Criterion's Blu-ray of Akira Kurosawa's late-period masterpiece "Kagemusha" merits a table-pounding call for owners of the previous DVD to upgrade. It's that work of alchemy we've been waiting for since the classics label got into the HD game.
Purists who hated Kurosawa's move from soulful black and white into color will find plenty of aggravation here. The colors are amazingly saturated -- almost to the point where you wonder about the authenticity. Compared with the standard definition DVD of 2005, it's like watching another movie. An even more exciting movie.
The Blu-ray's 4.0 audio adds to the myriad visual pleasures. Shinichiro Ikebe's score comes across strong, with vivid separation across the three front speakers. The taiko drums roll out just like thunder while the rush of hooves fills the listener's room.
All of this comes together in the opening scene, in which a messenger runs past the colorful banners and uniforms of various companies of soldiers on his way to headquarters. By the time he gets to the purple gang, you know you're in for something special with this Blu-ray presentation.
in a single-disc version that includes the thick booklet that came with the DVD (missing about an inch of width). The aspect ratio remains 1.8:5 and the running time is three hours, the full Japanese version.The 1970s film stock retained a fair amount of grain, but that texture feels naturalistic -- it comes to us honestly and is rendered harmless by the raging colors, anyway. Contrasts are remarkably strong and there is a good dimensional pop in spots. There is some softness throughout. Wear has been banished.
"Kagemusha" offers more of a curious tale of adventure than an emotional experience on the level of Kurosawa's greatest dramas. The director deliberately keeps his characters at a distance. The movie tells of a thief who is pressed into service as a double after a great warlord dies. He grows into the job, but not nearly enough to save the mountain clan. ("Kagemusha's" cool subtitle is "The Shadow Warrior.")
Akira Kurosawa
"always had a great story to tell," says director George Lucas, who along with Francis Ford Coppola executive produced the film after Kurosawa struggled with financing. They brought clout and money, essentially allowing the film to be made.
"always had a great story to tell," says director George Lucas, who along with Francis Ford Coppola executive produced the film after Kurosawa struggled with financing. They brought clout and money, essentially allowing the film to be made.The master director had feared the film would never be made and had set about telling the story via his incredibly detailed storyboards. (Some of the more dramatic storyboards reappear on the Blu-ray in a split-screen comparison with finished scenes.)
Criterion's extras from the 2005 double-disc DVD have been ported over. You can read about them in this DVD blog's review of the previous Criterion "Kagemusha." There are no additional bonus features for this high definition edition, which is fine given the generous collection already assembled. There was backstage drama to burn on this production, and it's all there in the extras.
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