In 1572, there is a civil war in Japan, and three powerful clans, leaded by the lords Shingen Takeda (Tatsuya Nakadai), Nobunaga Oda (Daisuke Ryu) and Ieyasu Tokugawa (Masayuki Yui), dispute the conquest of Kyoto. When Shingen is mortally wounded, the Takeda clan hides the incident and uses a poor thief to be the double of the strategist Shingen and keep the respect of their enemies. Along the years, Kagemusha incorporates the spirit of the warrior of the dead warlord.

Kagemusha (1980)
  • Rating: (14,217 votes)
  • Runtime:180 minutes
  • Director: Akira Kurosawa
  • Countries:Japan, USA
  • Actors:
    Shingen Takeda / Kagemusha
    Tatsuya Nakadai
    Nobukado Takeda
    Tsutomu Yamazaki
    Katsuyori Takeda
    Ken'ichi Hagiwara
    Sohachiro Tsuchiya
    Jinpachi Nezu
    Masakage Yamagata
    Hideji Ôtaki
    Nobunaga Oda
    Daisuke Ryû
    Ieyasu Tokugawa
    Masayuki Yui
    Otsuyanokata
    Kaori Momoi
    Oyunokata
    Mitsuko Baishô
    Nobufusa Baba
    Hideo Murota
  • Genres:Drama, History, War
  • Producers:
    Audie Bock
    assistant producer  
    Francis Ford Coppola
    executive producer: international version  
    Akira Kurosawa
    executive producer  
    Akira Kurosawa
    producer  
    George Lucas
    executive producer: international version  
    Tomoyuki Tanaka
    executive producer  
  • Plots: When a powerful warlord in medieval Japan dies, a poor thief recruited to impersonate him finds difficulty living up to his role and clashes with the spirit of the warlord during turbulent times in the kingdom. Written by Keith Loh <loh@sfu.ca>
Kagemusha
  • User's comment:A Great Mature Kurosawa Film by george-b

    I am a fan of Kurosawa and have seen many of his films many times. There is a sweep and an ache to Kagemusha that is genuine and has remained in my heart's memory. Unlike Ran, it is not Shakespearean. Unlike Seven Samurai, my favorite all-time film and I believe the best film ever made, it is not a western.

    Although epic, it is about a sweet and rueful soul swallowed by karma and history. It is redemptive without overt sentiment, and the lead performance by Tatsuya Nakadai is nuanced and unforgettable.

    I will always remember this film, not for its complexity or savagery, but for the simplest moments between Lord and subject, between the highest self and the lowest self, and most particularly, the very real pain of a man caught in the vise of his own life and death.


  • Quotes: Shingen Takeda: Even with this resemblance, Nobukado, he is so wicked as to be sentenced to crucifixion. How could this scoundrel be my double? Kagemusha: I only stole a few coins. A petty thief. But you've killed hundreds and robbed whole domains. Who is wicked, you or I? Masakage Yamagata: How old are you, sire? Fifty-three, as I remember.
  • Also known as: Kagemusha, la sombra del guerrero (Argentina), Kagemusha, la sombra del guerrero (Peru), Kagemusha, la sombra del guerrero (Spain), Árnyéklovas (Hungary - imdb display title), Kagemusha (Denmark), Kagemusha (The Shadow Warrior) ( - undefined), Kagemusha - A Sombra do Guerreiro (Portugal), Kagemusha - Der Schatten des Kriegers (West Germany), Kagemusha - Director's Cut (France - director's cut), Kagemusha - Spökgeneralen (Sweden - imdb display title), Kagemusha - l'ombra del guerriero (Italy), Kagemusha - varjokenraali (Finland), Kagemusha the Shadow Warrior ( - undefined), Kagemusha, a Sombra de um Samurai (Brazil), Kagemusha, l'ombre du guerrier (France), Kagemusha, o iskios tou polemisti (Greece - transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title), Kagemusha, sjena jena ratnika (Yugoslavia - Serbian title), Kagemusha: la sombra del guerrero (Mexico - imdb display title), Shadow Warrior ( - undefined), Sobowtór (Poland), The Double ( - undefined),

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