About

You can stream The Third Shadow Warrior (1963) on Criterion Channel with a subscription.

In the mountain regions of Hida, the dreams of a peasant named Kyonosuke, who longed to be a samurai, come true when he becomes one of three doubles, of shadows, of Lord Yasutaka. After months of intense and cruel training, he faces his destiny when the Lord and the other two shadows are killed in battle and he must take on the role of Lord Yasutaka....

A peasant’s desperate climb from dirt to steel takes a surreal turn when he joins a trio of body doubles designed to shield a lord from death. This period epic trades predictable heroism for a haunting look at the brutal training required to inhabit a man's identity.