Often credited as the reason the Academy created the "Best Foreign Film" category.
During shooting, the cast approached Kurosawa en masse with the script and asked him, "What does it mean?" The answer he gave at that time and also in his autobiography is that Rashomon is a reflection of life, and life does not always have clear meanings.
A very early use of the hand-held camera technique. This is seen when the camera follows the characters closely through the woods.
Even during high noon, the parts of the forest that the crew needed to shoot in were still too dark. Rather than use a regular foil reflector, which did not bounce enough light, Akira Kurosawa and cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa opted to use a full-length mirror borrowed from Daiei's costume department. The crew bounced light from the mirror through leaves and trees to soften it and make it look more like natural sunlight. Miyagawa later called it the most successful lighting effect he had ever done.
The "Rashomôn" sign from the gate was preserved and kept by director of photography Kazuo Miyagawa at his home until his death in 1999.
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