booklet featuring an essay by scholar Peter Grilli, as well as an interview with Kurosawa by critic Tony Rayns. Bottom line: a winning Blu-ray debut for this Kurosawa classic.]