Very pleasantly surprised

Rating: Null/10 (1 April 2005)

"Kagemusha" is Akira Kurosawa's late color masterpiece about a Japanese Emperor (Tatsuya Nakadai) who employs a thief to be his double (sort of like one of Saddam Hussein's!). Kurosawa chooses the back-end of the 16th century as his setting, using realistic historical events as a backdrop to the action.
I was unfamiliar with the work of Akira Kurosawa but am now quite interested in seeing more of his films (I confess to having never watched "Seven Samurai," "Ran," "Yojimbo," "Rashomon," etc.).
"Kagemusha" did not disappoint me. I love the epic nature of the film and in particular its stunning contrast of color - Kurosawa was still experimenting with the possibilities of color in this film and the opening sequence - a messenger zooming past hordes of painted Samurai - is a good example of the starkness he brings to the project.
The acting is all very good, I couldn't understand the Japanese, but you know a performance is excellent when the actor manages to evoke feelings from the viewer even when he or she cannot understand the dialect.
The direction is solid with the action sequences well staged, the battles convincing and extravagant. The orange blood is a nice touch to the film as well, more proof that Kurosawa was really getting a kick out of color film.
To close my review out I'd like to say that "Kagemusha" is now available on DVD as part of the "Criterion Collection," offered for the first time in its full 180-minute glory. I will not pretend to be a Kurosawa or international cinema expert, however I will say that the Criterion DVD is so comprehensive that I feel I know his work more now than I would have if I had just seen this film on television. Criterion has once again proved why they are the best DVD company out there, presenting a crisp transfer and great extras, as well as a beautiful inside pamphlet with Kurosawa's original artwork. In a time when all the companies such as WB and Fox are becoming cheaper and not even inserting pamphlets anymore, Criterion aims for the best.
So if you have not seen "Kagemusha" before, please do yourself a favor and rent (or buy) the Criterion version, and do not just rent the VHS. It's a film I'd highly recommend to anyone, especially those who seem to think Japanese cinema in particular just involves cheesy kung-fu fighting.