A powerful film that explores the depravity and selfishness of mankind.

one of the best films in the history of cinema

No option to delete my review. Put the stars in the middle. sorry. Today was a Sunday 16.2.25ce

You know those stuck in the mud, irrelevant film buffs who sigh and say "ah they just don't make films like these anymore"? I'm one of them. And Akira Kurosawa is one of those reasons. I love Ran, I love Seven Samurai, but I think I love Rashomon most of all.

I'm not a big fan of this film from on of the greatest auteurs that ever lived. There are some interesting moments, it has some wonderful shots, and the themes that it explores are thought-provoking, but ultimately, the main storyline is just a bit dull and it never makes you care about the characters or what happens to them. It is worth a watch but I much prefer some of Kurosawa's other films.

We are told at the beginning of Rashomon what to expect. The opening lines, spoken by a shocked and dazed woodcutter called Kikori (Takashi Shimura) are: "I can't understand it. I can't understand it at all." His sense of horror and confusion is shared by Tabi Hōshi, a priest (Minoru Chiaki). The priest tells the other men that he has seen hundreds of people dying, and yet: "There was never anything as terrible as this. Never. It is more horrible than fires or wars or epidemics or bandits." The third man present is an unnamed commoner (Kichijiro Ueda), and the three men are sheltering from a heavy downpour of rain at Rashomon gate (located between Kyoto and Nara). The commoner is a more cynical fellow, and unfamiliar with the details of what the men are talking about. For him it is only a tale for a rainy day. What the men are discussing is an inexplicable event. As viewers raised on mystery tales, we may make the mistake of assuming that if we watch the movie we can solve the puzzle at its heart. Indeed, the cinematic language of Rashomon misleads us into thinking so. It contains scenes from a court trial, a familiar narrative device that usually ends in the discovery of the truth. When the three assistant directors working on the film asked the lead director Akira Kurosawa for an explanation of Rashomon, he explained that there is none. Humans are not honest with themselves and others. They misremember and embellish the truth. Courtroom trials are decided on witness testimony, and yet the witnesses' concept of what happened is unreliable and subjective. There are objective truths in Rashomon, but it is astonishing just how few of them can be named. We are not even sure who the killer is. It could be any one of the three central characters, since all three of their stories possibly incriminate themselves. Here is what we do know. A samurai and his wife wander into a forest. They are seen by a number of people. The husband is found slain. A bandit is caught with some of the husband's possessions, and he is put on trial for killing the husband and raping the wife. Nothing else is certain. What is it about this story that makes it so terrible for the woodcutter and the priest? A murder, a rape and a theft are certainly appalling, but hardly worse than fires, wars, epidemics or bandits. The reason the two men are especially shocked by this tale is because the three people involved in the incident tell utterly conflicting versions of what happened to the court, and it suddenly becomes impossible to ever believe another human being again. Rashomon's style reflects its content. The weather provides an objective correlative for the events in the story. The gloom of the woodcutter and priest are captured by the tempestuous rain, and presumably the clouds covering the sky. To make the rain more visible on camera, black ink was added to the water. Sunlight is seen in the forest scenes. Rashomon was unusual in pointing the camera directly at the sun as if to somehow capture the point of view of the raped woman, or to offer the viewer a disorientating perspective. The sunlight was further emphasised by the use of mirrors. However the sunlight is patchy, and obscured by the shadows cast by the trees, just as the light of truth is here shadowed and obscured by the characters. Indeed the forest itself seems an appropriate setting – a bewildering maze of trees in which people could get lost. The scenes are filmed using rapid editing and hand-held cameras (then something of a rarity in cinema), creating a subjective and woozy effect. Kurosawa drew on the legacy of silent cinema, telling his story through images and the exaggerated physical acting styles of its cast as much as through dialogue. However the pictorial storytelling does not make the narrative any clearer. The storytelling is pellucid, but the meaning of what we have seen is opaque. As the film draws to a close, the final message is not a pessimistic one. The ability of individuals to ever grasp the truth – their own or that of others – remains unattainable. However the priest's faith in his fellow man is restored by a final humane act. People may be fallible and weak, but kindness is still important, and affirms our basic worth in the world. I wrote a longer appreciation of Rashomon on my blog page if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2018/11/01/rashomon-1950/

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

For some reason I missed this movie when I was a super film buff. I was trying to get my teenage son to appreciate these older movies, The one he really like was "The Seventh Seal". Then I tried Rashoman. My son just was confused, but I felt is was one of Kurosawa's best two movies.

This movie didn't do the best job making me care about the plot or what happened, and knowing who survived the situation (the bandit and the woman) made it slightly less tense for me. However, the ending felt impactful and I really like the main actors in the film (Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyo, and Takeshita Shimura), not only in this movie but in other movies as well. They performed well. It was also shot pretty impressively and for the time I can see why many might consider this a classic. But beyond its commentary and drawing parallels with the human race and the ethics of humanity, I don't really see anything worth truly cherishing about this movie. I've liked other Japanese films and other Kurosawa films better.

A landmark innovation in film storytelling at the time, and yet at the same time evocative of the silent era in the performances. Some great shots here as well. Good stuff.

The perspective of four sides of the story so original for 1950!

Literally no exaggeration, one of the best movies ever.

A wonderful message displayed with substance through the amazing performances given and the brilliance of technique used all additional to the brilliant structure of the film. Rashomon is one of Kurosawa's, who has thirty Director credits to his name, most acclaimed films. Rashomon is a film that makes you question not just those around you and the world around you, but you yourself at the core. This is most certainly a thinking man's movie and one that explores truth versus peoples perception of truth. Highly Recommended to everyone who believes in humanity.

Not only it raises several philosophical questions to think on after watching, it has some iconic shots and scenes hard to forget. Must watch!

A masterpiece in storytelling and a great way to get introduced to the great Japanese movie era. Kurosawa is one of the greatest directors in history (Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Ran etc). This is where I'd start with Kurosawa's movies, it doesn't stretch to oblivion and still has a fantastic story.

More maniacal laughter then I'm used to. So much of this movie is dialogue that takes itself so seriously it feels like a parody. I was in stitches. Maybe I'm too shallow, or perhaps this movie's too deep. Either way, a great watch. I'll let you decide if it's a comedy or drama for yourself.

A sublime work of art

Although sounding like a Bacon x Pokemon promotion (I 100% stand by this joke) Rashomon is actually a profound meditation on human nature from Japanese cinema grand master Akira Kurosawa told through the lens of several unreliable narrators. Rashomon relays the story of an assault and murder from three differing perspectives with the principal players a wife, her husband and a bandit all offering conflicting and self serving accounts. Each retelling offers a further strand to the web we as viewers are asked to untangle. Superbly acted, especially Machiko Kyõ who staddles the line between distraught victim and (rather unfairly) femme fatale even with a disconcerting lack of eyebrows. Stunning black and white visuals ranging from rain and wind swept ruins, sweaty and desperate sword battles and expertly composed court room confessionals.

I was pleased to watch Rashomon and enjoyed it. We have largely watched English and American films and, for some reason, Scandinavian with one or two exceptions and it was nice to branch further afield. The premise was interesting and did allow for some quite dramatic scenes. The whole film had quite an intimate and small scale feeling which was nice, there were certainly no superfluous characters. At times I did find it a little tiresome watching so many versions of the story - they said in the film there were three but think there was more than that. One never really knew if one was seeing/hearing the truth and no doubt that was deliberate and part of the message or meaning of the film. The film did have something to say about human nature and also a little on the nature of gender. Overall the film was quite simple but in a good way - in its storytelling, meaning and shooting - which did allow for a fitting zen element to it all. Some aspects of the film were a little over dramatic and repetitive making it tiring at times but not really much to criticise about this film.

Rashomon, an early offering from Akira Kurosawa, is a narratively innovative examination of perception and justice. Told from a variety of perspectives, the movie examines each character's perception of a murder and rape, each sharing common elements but unique in their details. Considered by many as Kurosawa's greatest film, it may be a bit overrated, thanks primarily to an excessive amount of overacting from much of the cast, led by the antics of Toshiro Mifune as Tajomaru, the bandit who triggers the chain of events. Despite this, it's a artfully crafted film with an intriguing and interestingly structured story and some excellent cinematography from Kazuo Miyagawa.