IMDb plot summary: A petty thief with an utter resemblance to a samurai warlord is hired as the lord's double. When the warlord later dies the thief is forced to take up arms in his place.
Directed by Akira Kurosawa. Starring Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ken'ichi Hagiwara, and Jinpachi Nezu.
What I really enjoy about Kurosawa is how truly human his characters seem and how easy they are to connect with. This movie reminded me of Ran in that I really enjoyed the moments when that characterization and humanity came through and was thoroughly uninterested in the political/war stuff. It's definitely not my favorite Kurosawa flick, as there is a LOT of political back-and-forth and battle scenes that just didn't capture my attention... but I do have to mention the final post-battle scene, which has some incredibly powerful images that definitely deliver an emotional impact. Worth a watch, but it does occasionally feel long and slow, unlike the equally long Seven Samurai.
3 stars.
Flickchart: #1152 out of 2076, below Burning Annie and above Interstate 60.
Buy the DVD from Amazon.
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