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Kagemusha

Kagemusha

Action · Drama · History · 1980

Akira Kurosawa's lauded feudal epic presents the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. When Shingen dies, his generals reluctantly agree to have the impostor take over as the powerful ruler. He soon begins to appreciate life as Shingen, but his commitment to the role is tested when he must lead his troops into battle against the forces of a rival warlord.

Movie details

Kagemusha

“The Shadow of a man can never stand up and walk on its own.”

1980 Action · Drama · History 3h 0m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.8 / 10

Community rating

Akira Kurosawa's lauded feudal epic presents the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. When Shingen dies, his generals reluctantly agree to have the impostor take over as the powerful ruler. He soon begins to appreciate life as Shingen, but his commitment to the role is tested when he must lead his troops into battle against the forces of a rival warlord.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Kagemusha?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Akira Kurosawa

Written by

Akira Kurosawa · Masato Ide

Tatsuya Nakadai

Tatsuya Nakadai

Shingen Takeda / Kagemusha

Tsutomu Yamazaki

Tsutomu Yamazaki

Nobukado Takeda

Kenichi Hagiwara

Kenichi Hagiwara

Katsuyori Takeda

Jinpachi Nezu

Jinpachi Nezu

Sohachiro Tsuchiya

Hideji Ōtaki

Hideji Ōtaki

Masakage Yamagata

Daisuke Ryū

Daisuke Ryū

Nobunaga Oda

Masayuki Yui

Masayuki Yui

Ieyasu Tokugawa

Court is in session

Put Kagemusha on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.