Kagemusha poster

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Kagemusha

1980 · Movie · 162 min
A

MEANRANK

82/100

Averaged across 10 ratings · 113K votes

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A petty thief is saved from execution because he bears a striking resemblance to a powerful dying warlord. He is forced to become the lord's double, or kagemusha, to prevent the clan from collapsing into chaos. He must learn to embody the ruler, commanding his armies and fooling even the lord's closest retainers.

Details

Released
26 April 1980
Country
Japan, United States
Language
Japanese
Runtime
162 min
Rated
PG
Budget
$6.0M
Box office
$4.0M
Awards
12 wins, 5 nominations

This title elsewhere

Tatsuya Nakadai

Tatsuya Nakadai

Shingen Takeda / Kagemusha

Tsutomu Yamazaki

Tsutomu Yamazaki

Nobukado Takeda

Kenichi Hagiwara

Kenichi Hagiwara

Katsuyori Takeda

Jinpachi Nezu

Jinpachi Nezu

Sohachiro Tsuchiya

Hideji Ōtaki

Hideji Ōtaki

Masakage Yamagata

Daisuke Ryū

Daisuke Ryū

Nobunaga Oda

Masayuki Yui

Masayuki Yui

Ieyasu Tokugawa

Kaori Momoi

Kaori Momoi

Otsuyanokata

Awards & nominations

See all 17 →

2 major awards won · 12 wins from 17 nominations across 8 ceremonies

César Awards 1981 Best Foreign Film Akira Kurosawa Winner
Cannes Film Festival 1980 Palme d'Or Akira Kurosawa Winner
Academy Awards 1981 Best Art Direction Yoshirō Muraki Nominee
Academy Awards 1981 Best Foreign Language Film Akira Kurosawa Nominee
Golden Globe Awards 1981 Best Foreign Language Film Akira Kurosawa Nominee
British Academy Film Awards 1981 Best Film Akira Kurosawa, Tomoyuki Tanaka Nominee
British Academy Film Awards 1981 Best Costume Design Seiichiro Momosawa Winner
British Academy Film Awards 1981 Best Direction Akira Kurosawa Winner
Show all 17 awards across 8 ceremonies

Awards from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.