Rashomon (1950)
"Rashômon" (original title)

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

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Ryûnosuke Akutagawa (stories), Akira Kurosawa (screenplay),

Stars:

Toshirô Mifune, Machiko Kyô, Masayuki Mori

Top 250 #92 | Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 9 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Toshirô Mifune	...	Tajômaru
Machiko Kyô	...	Masako Kanazawa
Masayuki Mori	...	Takehiro Kanazawa
Takashi Shimura	...	Woodcutter
Minoru Chiaki	...	Priest
Kichijirô Ueda	...	Commoner
Noriko Honma	...	Medium
Daisuke Katô	...	Policeman

Storyline

A priest, a woodcutter and another man are taking refuge from a rainstorm in the shell of a former gatehouse called Rashômon. The priest and the woodcutter are recounting the story of a murdered samurai whose body the woodcutter discovered three days earlier in a forest grove. Both were summoned to testify at the murder trial, the priest who ran into the samurai and his wife traveling through the forest just before the murder occurred. Three other people who testified at the trial are supposedly the only direct witnesses: a notorious bandit named Tajômaru, who allegedly murdered the samurai and raped his wife; the white veil cloaked wife of the samurai; and the samurai himself who testifies through the use of a medium. The three tell a similarly structured story - that Tajômaru kidnapped and bound the samurai so that he could rape the wife - but which ultimately contradict each other, the motivations and the actual killing being what differ. The woodcutter reveals at Rashômon that he ...

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Plot Keywords:

samurai | trial | priest | murder | truth | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

26 December 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rashomon

Filming Locations:

Daiei Tokyo Studios, Tokyo, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Daiei Motion Picture Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the film was released internationally to rave reviews, many speculated that Akira Kurosawa was influenced by Citizen Kane in the element of flashbacks that ultimately provide conflicting accounts of events. However, Kurosawa didn't even see Orson Welles's film until several years after the release of 'Rashômon'.

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Quotes

Commoner: Well, men are only men. That's why they lie. They can't tell the truth, even to themselves.
Priest: That may be true. Because men are weak, they lie to deceive themselves.
Commoner: Not another sermon! I don't mind a lie if it's interesting.

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Connections

Version of Big Bad Wolves (2006)

User Reviews

Kurosawa, do I need to say more

Kurosawa tells a story four times through different characters. The characters tell the story different four times. In flash-backs, all as the characters tell them, we see the stories. Are they lying, are they all telling their own truth or is there someone who tells THE truth? The way this is handled by Kurosawa is absolutely masterful.

Of course, his direction is great. Together with cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa they do a tremendous job with the atmosphere in the woods. With perfect light angles it looks beautiful.

A real Japanese classic.