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Kagemusha

Kagemusha(Ảnh võ giả,Shadow Warrior)is a 1980epicjidaigekifilm directed byAkira Kurosawa.It is set in theSengoku periodofJapanese historyand tells the story of a lower-class criminal who is taught to impersonate the dyingdaimyōTakeda Shingento dissuade opposing lords from attacking the newly vulnerable clan.Kagemushais the Japanese term for apolitical decoy,literally meaning "shadow warrior". The film ends with the climactic 1575Battle of Nagashino.[5]

Kagemusha
Theatrical poster
Directed byAkira Kurosawa
Screenplay by
  • Akira Kurosawa
  • Masato Ide
Produced by
StarringTatsuya Nakadai
Cinematography
Edited byAkira Kurosawa (uncredited)[1]
Music byShin'ichirō Ikebe
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release date
  • April 26, 1980(1980-04-26)(Japan)
Running time
180 minutes
Country
  • Japan
LanguageJapanese
Budget
Box office$33 million (est.)

The film won thePalme d'Orat the1980 Cannes Film Festival(tied withAll That Jazz). It was also nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Foreign Language Filmand received other honours. In 2009 the film was voted at No. 59 on the list ofThe Greatest Japanese Films of All Timeby Japanese film magazineKinema Junpo.[6]

Plot

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During theSengoku period,in 1571,Takeda Shingen,daimyōofKai provincefrom theTakeda clan,meets a thief his brotherNobukadohas spared fromcrucifixiondue to the thief's uncanny resemblance to Shingen. The brothers agree that he would prove useful as a double, and they decide to use the thief as akagemusha,a political decoy. Later, while the Takeda armylays siegeto a castle belonging toTokugawa Ieyasu,Shingen is shot while listening to a flute playing in the enemy camp. He orders his forces to withdraw and, before succumbing to his wound, commands his generals to keep his death a secret for three years. Meanwhile, Shingen's rivalsOda Nobunaga,Tokugawa Ieyasu,andUesugi Kenshinpuzzle over the reason for Shingen's withdrawal, unaware of his death.

Nobukado presents the thief toShingen's generals,proposing to have him impersonate Shingen full-time. Although the thief is unaware of Shingen's death initially, he eventually finds Shingen's preserved corpse in a large jar, having believed it to contain treasure. The generals then decide they cannot trust the thief and release him. Later, the jar is dropped intoLake Suwa,which spies working for the Tokugawa and Oda forces witness. Suspecting that Shingen has died, the spies go to report their observation, but the thief, having overheard the spies, returns to the Takeda forces and offers to work as akagemusha.The Takeda clan preserves the deception by announcing that they were simply making an offering ofsaketo the god of the lake, and the spies are ultimately convinced by the thief's performance.

Returning home, thekagemushasuccessfully deceives Shingen'sretinueby imitating the late warlord's gestures and learning more about him. When thekagemushamust preside over a clan meeting, he is instructed by Nobukado to remain silent until Nobukado brings the generals to a consensus, whereupon thekagemushawill simply agree with the generals' plan and dismiss the council. However, Shingen's sonKatsuyoriis incensed by his father's decree of the three year subterfuge, which delays his inheritance and leadership of the clan. Katsuyori thus decides to test thekagemushain front of the council, as the majority of the attendants are still unaware of Shingen's death. He directly asks thekagemushawhat course of action should be taken, but thekagemushais able to answer convincingly in Shingen's own manner, which further convinces the generals.

In 1573, Nobunaga mobilizes his forces to attackAzai Nagamasa,continuing his campaign in centralHonshuto maintain his control ofKyotoagainst the growing opposition. When the Tokugawa and Oda forces launch an attack against the Takeda, Katsuyori begins a counter-offensive against the advice of his generals. Thekagemushais then forced to lead reinforcements in theBattle of Takatenjin,and he helps inspire the troops to victory. However, in a later fit of overconfidence, thekagemushaattempts to ride Shingen's notoriously temperamental horse, and falls off. When those who rush to help him see that he does not have Shingen's battle scars, he is revealed as an impostor, and is driven out in disgrace, allowing Katsuyori to take over the clan. Sensing weakness in the Takeda clan leadership, the Oda and Tokugawa forces are emboldened to begin a full-scale offensive into the Takeda homeland.

By 1575, now in full control of the Takeda army, Katsuyori leads a counter-offensive against Nobunaga inNagashino.Although courageous in their assault, several waves of Takeda cavalry and infantry are cut down by volleys ofgunfirefrom Odaarquebusiersdeployed behind wooden stockades, effectively eliminating the Takeda army. Thekagemusha,who has followed the Takeda army, desperately takes up a spear and charges toward the Oda lines before being shot himself. Mortally wounded, thekagemushaattempts to retrieve thefūrinkazanbanner, which had fallen into a river, but succumbs to his wounds in the water where his body is carried away by the current.

Production

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Kurosawa's own artwork

George LucasandFrancis Ford Coppolaare credited at the end of the film asexecutive producersin the international version. This is because they persuaded20th Century-Foxto make up a shortfall in the film's budget when the original producers,Toho Studios,could not afford to complete the film. In return, 20th Century-Fox received the international distribution rights to the film. Coppola and Kurosawa appeared together inSuntorywhisky commercials to raise money for the production.[7]

Kurosawa originally cast the actorShintaro Katsuin the title role. Katsu left the production, however, before the first day of shooting was over; in an interview for theCriterion CollectionDVD, executive producerCoppolastates that Katsu angered Kurosawa by arriving with his own camera crew to record Kurosawa's filmmaking methods. It is unclear whether Katsu was fired or left of his own accord, but he was replaced byTatsuya Nakadai,a well-known actor who had appeared in a number of Kurosawa's previous films. Nakadai played both thekagemushaand the lord whom he impersonated.

Kurosawa wrote a part inKagemushafor his longtime regular actorTakashi Shimura,andKagemushawas the last Kurosawa film in which Shimura appeared. However, the scene in which he plays a servant who accompanies a western doctor to a meeting with Shingen was cut from the foreign release of the film. TheCriterion CollectionDVDrelease of the film restored this scene as well as approximately another eighteen minutes in the film.

According to Lucas, Kurosawa used 5,000 extras for the final battle sequence, filming for a whole day, then he cut it down to 90 seconds in the final release. Many special effects, and a number of scenes that filled holes in the story, landed on the "cutting-room floor".

Cast

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Release

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Kagemushawas released theatrically in Japan on April 26, 1980, where it was distributed byToho.[2]It was released in the United States theatrically on October 6, 1980, where it was distributed byTwentieth Century-Fox.[2]The theatrical version in the United States had a 162-minute running time.[2]It was released on home video in the United States with a 180-minute running time in 2005.[2]

Reception

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Box office

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Kagemushawas the number one Japanese film on the domestic market in 1980, earning¥2.7 billionindistribution rentalincome.[8]It earned$8 millionwithin ten days of release at 217 Japanese theaters.[9]The film grossed a total of¥5.5 billion($26 million) in Japanesebox officegross receipts.[10]

Overseas, the film grossed$4 millionin the United States[4](equivalent to over$14 millionadjusted for inflation in 2021)[11]from1.5 millionticket sales.[12]In France, where it released on 1 October 1980, the film sold 904,627 tickets,[13]equivalent to an estimatedgross revenueof approximately €2,442,500[14]($3,401,000). This brings the film's total estimated worldwide gross revenue to approximately$33,401,000(equivalent to $124,000,000 in 2023).

Critical response

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Kagemushahas an approval rating of 89% onreview aggregatorwebsiteRotten Tomatoes,based on 27 reviews, and an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's critical consensus states: "Epic in scope and awash with striking color,Kagemushamarks Akira Kurosawa's successful return to the samurai epic ".[15]Metacriticassigned the film a weighted average score of 84 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[16]

Accolades

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Kagemushawon numerous honours in Japan and abroad, marking the beginning of Kurosawa's most successful decade in international awards, the 1980s.[17]At the1980 Cannes Film Festival,Kagemushashared thePalme d'OrwithAll That Jazz.[18]At the53rd Academy Awards,Kagemushawas nominated forBest Art Direction(Yoshirō Muraki) andBest Foreign Language Film.[19][20]

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
Academy Awards March 31, 1981 Best Foreign Language Film Akira Kurosawa Nominated [19]
Best Art Direction Yoshirō Muraki Nominated
British Academy Film Awards March 22, 1981 Best Film Akira Kurosawa,Tomoyuki Tanaka Nominated [21]
Best Direction Akira Kurosawa Won
Best Cinematography Takao Saito,Shôji Ueda Nominated
Best Costume Design Seiichiro Momosawa Won
Cannes Film Festival May 23, 1980 Palme d'Or Akira Kurosawa Won [18]
César Awards January 31, 1981 Best Foreign Film Akira Kurosawa Won [22]
David di Donatello September 26, 1981 Best Foreign Director Akira Kurosawa Won [23]
Best Foreign Producer Francis Ford Coppola,George Lucas Won
Golden Globe Awards January 31, 1981 Best Foreign Language Film Akira Kurosawa Nominated [24]
Mainichi Film Awards 1980 Best Film Akira Kurosawa Won [25]
Best Director Akira Kurosawa Won
Best Actor Tatsuya Nakadai Won
Best Art Direction Yoshirô Muraki Won
Best Music Shin'ichirō Ikebe Won
National Board of Review January 26, 1981 Top Foreign Films Akira Kurosawa Won [26]

In 2016,The Hollywood Reporterranked the film 10th among 69 counted winners of thePalme d'Orto date, concluding "Set against the wars of 16th-century Japan, Kurosawa's majestic samurai epic is still awe-inspiring, not only in its historical pageantry, but for imagery that communicates complex ideas about reality, belief and meaning."[27]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Ritchie, Donald (1998).The Films of Akira Kurosawa(3 ed.). University of California Press. p. 238.ISBN978-0-520-22037-9.
  2. ^abcdeGalbraith IV 2008,p. 322.
  3. ^Aubrey Solomon,Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History,Scarecrow Press, 1989 p259
  4. ^abKagemushaatBox Office Mojo
  5. ^Rayns, Tony (2006).Talking with the Director.Criterion Collection.Criterion Collection.p. 13.
  6. ^"Greatest Japanese films by magazine Kinema Junpo (2009 version)".Archived fromthe originalon July 11, 2012.Retrieved2011-12-26.
  7. ^Conrad, David A. (2022).Akira Kurosawa and Modern Japan,195 McFarland & Co.
  8. ^"Kako haikyū shūnyū jōi sakuhin 1980-nen"(in Japanese). Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan.Retrieved4 February2011.
  9. ^"Japanese TV Shows Abound in Violence".Abilene Reporter-News.31 May 1981. p. 31.Retrieved19 April2022– viaNewspapers.
  10. ^"Kagemusha".Toho Kingdom.Retrieved23 May2020.
  11. ^"Kagemusha (1980) - United States".JP's Box-Office.Retrieved18 April2022.
  12. ^"«Кагемуся: Тень воина» (Kagemusha, 1980)".KinoPoisk(in Russian).Retrieved20 March2022.
  13. ^"Kagemusha (1980)".JP's Box-Office.Retrieved23 May2020.
  14. ^"Cinema market".Cinema, TV and radio in the EU: Statistics on audiovisual services (Data 1980-2002)(2003 ed.).Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.2003. pp. 31–64 (61).ISBN92-894-5709-0.ISSN1725-4515.Retrieved23 May2020.{{cite book}}:|website=ignored (help)
  15. ^"Kagemusha | Rotten Tomatoes".Rotten Tomatoes.
  16. ^"Kagemusha Reviews".Metacritic.
  17. ^Wild 2014,p. 165.
  18. ^ab"Festival de Cannes: Kagemusha".festival-cannes.Retrieved2009-05-27.
  19. ^ab"The 53rd Academy Awards (1981) Nominees and Winners".oscars.org.Retrieved2013-06-08.
  20. ^"NY Times: Kagemusha".Movies & TV Dept.The New York Times.2012. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-10-18.Retrieved2008-12-31.
  21. ^"Film in 1981".British Academy of Film and Television Arts.Retrieved23 June2017.
  22. ^"Prix et nominations: César 1981".AlloCiné.Retrieved23 June2017.
  23. ^"Cronologia Dei Premi David Di Donatello".David di Donatello.Retrieved23 June2017.
  24. ^"Kagemusha (The Shadow Warrior)".Hollywood Foreign Press Association.Retrieved23 June2017.
  25. ^"35th (1980)".Mainichi Film Awards.2016.Retrieved23 June2017.
  26. ^"1980 Award Winners".National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.2016.Retrieved2 December2016.
  27. ^THR Staff (10 May 2016)."Cannes: All the Palme d'Or Winners, Ranked".The Hollywood Reporter.Retrieved20 September2016.

Bibliography

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