Kagemusha (1980) aka Shadow Warrior
When a daimyō dies during the Sengoku period, (1467-1590), a double (a low-class thief sentenced for crucifixion,) must take his place for the span of three years to fulfill the dying man’s last wish of extended political stability.
It’s easy to fool spies (their continued frustration is a minor source of humor,) or armies who only catch glimpses of the decoy from far away (nevertheless, rumors of his death persist), but when it comes to the dead man’s grandson, his concubines (who may simply be fearful of admitting they aren’t being fooled), a steed no one else but his master has ever been able to mount, or even a medical exam it’s a different story.
A son, sired from a dead enemy’s daughter (and in on the secret,) resents not only his father’s last wishes but also the presence and attitudes of the double himself.
Akira Kurosawa’s epic masterpiece is just stylized enough to simplify the logistics of filming an impressive cast of thousands while avoiding actual clashes of armies, (mountain, forest, wind and fire color-coded armies are shown marching; files of musketry are shown shooting from behind a wooden barrier; fields of soldiers and horses are shown dead or dying,) the focus often being instead on the warlord’s double observing the events and being defended against small attacks.
Despite the large cast, the story is simple enough to understand and never complicates matters with the introduction of subplots or superfluous characters.
Photography is generally rich and beautiful, and certain battle scenes with a colorful smoke background, a surreal dream sequence where the thief is confronted by the ghost of the dead man (being a dream, it only borders on the fantastical; more horrific is a scene where the thief breaks open an urn to find a gruesome surprise,) or a scene with a horizontal rainbow achieve a fantastic, near-magical quality.
With Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kenichi Hagiwara, Jinpachi Nezu and Hideji Ōtaki.
Check it out.
When a daimyō dies during the Sengoku period, (1467-1590), a double (a low-class thief sentenced for crucifixion,) must take his place for the span of three years to fulfill the dying man’s last wish of extended political stability.
It’s easy to fool spies (their continued frustration is a minor source of humor,) or armies who only catch glimpses of the decoy from far away (nevertheless, rumors of his death persist), but when it comes to the dead man’s grandson, his concubines (who may simply be fearful of admitting they aren’t being fooled), a steed no one else but his master has ever been able to mount, or even a medical exam it’s a different story.
A son, sired from a dead enemy’s daughter (and in on the secret,) resents not only his father’s last wishes but also the presence and attitudes of the double himself.
Akira Kurosawa’s epic masterpiece is just stylized enough to simplify the logistics of filming an impressive cast of thousands while avoiding actual clashes of armies, (mountain, forest, wind and fire color-coded armies are shown marching; files of musketry are shown shooting from behind a wooden barrier; fields of soldiers and horses are shown dead or dying,) the focus often being instead on the warlord’s double observing the events and being defended against small attacks.
Despite the large cast, the story is simple enough to understand and never complicates matters with the introduction of subplots or superfluous characters.
Photography is generally rich and beautiful, and certain battle scenes with a colorful smoke background, a surreal dream sequence where the thief is confronted by the ghost of the dead man (being a dream, it only borders on the fantastical; more horrific is a scene where the thief breaks open an urn to find a gruesome surprise,) or a scene with a horizontal rainbow achieve a fantastic, near-magical quality.
With Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kenichi Hagiwara, Jinpachi Nezu and Hideji Ōtaki.
Check it out.
statistics: Posted by hermanthegerm — 7:39 PM - 1 day ago — Replies 2 — Views 194