Ed note: For the next several weeks, composer and film aficionado Lewis Saul has agreed to supply us with in-depth commentary about the films of Akira Kurosawa, now showing in an extended festival at the Film Forum. Even if you're unable to stop by the Forum, we think Lew's insights will deepen your appreciation of these important movies.
Kagemusha (The Double/Shadow Warrior) [1980] PLAYING January 27th at The Film Forum
This is Kurosawa's 26th film, but only his third color film!
It is easy to remember the years that the six films #23-28 were made: starting in 1965 (#23), we get a new film exactly every five years ... so 1970 (#24); 1975 (#25); 1980 (#26); 1985 (#27); 1990 (#28) ...
I'm fairly certain Kurosawa would have been happier if he had been able to make a film or two in between those big Five Year Plans!
However, things with the Japanese film industry were so bad at this time that Kurosawa's previous film had been shot and partially financed in the (former) Soviet Union. So after wrapping Dersu Uzala (playing February 4th) in 1975, Kurosawa had plenty of time on his hands to create a new film -- entirely in his own imagination! He created nearly 250 paintings and sketches of the scenes and characters. Finally, he showed them to George Lucas who was stunned to learn of Kurosawa's financing problems.
"It was a tragedy. It was like telling Michelangelo, 'All right, you're seventy and we're not letting you paint anymore.'"
Now, recall -- it's 1980 and a certain Lucas film has done pretty well at box office! Thus, he was able to pretty much blackmail 20th Century into coming up with the remaining money and shaming Toho into co-financing the film. (Francis Ford Coppola got in on the act as well.) And so,
" ... for the first time in history, an American studio was pressured into buying a film it didn't especially want, to engineer another company into pouring money into a film it did not want to make" [Galbraith, p. 547-8].
As usual, a short synopsis can hardly describe a 180-minute film. But, Galbraith is always up to the task:
"A condemned thief (Tatsuya Nakadai) is compelled to become Takeda's kagemusha or face crucifixion. Takeda is killed and his inner circle hides this fact for three years as the thief assumes his identity. Only a few members of the clan know this. Gradually, the thief all but becomes the man he has replaced, and the clan remains remarkably stable during his 'reign.' Coached by Takeda's look-alike brother (Tsutomu Yamazaki [Goro in Tampopo]), who had previously acted as kagemusha, the thief's impersonation fools everyone for months: the lord's concubines, his grandson, and soldiers. But ultimately, he does not fool the lord's horse. When the thief is thrown, the ruse is unmasked, and the lord's son (Kenichi Hagiwara) assumes his father's title. He plunges his dominion headlong into an unwinnable battle, and the entire clan is wiped out. The thief, who by now feels part of the clan in all but blood, joins them in death." [p. 546].
Further discussion of Kagemusha can hardly proceed without mentioning Shintarô Katsu, the immortal actor who played the memorable blind swordsman Zatôichi character in 26 feature films and 100 or so television episodes.
It was probably doomed from the start, when you consider the personalities of these two.
On July 18, 1979, Katsu showed up at dress rehearsals with his own camera crew.
"What's that noise?"
"That's my video crew," Katsu replied. "I make it a rule to do this all the time."
"Well, it may be your rule," replied the director, "but you're not permitted to do this. It's very disturbing."
Katsu immediately took off his armor and walked out of the studio. Kurosawa was very quiet as he watched him go. He immediately called Teruyo Nogami and said, 'Call up Nakadai to see if he's free.' She called him up, I think that night, and Nakadai said, 'I'm willing to do it.'" [p. 550] Katsu was fired and Nakadai would become Shingen Takeda and his kagemusha.
Tidbits culled from Stephen Prince's commentary are marked [SP].
- Galbraith's chapter on this film is filled with fascinating stories and quotes ... Prince's commentary is equally informative ...
- The shoot took nine months.
- Kurosawa was a stickler for historical accuracy; and one can guess with some degree of certainty that there were probably no female warriors in any of these battles -- but in this film, ten percent of the riders "atop the 200 specially trained horses (many flown in from America) were women members of various equestrian organization" [p. 554].
- Many critics speak of Kagemusha as a "run-through" for Ran (Chaos) [1985] (playing February 5th). My own opinion is that that gives short shrift to both films! It is known AK worked on them as separate scripts as early as 1975 [p. 545].
- The Toho logo follows the 20th Century Fox logo, which is then followed by a black screen with white Japanese characters: "Toho Films and Kurosawa Productions Present" and then (with no further title or credits) right into ...
- ... the first seven minutes of the film -- which are remarkable in so many ways: first it is one long, uncut take. Secondly, three men are spread across the frame, but there are only two actors: Yamazaki and Nakadai. It is a delicious task to try and figure it all out on first viewing! Of course, Yamazaki is on the far left, playing Nobukado, Shingen's brother; while both Shingen and the thief (on the far right) are played by Nakadai. It is not only a tour-de-force performance, but also a triumph of quietly technical filmmaking.
- The thief sits listening quietly until Shingen says to his brother: "Even with this resemblance -- he is so wicked as to be sentenced to crucifixion -- how could this scoundrel be my double?" At this the thief breaks out into hysterical laughter. "I only stole a few coins. I'm a petty thief." He bravely turns towards Shingen and continues: " ... a man who's killed hundreds and robbed whole domains is hardly the one ..."
- Thus, Nakadai is able from the very start to differentiate the warrior and the double -- even without understanding the Japanese, you can hear that their speech is different.
- Masaru Satô finally had had enough. Kurosawa's composer since Hayasaka's death in 1955, he apparently had one too many meetings with his boss, who no doubt asked him to imitate some classical composer down to the last 16th-note (see my comments about this nonsense on Akahige [Red Beard] {1965}, playing February 2nd). His replacement was Shinichirô Ikebe.
- Galbraith: "Ikebe, who'd worked in films since the late 1970s was far more willing to follow Kurosawa's predilection for aping classical composers. But this backfired on Kurosawa, and for the first time, one of his films was provided with an awful score; the fault was Kurosawa's just as Nakadai's casting had been" [p. 559].
- In all 823 pages, I don't think I've ever disagreed more vehemently with Galbraith than the preceding paragraph! Frankly, I find Ikebe score's refreshing, and believe him to be much less guilty of "aping" then Satô (or Hayasaka, for that matter!). I disagree that this is an "awful" score (although if you compare it to Tôru Takemitsu's score for Ran, it suffers -- naturally!) ...
- For example -- check out what happens after this long, opening seven-minute scene of stillness: after Shingen says to his brother, "train him," both men bow as the lord leaves the room. FADE TO BLACK. Traditional Kurosawa title card: white letters against a black background (sound: wind); another FTB and up on a bunch of sleeping soldiers sprawled out on the steps of a castle (super: 1573). Suddenly a soldier-messenger (tsukaiban) (Masatsugu Kuriyama) is literally flying down the steps (and Ikebe uses clarinet arpeggios to create this feeling -- eventually introducing strong backbeats towards the end, which gives the scene gravitas) -- there are 12 cuts in 72 seconds; not a lot (average cut, six seconds) for such a fast-paced scene -- so the music has to carry the feeling of swiftness to go along with the image ...
- Also in that 72 seconds, Kurosawa shows us six different colored banners for the Takeda clan: black, green, white, red, purple and blue!
- The very first scene after this is filled with tension. The messenger delivers his message (the water supply to the enemy's castle has been cut) and is dismissed by -- by Nobukado, actually, playing his role as the double. Katsuyori (Kenichi Hagiwara) -- Shingen's son -- says, "we must let my father know we've cut the aqueduct." As Nobukado stares straight ahead, a smile plastered on his face, Masakage Yamagata (the amazing Shuji [Hideji] Ôtaki) -- Shingen's closest advisor -- replies to Katsuyori: "Your father Lord Shingen is right here."
- In the next scene, Yamagata is visiting Shingen. Note the gorgeous gardens and the cold -- you can see Nakadai's breath! Yamagata derides Shingen for his childish attitude -- a wonderful scene!
- You'll hear the word fue a lot -- flute! Kurosawa shoots the troops listening to the flute with views of the castle looming high above -- and suddenly a shot rings out!
- The introduction of the various warlords is done by first introducing their respective castles -- a breathtaking establishing shot in each case!
- First is Ieyasu Tokugawa (Masayuki Yui), then Nobunaga Oda (Daisuke Ryû, really terrific here!) then -- in wintry snow -- an unnamed warlord, probably Kenshin Uesugi (Toshihiko Shimizu) ...
- Watch the burst of blue-white snowy brilliance as the latter opens up the castle window and Kurosawa cuts to one of the iconic shots of this film -- a long line of samurai marching along a ridge in front of a setting sun. Half a dozen men lie dazed in the foreground.
- The use of color is constantly rich and surprising. When we first cut to the grandson, Takemaru (the adorable Kota Yui, his only credited film appearance), the blue of his kimono is as brilliant as the sky. The gold clan emblems stand out beautifully. His second kimono (where he runs around playing "horsey") is also gorgeous -- but the third one -- when he is in the thief's arms, as the servant Tsuchiya (Jinpachi Nezu) tells the story of the banner --is an unexpected burst of color -- yellow and green, a white obi, and cinnamon red pant bottoms. The film frame seems to melt in a rich rainbow, as the kid recites -- with just the right amount of difficulty -- the clan's banner motto!
- Which is actually condensed from Sun Tzu's The Art of War (Chapter VII). In full: "When campaigning, be swift as the wind; in leisurely march, march, majestic as a forest; in raiding and plundering, like fire; in standing, firm as the mountains. As unfathomable as the clouds, move like a thunderbolt."
- Another joke which Katsu might have brought to life -- after Tsuchiya finishes the story of the motto, the thief mutters, "I see ..." before realizing his error and turning to Takemura and saying, "understand?"
- Every scene seems to have been thought out in excruciatingly fine detail, particularly the color schemes ...
- In the scene with the concubines, notice the shadow behind the thief. Perhaps, in this case, it is the late Shingen who is standing behind the thief (i.e., the thief acting more and more like the late lord!) [SP] ...
- The thief is perhaps looking forward to a fun-filled evening with the concubines when Nobukado tells them that the Lord will not be able to exert himself. Some dry humor -- and if you imagine Katsu in the role, you can certainly image how funny it might have been -- it seems toned down with Nakadai ...
- The scene with the horse is filmed in a nearly identical fashion as the similar scene in Kumonosu jo (Throne of Blood) [1957].
- The scene with Katsuyori at his Lake Suwa castle is another stunner. Look at the shot with the lake right outside the windows, and the spectacular snow-covered mountains in the distance!
- The Dream. Prince's commentary here is mega-instructive! Meanwhile ... enjoy the colors!
- Yes, Kurosawa himself painted all those beautiful backgrounds.
- Why is Nobunaga a Christian? Because his enemies were Buddhists! It was really that simple ~ the enemy of my enemy is my ...
- At a later time, however, Christian missionaries were tortured, killed and exiled ...
- The thief spins tops with Takemura, who has on another beautiful kimono!
- It is so wonderful to have the scenes of Takashi Shimura (Gyobu Taguchi, a deputy of Nobunaga) restored in this new 180-minute version! He says very little, as he was suffering from severe emphysema and died a year or two later ...
- Takemura enters the scene with the thief wearing yet another gorgeous kimono -- purple and pink!
- Notice the way Kurosawa cuts from those awesome epic shots of enemy armies advancing in the distance to weird shots of harsh artificial color (linked to dream sequence) ...
- Prince has some gems on the commentary: "Kurosawa is here giving history a more poetic inflection." And "history starts to recede, replaced by poetry and psychodrama." [SP]
- "DO NOT MOVE!" The thief has become Shingen!
- The "wine scene" between Ieyasu and Nobunaga is pregnant with meaning. See SP.
- Note the obvious admiration Kurosawa shows for the brutal Nobunaga, as he sings his Noh song in honor of Shingen.
- At Shingen's funeral, the thief watches with the crowd from the outside. There is something about the way Nakadai looks here, with the large hat, that really reminds me of his famous role as Kaji in Kobayashi's Ningen no jôken I II and III (1959/60).
- Notice the pink circles around the thief's eyes and how they get bigger with each new atrocity.
- The montage with the dead bodies and the horses trying to stand up (no animal was injured, etc.) is memorable.
- The blood looks orange.
- Historical fact: The Takeda clan lost 10,000 men that day.
- The final shot: the thief's body drifts swiftly by the motto banner, as Kurosawa's camera zooms in. Wow!
- Prince's last comment: "In Kagemusha, Kurosawa has followed his beloved samurai world to the point of its extinction and his glance is a backward-looking one, full of nostalgia and full of yearning for those things that are no more -- those things that are gone from this world and those things that were then going from his career. He would make four more films, but except for Ran, he would never work on this kind of epic canvas." [SP]
- Thank God for Ran. Kagemusha is brilliant ~ but he was able to one-up himself -- at age 75!! -- and create something even better! Stay tuned...
- There are no wipes in this film.
