Good
Watching Akira Kurosawa's three hour long epic color film (his third) from 1980, Kagumusha (The Shadow Warrior) reminded me of the historical plays of William Shakespeare. While more famed for adapting the dramas of Shakespeare (Ran from King Lear, The Bad Sleep Well from Hamlet, The Hidden Fortress from Macbeth), Kurosawa's long film reminds me more of the detailed histories, where a single character is less important than the whole milieu (as well as being a more epic version of the old The Prince And The Pauper fable). And he succeeds very well at it. While the overall film is a bit too slow paced to be considered great, there is no doubt that it is an intricate work that abounds with astonishing color imagery, and is suffused in details that the screenplay by Kurosawa and Masato Ide slip in very subtly.
The best example of this is that even though the average viewer will know next to nothing of Japanese feudal history (what little I knew came from mostly old Japanese films), specific details are not needed because the themes and characterizations are so universal. It won the Palm D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and was seen as a comeback film for Kurosawa, after a mostly forgettable decade (the 1970s) of sporadic film work.
The actual story of the film is rather simple, the feudal lord of a clan that hopes to unite Japan in 1573, Shingen Takeda (Tatsuya Nakadai), is assassinated by a rival clan. However, since this takes place at night, the wounded lord has his generals prepare a double to take his place, should he die, and orders them to keep up the pretense for three years. We never see the actual shot, only hear it, and then see it in a re-enactment for the warlord, Ieyasu Tokugawa (Masayuki Yui), who ordered the assassination. The double is a thief, Kagemusha, played by the same actor, who during the opening six minutes of the film, before the credits, mocks the feudal lord and his brother as hypocrites for condemning him, a petty thief. He says they are mass murderers. The lord spares his doppelganger, the first of a number of fortuities in this story, loosely based upon real events. Nakadai is splendid in both roles. Usually, such dual roles are phoned in, but one can sense the difference in the two characters, even long after Shingen is dead....All in all, Kagemusha is a very good film, with some great scenes and moments. Unfortunately, its plot drags weigh it down just enough that it falls below some of his true masterpieces, like Seven Samurai, Ikiru, and The Bad Sleep Well. Yet, even if it is not Kurosawa at his best, like Shakespeare in second rate mode, it is still far superior to all but the very best of lesser filmmakers. Yet, in Kagemusha, as in few other films of quality, it is the very lack of specificity about its people and events- where such details float behind the presentation, throughout the film, then swiftly come together to make sense late in the work, that allows it to have such a lasting impact, narratively, just as its switch between surrealistic color sets and realistic location shots similarly recapitulates the viewers' disorientation, then realization that something very interesting and different has happened. That simply does not happen in Hollywood films, and rarely occurs in any films, at all. It also shows why critics such as Stephen Prince often do a disservice to the viewers in their commentaries on films, and miss the very elements that make a film work or not. Fortunately, such defects do not affect the great artists whose works are disserviced by such lesser minds.

The inclusion of Kurosawa as a painter!
If you are into Kurosawa's battle war films, you will enjoy the epic drama of Kagemusha (Kawgaymoosha). It is about illusion, deception, identity and tribal battle clans. I believe there have been lengthier versions of the original film. But it most certainly deserves a second viewing, as it can become confusing with doubles and flashback. The scenes are lengthy and long shots are used, making it difficult to closely identify the characters. The impressive costumes lend to the reality of the period.

Known as an epic drama, the film takes place in Japan during the 1500's. The drama leads with the knowledge of a clan warlord killed and with the intent of surviving battle with the other clans, the death is covered up by a petty thief who bears a striking resemblance. The thief becomes comfortable as the leader of the clan and then, onto defend his clan. With that, you will see lengthy battle scenes. Although, it remains confusing to me, battle scenes and Japan warlords are not really my type of film. One needs time to absorb the depth of the film, especially with another viewing, and don't attempt to watch while sleepy.

Kurosawa's paintings!
During the Extras on the DVD, you will learn that in his frustration to get the movie financed, over a great time span to do so, while waiting, Kurosawa visioned how he wanted scenes to appear and he painted hundreds of storyboards. The DVD comes with a booklet that details intricate information about the plot and it contains many sheets of the paintings!

You will also how Kurosawa relied on the aid George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola in bringing this masterpiece to the screen. The interview with the pair is very insightful. Also another excellent interview provides extensive details about the Master and making of the film. To fully understand the warlords, clans, battles, nuances, etc, listen the film with the remarkable commentary. ...Rizzo

Some people Have Greatness Thrust Upon Them
Kagamusha is such a physically beautifully film, it's that much more of a shame that the narrative isn't more powerful. In only his third color feature, Kurosawa goes all the way in presenting scene after scene in beautiful vibrant colors that leap off the screen. The colored lighting is a bit artificial but is so effectively used, I couldn't help but nod and smile when I noticed it. While Kagamusha is not a masterpiece, it is always entertaining and occassionally profound and enthralling. A strong five star film.

The narrative tends to melodrama in the presentation of slow-motion battle and after battle sequences. The overly elaborate battle sequences and the accompanying prepackaged soundtrack are the movie's only real weakness. Sometimes less is more and here Kurosawa seems to be trying too hard to impress his Western backers and redeem his image that had faltered in the 70's. It made me want to put my arm around his shoulder and say, "relax Akira, everyone knows you're a great director. Just relax and do your thing."

Kagamusha is much more watchable in the quiet sequences showing the impersonator going from scoundrel to great warrior and taking upon himself not only the burden but the personage of the deceased lord. Tatsuya Nakadai does a wonderful job portraying the lord and his shadow. He not has to play the august lord and the lowly criminal but every stage in between. A tour de force performance.

Kagamusha was Kurosawa's first bonafide success since his excellent Red Beard fifteen years earlier and is an excellent lead up to his late masterpiece, Ran. Red Beard was his last collaboration with Toshiro Mifune. They had a falling out & Kurosawa seemed to spend the next several years in the wilderness try to regroup. Two less-than-stellar efforts, some unfairly scathing reviews and a suicide attempt later, Kurosawa found himself, at 70, on the outside looking in at the industry he helped create.

Kurosawa brought Japanese cinema to the outside world and, for many years, was the only Asian director distributed to European and North American critics and audiences. The director of Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, Ikiru, Rashomon, The Bad Sleep Well, Stray Dog, Red Beard, Yojimbo & High Low found himself having to seek financial backing from American directors. It is hard to imagine such incredible ingratitude on the part of the Japanese film industry & public but there it is. After making 23 movies from 1943-1965, Kurosawa would made only seven more movies before he died in 1998. Kagamusha is a rousing epic, a feast for the eyes and a must see for any Japanese cinema or Kurosawa fan.

wonderfull
really, really good. great preformences with great effect. the dream sequence is really fantastic. theres alot of great acting and a perfect story. mabye its not as epic as 'Ran' in cast and size, but its so much more complex in the story and its visual aspects are very dark and brooding. definetely worth the buy!

...but picky videophiles may be slightly disappointed
Kagemusha is a great movie, and for my money it is more entertaining than Ran. Kurosawa was trying to be too artsy in the latter film, which always puts me off just a little. Kagemusha tells the story in a more straightforward fashion, the acting is less exaggerated, and I think it's just more fun. However, what prompted me to review it was the visual quality, which I found a bit below what I'd expect from Criterion.

I saw the original shortened version in the theater when it was first released in USA. That was so long ago, memory won't allow me to compare with this Criterion DVD. However, the film, as noted by other reviewers, is a bit grainy. Nothing wrong with that. I like film grain, myself, as opposed to digitally smoothed visuals, which look less "organic" to me. The problem is that if you want to preserve accurately the whole visual character of the film, including the grain in the film, you need a lot of digital bits to do so. Kagemusha is three hours long. As a result, the average bitrate of the video on this DVD had to be shaved down somewhat. This leads to some "artifacts" of digital compression.

It is a small point, perhaps. But the lower bitrate does make the movie look slightly more grainy than it already is, due to digital compression. Perhaps you won't care, or even notice unless you watch on a high definition monitor, however the movie is not quite as sharp and clean as it could be.

My own preference would be for Criterion to have divided the movie in 2 parts on 2 DVDs, allowing the highest quality image possible. I don't think they quite achieved that goal with Kagemusha. Alternatively, Criterion could have applied more digital filtering to reduce the grain, and still put a three hour film on one disc.