Rashomon

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1h 28m

Drama

List

98%

62 Reviews

Tomatometer

93%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Brimming with action while incisively examining the nature of truth, "Rashomon" is perhaps the finest film ever to investigate the philosophy of justice. Through an ingenious use of camera and flashbacks, Kurosawa reveals the complexities of human nature as four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.

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Critics Consensus

One of legendary director Akira Kurosawa's most acclaimed films, Rashomon features an innovative narrative structure, brilliant acting, and a thoughtful exploration of reality versus perception.

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Peter Santana

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

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/25/22

Full Review

Benjamin

Literally no exaggeration, one of the best movies ever.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/25/22

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Merick H

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.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/13/24

Full Review

Matthew B

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/

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/05/23

Full Review

Matteo P

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

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/14/23

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James W

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.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/13/23

Full Review

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Akira Kurosawa

Director

Toshiro Mifune

Tajomaru

Machiko Kyō

Masako Kanazawa

Takashi Shimura

Woodcutter

Masayuki Mori

Takehiro

Minoru Chiaki

Priest

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Kevin Maher

Times (UK)

It’s easy to forget, nonetheless, that the movie offers more rewards than a dazzling superstructure. It’s beautifully shot, vividly performed and is ultimately an arresting pop treatise on the impossibility of objective truth.

Rated: 5/5

Jan 9, 2023

Full Review

Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

Unmissable.

Rated: 5/5

Jun 17, 2010

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Ty Burr

Boston Globe

What Akira Kurosawa and his tiny production team wrought is now an accepted maxim of modern life, a creed by which to live in a world where everyone has a blog and an opinion.

Rated: 3.5/4

Apr 22, 2010

Full Review

Daniel Barnes

Dare Daniel

The fourth story is seemingly the most objective of them all, and it's probably the closest to the truth. But even in that story, there are big holes. Everyone has something to hide.

Rated: 5/5

Nov 14, 2023

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Howard Waldstein

CBR

What's revealed is a prismatic view of how people portray themselves, and how the truth is more complex than merely one single interpretation.

Jun 27, 2023

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Brian Susbielles

InSession Film

Sophisticated presentation on truth and justice...

Mar 8, 2023

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Synopsis

Brimming with action while incisively examining the nature of truth, "Rashomon" is perhaps the finest film ever to investigate the philosophy of justice. Through an ingenious use of camera and flashbacks, Kurosawa reveals the complexities of human nature as four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.

Director: Akira Kurosawa
Producer: Masaichi Nagata
Screenwriter: Ryûnosuke Akutagawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, Akira Kurosawa
Distributor: RKO Radio Pictures
Production Co: Daiei Motion Picture Company
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 26, 1950, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 23, 2017
Runtime: 1h 28m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Academy (1.33:1)

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