{"id":1070,"date":"2006-05-07T15:40:10","date_gmt":"2006-05-07T22:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=1070"},"modified":"2021-01-25T19:59:56","modified_gmt":"2021-01-26T02:59:56","slug":"kagemusha-1980","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=1070","title":{"rendered":"Kagemusha (The Shadow Warrior) (1980)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;It is not easy to suppress yourself to become another.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/05\/Kagemusha-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/05\/Kagemusha-Poster-207x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"207\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-29003\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/05\/Kagemusha-Poster-207x300.jpg 207w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/05\/Kagemusha-Poster-88x128.jpg 88w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/05\/Kagemusha-Poster.jpg 580w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 207px) 100vw, 207px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nBased on a true episode from Japanese feudal history, this film tells the story of a lowly thief (Tatsuya Nakadai) who is hired to impersonate clan leader Shingen (also played by Nakadai) upon his death.\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Japanese Films<\/li>\n<li>Kurosawa Films<\/li>\n<li>Military<\/li>\n<li>Mistaken or Hidden Identities<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review:<\/strong><br \/>\nAs Peary notes, this sumptuous epic film by master director Akira Kurosawa is long and &#8220;slow but not boring; however, it&#8217;s not all that engrossing because Kurosawa doesn&#8217;t really explore what&#8217;s going through the thief&#8217;s mind as he discovers he has noble qualities worthy of a great leader.&#8221; As Peary points out, &#8220;Kurosawa is more interested in pageantry, and his shots of mammoth armies&#8230; on the attack are astonishing&#8221;, making &#8220;marvelous&#8221; use of color. However, &#8220;Kurosawa is not interested in glorifying the battle&#8221;; indeed, a &#8220;major theme of the movie is that great leaders&#8230; defend their domains, while weak leaders&#8230; cross borders to wage war and annex territory.&#8221; While I&#8217;m not a fan of the film&#8217;s over-long battle scenes, there are some truly impressive shots of enormous armies &#8212; &#8220;with weapons, horses, [and] banners&#8221; &#8212; crowding the colorful landscape, and <em>Kagemusha<\/em> remains visually engaging throughout. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Nakadai&#8217;s masterful performances as both Shingen and the thief<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/05\/Nakadai.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/05\/Nakadai.JPG\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1066\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Kagemusha Shingen interacting with &#8220;his&#8221; playful grandson<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/05\/Grandson.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/05\/Grandson.JPG\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1063\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Stunning cinematography and colors<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/05\/Cinematography2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/05\/Cinematography2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"447\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1064\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Impressive, geometric scenes of wartime pageantry<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/05\/Cinematography.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/05\/Cinematography.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"447\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1067\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Colorful sets and costumes<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/05\/Colorful Sets2.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/05\/Colorful Sets2.JPG\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1069\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The comic relief provided by three bumbling spies, who are continually unsure whether Shingen is alive or dead<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/05\/Three Spies.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/05\/Three Spies.JPG\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1068\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes. While I don&#8217;t believe it&#8217;s one of his most compelling tales, <em>Kagemusha<\/em> still belongs squarely in the realm of &#8220;must see&#8221; films by Kurosawa.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Foreign Gem<\/li>\n<li>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<li>Important Director<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0080979\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/uashome.alaska.edu\/%7Ejndfg20\/website\/kagemusha.htm\">Film as Art Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/kagemusha-1980\">Roger Ebert&#8217;s Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1980\/10\/06\/arts\/kagemusha-kurosawas-27th-film.html\">NY Times Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;It is not easy to suppress yourself to become another.&#8221; Synopsis: Based on a true episode from Japanese feudal history, this film tells the story of a lowly thief (Tatsuya Nakadai) who is hired to impersonate clan leader Shingen (also played by Nakadai) upon his death. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Japanese Films Kurosawa Films Military Mistaken or Hidden Identities Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: As Peary notes, this sumptuous epic film by master director Akira Kurosawa is long and &#8220;slow&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=1070\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1070"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1070\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65996,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1070\/revisions\/65996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}