Films

Two screenings:
Fri, May 31, 2024 | 6:30–9:30 pm or Sun, June 2, 2024 | 1–4 pm
Reynolds Lecture Hall
 
Akira Kurosawa, Japan’s master film director, painstakingly created this tale of feudal Japan in extraordinary full color and lavish detail, including actual 16th-century costumes and armor lent by Japanese museums. The icons and ceremony of war, shoguns, and samurai are depicted with accuracy as is the dramatic final 1575 battle of Nagashino. Recruited to be a “kagemusha,” or political decoy, a thief takes over when an aging warlord dies. The thief’s abilities are tested and his hubris revealed. (1980; 2 hrs 40 mins plus intermission; Japanese language subtitled in English; Rated PG) 
 
$8 (VMFA members $5)

VMFA presents Kagemusha in honor of its special exhibition Samurai Armor from the Collection of Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller.