Shintaru Katsu as the Kagemusha...

Shintaru (Zatoichi) Katsu was signed on to this film, originally, and even reported to the set with his entourage, and managed to almost immediately to offend Kurosawa with his movie star behavior. He was fired on the spot and was replaced by Nakadai, The rest, as they say, is history. Before shooting began, Kurosawa said that the film would be partly comedic, with "lots of action". Clearly, that film was not the one we got though. The movie we got is very somber and contemplative, with very little comedy or action, and what action there is doesn't have the feel of an "action scene" at all.