Rashômon (1950)

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Ryunosuke Akutagawa (stories)
Akira Kurosawa (writer) ...

Release Date:

26 December 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

The husband, the wife...or the bandit?

Plot:

A heinous crime and its aftermath are recalled from differing points of view.

Plot Keywords:

Truth | Japan | Samurai | Forest | Psychic

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 7 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Toshirô Mifune	...	Tajômaru
Machiko Kyô	...	Masako Kanazawa
Masayuki Mori	...	Takehiro Kanazawa
Takashi Shimura	...	Woodcutter
Minoru Chiaki	...	Priest
Kichijiro Ueda	...	Commoner
Fumiko Honma	...	Medium
Daisuke Katô	...	Policeman

Also Known As:

Rashomon (Japan) (alternative transliteration)
Rashou-mon (Japan) (alternative transliteration)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:M | Argentina:16 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:14 | UK:12 | UK:X (original rating) | USA:Unrated | West Germany:16 | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Nara, Japan

Company:

Daiei Motion Picture Company

Trivia:

A very early use of the "hand held" camera technique (following characters closely through the woods).

Quotes:

Commoner: It's human to lie. Most of the time we can't even be honest with ourselves.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Skunk Fu!: The Art of Remembering: Part 1/The Art of Remembering: Part 2 (#1.26)" (2008)

Kurosawa is just so damn good

"Rashomon", Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film about a horrible crime and the various versions of the "truth" that come to fruition during the investigation is absolutely amazing, pure and simple. The story is told four different times, each time from the point of view of one of the participants. The basic story of the crime is that a bandit (Mifune) comes across a husband and wife traveling through the forest. The bandit, Tajomaru, seduces/assaults the Masako (Kyo) after tying up her husband Takehiro (Mori), and soon after, Takehiro is dead. What happens between the times Tajomaru encounters the couple and the discovery of Takehiro's body is what is left to be discovered. Masako, Tajomaru and even Takehiro (with the assistance of a medium) each tell their account of the story, each taking blame for Takehiro's death. The fourth telling is from a passer-by, and the audience is left to decide which is the true account.

I absolutely loved this film. I had heard that Yimou Zhang's "Hero" had, if not as an homage, employed the same technique of storytelling and perspective, but seeing this great film was a real treat. The story is original and rich, and Kurosawa always is able to pull great performances from his actors. I found "Rashomon" to be extremely compelling from start to finish, and even managed to be really creeped out at one point. (The psychic medium is pure, unadulterated nightmare fuel) From the very little that I know of Japanese cinema of the 1950's & 1960's, I realize that Kurosawa was not the only director, but he certainly was the trailblazer and set the bar for the genre for decades to come. His peers were putting out material, it was just fairly primitive. (It is easy to forget that not every country's film industry was as opulent as America's) To see this kind of film, a film that is actually incredibly simple, but so ingeniously conceived of and executed makes me remember why I have been and always will be both a student of and lover of film. 8/10 --Shelly