Trivia / Kagemusha

• Completely Different Title:
  • Hungary: Shadow Rider
  • Iran: Pseudo-Samurai
  • Poland: Double
  • United States/United Kingdom: The Shadow Warrior
• The Foreign Subtitle:
  • Brazil: Kagemusha, the Shadow of a Samurai
  • Finland: Kagemusha: The Shadow General
  • France and Latin America: Kagemusha, the Shadow of the Warrior
  • Norway: Kagemusha: The General's Double
  • Sweden: Kagemusha: The Ghost General
• Network to the Rescue: George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola were stunned that Kurosawa — who they both revered and considered one of their greatest influences — could not find funding when Toho decided they couldn't afford to put up any more money. The pair used their newly built reputation as two of the biggest names in Hollywood to convince 20th Century Fox to put up capital. Both Lucas and Coppola made trips to the set, and Coppola even appeared with Kurosawa in a series of Suntory Whiskey commercials that also helped finance the film.
• Promoted Fanboy: George Lucas, who got the chance to help the director who gave so much inspiration to his Star Wars films.
• What Could Have Been: Originally, the role of Shingen and the kagemusha was to be played by Shintaro Katsu, the boisterous comedic actor who was already famed for portraying badass, gruff and tragic characters like the assassin Okada Izo in Tenchu! and Zatoichi. However, Katsu managed to anger Kurosawa at first day of shooting and thus left the production. Tatsuya Nakadai was thus taken in to replace him. Critics would later on say Nakadai's interpretation of the role (both of the kagemusha and the late Shingen) lent it a somber, grave mien that worked better than if Kurosawa continued with Katsu. A trailer of the film with Katsu does exist, however, but it wasn't included on the Criterion release.

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