When discussing later era Kurosawa films, Ran is almost universally considered his finest work from the later part of his career. While it is certainly a wonderful film, hopefully with this superb two disc DVD release from The Criterion Collection, Kurosawa's 1980 samurai epic Kagemusha will gain a few more fans as it is a truly under appreciated masterpiece from a filmmaker with a long filmography full of masterpieces.

Released in North America in an 'International Version' that was shorn of twenty minutes (most of which was dialogue and character interaction), Criterion presents Kurosawa's film in its complete Japanese form on DVD in North America for the first time.

A lowly thief in feudal Japan named Takeda (Tatsuya Nakadai of Ran and Sword Of Doom) is spared by an influential and powerful warlord because the warlord thinks that the thief bears more than a passing resemblance to himself (which he does). Soon after, an assassin wounds and kills the warlord and the thief now finds himself impersonating the man at the insistence of his family and his commanding officers.

The reasoning behind this seemingly needlessly complicated ruse? They intend to show their foes that the warlord is still alive and still in control of his considerable forces – after all, appearances are everything sometimes. All but the closest of family members and the highest of commanding officers will know nothing about the plan. The thief must learn to completely and utterly change his lifestyle and his mannerisms in order to pull this off, and he's thrown into a world that is completely foreign to him.

Not really having much of a choice, Takeda throws himself into the roll and is so convincing that not even the women who share his bed can tell the difference. Soon though, he learns that acting is really all that there is to it, and that the warlord himself was just as much an illusion of the real thing as Takeda is now.

Kagemusha is hardly the best Kurosawa film to start with (go out and grab The Seven Samurai or Yojimbo if you've yet to be initiated into his world) as it unfolds at a fairly slow pace and at three hours in length it might try the patience of those unfamiliar with the way that the man made movies. But for more seasoned viewers, it doesn't get a whole lot better than this. Shakespearian twists, gigantic battles, gorgeous costumes, beautiful sets and scenery all add up to a film that lives up to the very definition of the word 'epic.' The cinematography is stunning – everything from the lighting to the color schemes used to the camera angles looks literally picture perfect – his training and background as a painter are very apparent here in this film, one of his first color features. Despite the fact that this 'come back film' of sorts was made shortly after the director had given up hope of affecting people with his work anymore and tried to kill himself, it's done with such confidence and such precise skill that it's amazing to me that the thought and doubt had ever once crossed his mind in the first place. Kurosawa's love of John Ford's films is very well represented here in the camera work as it has a lot of the same scope and depth to it that Ford's better films like The Searchers had, only here we're seeing it all unfold in feudal Japan as opposed to the American west.

Given the director's state of mind when the film was made, it makes perfect sense that the movie so prominently deals with the themes of illusion and of pretending to be something you're not. Whether or not Kurosawa felt he had to pretend to be someone he wasn't to appeal to larger audiences in his native Japan I can't honestly say but it's certainly not much of a stretch to assume that this may have had some sort of influence on the way that this story unfolds. After all, isn't filmmaking at its core simply the art of creating an illusion anyway? Maybe it's a metaphor, maybe it isn't (these things are all up to the eye of the beholder and often times best left there in my opinion), argue that all you like, but what can't be disputed is the intensity with which this film build and finishes. It may start of slow but it's never dull and by the time that the inevitable bloody conclusion arises, even if we know where it's all going, it's such an experience getting there that the three hour running time almost doesn't seem like enough!

Kagemusha, like many of Kurosawa's films and like all great films in general, continues to be a beautiful and fascinating look into political grandstanding and military tactics. It's simply stunning to look at, it's gripping and intense, and it's a truly brilliant accomplishment in film. While Ran may get more of the accolades, this film came first and served as a sort of test run for the later movie which many consider his last truly great film. For that reason alone it deserves a place in any film buff's movie collection, but there are so many more reasons to love this movie that it seems an insult to limit it. In short, Kagemusha is a brilliant film from one of the world's most brilliant and influential directors.

Video:

Criterion's 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer of Kagemusha is absolutely gorgeous. The very first think that you'll notice as the film starts is how fantastic the color reproduction is on this transfer. The reds and greens and blues all seem very alive and very organic feeling, giving the movie a very bold and distinct look. Grain is limited to a very fine and natural looking coat that you won't even notice unless you're looking for it and print damage has been almost completely eliminated. The level of detail in the foreground and background objects is amazing, you can see every hair on every samurai's face and you can see every crease in the leather of their uniforms. Black levels are very strong and never break up or pixelate at all and edge enhancement is never a noticeable problem.

In short, Kagemusha looks damn near perfect on this Criterion Collection DVD.