Movie Two Hundred Fifty Two
In Rashomon, after the murder of a traveling samurai and the rape of his female companion, multiple versions of the story are told to find the truth.
A woodcutter and a priest are sitting under the gate at Rashomon during a storm and after are joined by a commoner, they tell him of the story of a murdered samurai and rape of his wife the woodcutter found three days prior. The story is told through flashbacks as testimonies in court from the point of view of the confessed murderer and rapist bandit, Tajomaru (Toshiro Mifune), the wife, the murdered samurai through a spirit medium, and the woodcutter. Each version of the story has slightly differing details offering insight to what really happened to the samurai and his wife.
Rashomon is the film that introduced the west to the great Akira Kurosawa and Japanese filmmaking in general. The style of storytelling used in Rashomon has been emulated many times since its release in 1950 but the original still has not been diminished with age. Though the multiple sides of the same story are a bit confusing since you are never quite sure what is really happening, the mystery of the actual events keep you guessing and involved in the film until the very end.
While the woodcutter seemingly has the least reason to alter the truth about the events, it’s still debatable if his retelling of the story is the “right” one. There’s a saying that I feel is used a lot in cop dramas (or maybe just on the TV show “Cops”) that there’s always three sides to every story; the victim’s, the accuser’s, and the truth. In Rashomon, we get extra sets of eyes and still are never sure if we are seeing the truth but the truth may not be what we are really seeking to find out, either.
The Criterion Collection recently released a new version of Rashomon aside from the amazingly beautiful new cover art (pictured), the set has some great special features included. Aside from the spectacular picture and soundtrack, my favorite feature is the included interview with famed director Robert Altman about the film.
It could be easily argued that Rashomon is Kurosawa’s masterpiece, but with a catalog as wide and diverse as his, choosing just one film is daunting. Rashomon is certainly one of Kurosawa’s finest films, though, and is still riveting today.
I give it 5 bandit testimonies out of 5.
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This is somewhere in my queue (of course) but I’ll definitely need to move it up the list. Excellent post!
It’s a better film than I remember and it’s fun to try to think of all the times you’ve seen the storytelling device used since its release. Thanks!
Great review of one of my favorite movies. I’d tie this with Seven Samurai as Kurosawa’s best. I’ll have to buy the new Blu-Ray edition.
I will always love Seven Samurai but I think High and Low may be my favorite film of his. This is definitely up there too, though.
I haven’t seen High and Low. I’ll have to check that one out.
It’s written by Ed McBain!
Sounds good. It’s available on Hulu’s Criterion Collection page, so I’ll try to see it soon.
I’ve been debating buying the Criterion version of this from B&N. I think I will now.
DO IT!
Or I guess buy it next summer during the next sale. But it’s worth more than $20 in my mind.
This sounds interesting, I’m not very familiar with Japanese films but this sounds like a good place to start.
Even though there are samurai in the film, I wouldn’t call it a samurai film. It is a great place to start.
Yet another one own but haven’t got round to watching yet. I’ve not seen any of Kurosawa’s films; it’s probably one of the biggest gaps in my film viewing.
Yes, that is quite the gap but this is the perfect film to whet your appetite, especially since you already own it.
Toshiro Mifune rules. I love this film as well as Hidden Fortress, Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, and Sanjuro.
Yeah, Mifune + Kurosawa = magic
Saw this for the first time just a couple of weeks ago and thought it was amazing, happy to see you also enjoyed this.
I could watch it again, to be perfectly honest. I know there are fine details that I missed the first time through.
Rashomon is a good film, although it’s strength is also its weakness; having seen the same story from four different viewpoints, I have a little trouble thinking I’d ever want to watch the film again.
Yes, I know exactly what you mean. I think some of the other films that use the technique don’t do it quite as well, but it does make for an unavoidably repetitious film.
I’m glad you consider this to be one of Kurosawa’s finest as I do as well. I also really like ‘The Bad Sleep Well’, which features one of the strangest looking cakes you will ever see.
I’ll have to check that one out!
Missed the 50% B&N sale, but this is on my Christmas list.
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