84
Metascore
15 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertSimple, bold, and colorful on the surface, but very thoughtful.
- 100The A.V. ClubScott TobiasThe A.V. ClubScott TobiasThough the story's Shakespearean underpinnings give Kagemusha the weight of classic tragedy–in this case, the tragedy of a man rendered helpless by larger historical forces–the film astonishes mostly as pure spectacle.
- An often breathtaking but slightly bloodless samurai epic.
- 80EmpireIan NathanEmpireIan NathanAn often overlooked fine entry in the Kurasawa canon, this shows a good many western 'epics' how it's done.
- 80TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineThe massive battle scenes rank with the director's best, using brilliant color, contrasting light, and the enormous cast to great advantage. Kurosawa also alternates compelling scenes of near hypnotic stillness with scenes of rousing action.
- 80The New York TimesVincent CanbyThe New York TimesVincent CanbyThere is beauty in Kagemusha but it is impersonal, distant and ghostly. The old master has never been more rigorous. [06 Oct 1980, p.14]
- 75Slant MagazineEric HendersonSlant MagazineEric HendersonThe film vibrates with a profound respect for historical veracity, the busy intersection between political sociology and psychology, and grunting, portentous masculinity.
- 75Chicago ReaderDave KehrChicago ReaderDave KehrSomething large and abstract is stirring here, though the film's ultimate implications are chilling
- 60Time OutTime OutFor all Kurosawa's splendidly colourful recreation of 16th century Japan, and though Nakadai's performance is impressive enough, it's all ultimately rather empty and tedious; it could easily have been cut by almost an hour, while the grating Morricone-like score only serves to underline the fact that the director fails to achieve the emotional force of his finest work.