KAGEMUSHA. The second to the last Masterpiece in the career of Akira Kurosawa, who is one of my two all-time favorite film makers..(the final being RAN-which includes my favorite performance by an actress in any of his movies!). By this time, 1980, he was having trouble financing his pictures as the 70's were unkind to him. His native Japan not so much shunning his work, but certainly under appreciating it; given his inclination towards a more western influence in his stories (his favorite director was always John Ford). This particular picture has an ending that rivals Seven Samurai; though almost nobody else would agree with me, as that happens to be one of the most imitated and sources of inspiration for future films ever made. Sad to see he needed names like Spielberg & Lucas to get this one done. But it did lead to or act as a, "dry run" (his words, according to a frequent collaborator) for RAN, which is an adaptation of King Lear.
