Rashômon (1950)

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
Noriko Honma	...	Medium
Daisuke Katô	...	Policeman

Also Known As:

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

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

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:

In the wife's vision, the music used was only available during post-production. Kurosawa and his editor was amazed when they found that the music corresponded almost perfectly with the action on the screen, and thus they didn't need to change the scene to make it match the music.

Quotes:

Woodcutter: Selfish!
Commoner: What's wrong with that? That's the way we are, the way we live. You just can't live unless you're what you call selfish.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo (#10.23)" (1999)

A brilliant masterpiece from a masterful director

"Rashomon" was Akira Kurosawa's first national hit (becoming, at the time, the highest-grossing foreign film in America) and even gained an Oscar for Best Foreign Film, but almost sixty years later it still hasn't lost any of its impact. It is widely revered as one of the most influential films of all-time, but unlike some other movies, it is not a film that feels dated. The revolutionary methods of Kurosawa are still effective and on-par with the cinema of today -- this isn't a movie where you say, "Yeah, fifty years ago it might have been different, but now it's done in all the movies." Kurosawa's techniques are still superior to most of his imitators. Look at the 2003 John McTiernan film, "Basic," which copies a good portion of "Rashomon's" concept. Which is the better film? It's not a hard choice.

The film begins under a structure which reads "Rashomon" on its exterior, in a small Japanese village. It's raining outside and a woodcutter (Takashi Shumura) and a priest (Minoru Chiaki) inadvertently find themselves in the company of a wandering commoner (Kichijiro Ueda), and as he asks them what is the matter they both begin to relay the most horrific story they claim to know -- of a brutal murder a few days prior.

Kurosawa then switches to flashback and we see three different versions of the exact same event -- the slaying of an innocent man (the murderer played by Kurosawa film regular Toshirô Mifune) in the woods outside the village. Was it because of lust? Betrayal? Envy? Or insanity? We hear from the murderer, the wife of the victim, and a woman channeling the spirit of the dead man.

"Rashomon" is brilliant. Some people have complained that the ending is a cop-out and sentimental hogwash, but I think Kurosawa was fond of sentimentality to a point (he uses a good deal of it in "Ikiru") but the difference between what he does with sentimentality as opposed to many filmmakers of today is that he uses to to ENRICH the story, not provide an easy solution to all the problems.

Is there resolution in the finale of "Rashomon"? To a degree. But, like "Ikiru," it also leaves an open answer to its audience -- this film questions us, and our humanity, and it says something about the human condition and our weaknesses as a species. Yet it also proposes that along with the evil is an inherent good, and in my opinion the message of "Rashomon" is just as important and effective as its film-making techniques and acting.