Kagemusha - Criterion Collection
by Akira Kurosawa
List Price:
Our Price: $25.49
You Save: $14.46 (36%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $19.85 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Hideji Otaki, Jinpachi Nezu, Kenichi Hagiwara, Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu YamazakiDirector: Akira Kurosawa
Brand: Image Entertainment
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Japanese (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 180 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-03-29
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Criterion
Movie Reviews of Kagemusha - Criterion Collection
Movie Review: A different side of Kurosawa.
Summary: 4 Stars
Akira Kurosawa is one of the few directors whose films I can enjoy re-watching at intervals of,say, a few months. Having never taken courses in film appreciation or history, my encounters with Kurosawa's films came in a haphazard manner, depending on what was available(usually not much)in the foreign film section at the rental store. Throne of Blood, Stray Dog, Seven Samurai, High and Low, and The Idiot were some of my first exposure to both Kurosawa and international films. The very favorable impressions of these films fostered a continuing interest in both. I was surprised and exhilarated at what seemed to me to be a magnitude of superiority over my favorite American films. I couldn't imagine anyone in America at that time having the audacity to make a movie out of Doestoyevsky's The Idiot. These films became icons of cinema to me forever enshrined in their artistic black-and-white artistry. They seemed to me to be penetrating explorations of both idiosyncratic and universal psychological aspects of humanity, shown through individual character studies. That was what colored my expectations when I came to view the later color epics, Kagemusha and Ran. It almost makes me feel like a curmudgeon to say I was somewhat disappointed in these films in comparison to the earlier ones, because they are both great films. Kurosawa's use of color was superb. It greatly enhanced the dramatic appeal of the action scenes, such as battles, at which he excelled; and the vivid scenery added another dimension of expression to the dramatic action. But in these films, especially Kagemusha, it seemed to me that his brilliant probing of the individual psyche, which is displayed beautifully in the black-and-white medium, had given way to spectacle and political history. That is not to claim that Kagemusha is a shallow film by any means; there is certainly an important central theme of the folly of vanity and ambition, represented allegorically by the warring factions depicted in the film. The film is masterful, and I can't recall a scene that I thought was inferior or out of place. However, it seems almost too controlled, and the performance of the lead actor, the double, struck me as being somewhat remote much of the time. The problem may be, at least in my case, that Kurosawa is a victim of his own success, and the indelible impression of those earlier films with Toshiro Mifune as leading man, may never be overcome by any director, including Kurosawa himself.
Summary of Kagemusha - Criterion Collection
In his late color masterpiece Kagemusha (The Shadow Warrior) director Akira Kurosawa returned to the samurai film and to a primary theme of his celebrated career-the play between illusion and reality. Sumptuously reconstructing the splendor of feudal Japan and pageantry of war, Kurosawa creates a soaring historical epic that is also a somber meditation on the nature of power. The Criterion Collection is proud to present Kagemusha for the first time in its full-length version.The 1970s were difficult years for the great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. Following the box-office failure of his 1970 film Dodes'ka-den and an unsuccessful suicide attempt, Kurosawa was unable to find financial backing in Japan, and he made his acclaimed 1975 film Dersu Uzala in Siberia with Russian financing. With only partial Japanese backing for his epic project Kagemusha, the 70-year-old master then found American support from George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola, who served as coexecutive producers (through 20th Century Fox) for this magnificent 1980 production--to that date 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 Lord Shingen (Tatsuya Nakadai), head of the Takeda clan, 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. --Jeff Shannon
Art House & International DVD Video
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in Takeda Shingen Trilogy
Kagemusha - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 2005-03-29; DVD
Best price: $19.99
Price in other shops:
![Heaven & Earth [VHS] Image](/images/Heaven-Earth-VHS-6302390656-X.jpg){kind=small}
Heaven & Earth [VHS]Lions Gate/Live Home Video; Release date: 1992-06-10; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Samurai BannersRelease date: 2005-07-12; DVD
Best price: $13.53
Price in other shops:
Similar DVD Movies
Drunken Angel - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 2007-11-27; DVD
Best price: $21.76
Price in other shops:
Samurai Trilogy Box Set - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 2004-05-18; DVD
Best price: $46.99
Price in other shops:
Ikiru - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 2004-01-06; DVD
Best price: $23.94
Price in other shops:
The Sword of Doom - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 2005-03-15; DVD
Best price: $17.94
Price in other shops:
Red Beard - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 2002-07-16; DVD
Best price: $25.00
Price in other shops:
The Hidden Fortress - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 2001-05-22; DVD
Best price: $19.86
Price in other shops:
Yojimbo & Sanjuro - Two Films By Akira Kurosawa - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 2007-01-23; DVD
Best price: $48.15
Price in other shops:
Throne of Blood - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 2003-05-27; DVD
Best price: $25.99
Price in other shops:
Rashomon - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 2002-03-26; DVD
Best price: $22.87
Price in other shops:
Seven Samurai - 3 Disc Remastered Edition (Criterion Collection Spine # 2)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2006-09-05; DVD
Best price: $33.99
Price in other shops: