Kagemusha (Criterion Collection) (Blu-ray Disc)

When Akira Kurosawa's Kagemusha was announced for Criterion Blu-ray I had seen the film for the first time only a couple months earlier and enjoyed it greatly. While it's not the director's greatest film, it is a visual feast that takes full advantage of a high-definition Blu-ray transfer, which I can only assume is the reason it's the first of Kurosawa's films Criterion decided to bring to the new format after their plans to deliver Ran were capsized due to rights issues.

Kagemusha is Kurosawa's return to the samurai story and this time in color following his Oscar-winning Dersu Uzala five years earlier. The setting is the warring states of feudal Japan as the powerful warlord Shingen Takeda is fatally wounded, but before dying instructs his closest men to carry on his legacy, while not letting on he has passed away. In an effort to carry out the ruse they decide to use Shingen's double, Kagemusha, a lowly thief who will now play the part of the figurehead of the Takeda clan.

Kagemusha is a historical epic that has Kurosawa playing with the notions of illusion vs. reality as Shingen's spirit is felt throughout the picture, but how much of an influence it plays on the film's puppet protagonist is up to the viewer to decide.

Like this week's other Criterion Blu-ray release, Play Time, Kagemusha is an exact reproduction of the previously released two-disc DVD edition released back in 2005, only this time in spectacular high-definition. It should come as no surprise given the additional storage space we are talking about a superior transfer here for this three-hour epic, and I only wish I could offer you side-by-side comparisons as to the picture's improvements. All I can say is take a look at my announcement post and know the three DVD captures you see there look even better in high-definition. Kagemusha is a truly gorgeous film and this only solidifies that sentiment.

As far as the supplements go this is a typical Criterion release for a Kurosawa classic, which is to say it is loaded with goodies, this time primarily focused on the filmmaker's dedication to art and storyboards. The 40-page included booklet gets things started with not only an essay by Japan Society of Boston president Peter Grilli and a reprinted "Sight & Sound" interview with Kurosawa conducted by film critic Tony Rayns, but also 19 pieces of Kurosawa's painted storyboards. These storyboards play a huge part in two of the additional supplements, one featuring several of the over 200 paintings Kurosawa made for the film accompanied by the corresponding audio from the film and the other a navigable series of side-by-side comparisons that are sure to impress.

Again, as on other Kurosawa releases, there is an included 44-minute segment from the impressive Toho Masterworks series "Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create" this time dedicated to Kagemusha and its production with interviews, anecdotes and behind-the-scenes images. For those that picked up Criterion's release of Kurosawa's Dodes'ka-den earlier this year this is a perfect companion piece as Kagemusha was the result of five years of hard labor that would never have paid off if it hadn't been for the assistance of Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas who talked 20th Century Fox into contributing the additional $1.5 million needed to get the project started. Speaking of which there is a 20-minute interview segment dedicated to Lucas and Coppola's involvement including interview footage with both.

Coppola also shows up in another area of the disc's supplements, a series of Suntory Whiskey commercials in which the director is seen at a table across from Kurosawa drinking Suntory Whiskey with a voice over saying, "There's no stronger friendship than that between these two men." To my understanding, while friends, they weren't sharing their "first time" stories with one another, which made the slogan good for a laugh.

Finally, there is the text book style commentary from Stephen Prince, author of "The Warrior's Camera: The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa." Prince's commentary is extremely informative, but considering this is a three-hour feature it can become quite tedious as he sticks to the facts about the historical accuracy of the picture, Kurosawa's intentions and the overall specifics of the film and never gets too animated, or even mildly animated for that matter. However, I did particularly love this little modern day comparison commentary as we watch a massive army come into frame:

This kind of scale is one of the things we love about Kurosawa. A truly epic filmmaker and he knows when to let a shot go and not cut because it would be contrary to the epic scope. Today, of course, moviemakers do this at their keyboards, animating armies as digital creations in their hard drives. Kurosawa didn't live long enough to be part of that - thank goodness - and so he gives here the real thing and it is splendid.

Of course, Kurosawa's massive battle sequence is hardly even shown as much of it is reaction shots by those watching, but there is something to knowing all of those people were there that really changes the way you look at a scene.

When it comes to Kurosawa, like I said, Kagemusha isn't the best film in his oeuvre, but it is a worthy entry and worthy as well of your DVD shelf. It may also be a good way to ease some of you less inclined to purchase a black-and-white film to get into Kurosawa's features if you have been reluctant to watch some of his earlier, and better pieces. If samurai films are your thing you can never go wrong with Yojimbo or Seven Samurai if you are looking to go further, Rashomon is another entry you would be foolish to overlook.