Pjtaylor-96-138044 There's not all that much to 'Rashomon (1950)', with the different characters' points of views only offering slightly different takes on a relatively similar series of events, but at the very least it provides a unique way of telling an entertaining tale, one that's expertly shot with a fluidity seldom seen in cinema from the period. It's also filled with fantastic performances throughout. While the premise seems as though it aims to explore the free-flowing nature of 'truth' and how nothing is absolute, instead it looks at the lies we tell in order to project a better version of ourselves and also offers a rather ham-fisted examination of the deceitful nature of human-kind. It's ultimately a hopeful film, though, with the downpour of rain coming to a close with one final act of kindness. It's really its unique take on camera-work and story structure that cements it as a piece of cinematic history. 7/10

Dalbert Pringle You know - When it comes to the likes of 1950's Japanese cinema - I, for one, would much sooner watch a hilariously clumsy "Godzilla" picture rather than endure this absurd, dry-as-dust "Art House" nonsense, any day.And, speaking about the phrase "Art House" - That, to me, is just a hoity-toity term that excuses all sorts of annoying inadequacies in a picture which would otherwise not be tolerated (in a non-"Art House" production).This irksome term also suggests to me that if one dislikes a film that fits into this snobbishly elitist category that that automatically reduces them to being nothing but an unsophisticated heathen. It's true.Anyway - With Rashomon now being nearly 70 years old - I really did try to cut it some slack. But - Let me tell ya - Had this film been an American production - You can bet that it wouldn't be receiving all of the praise and reverence that it has garnered for itself over these many, long years. Nope. You can bet your bottom yen on that.

BrockPace I recently had a conversation with one of my friends about how much we liked films shot in a forest in black and white. It seems that forests and art-house cinema go hand in hand (i.e. SEVENTH SEAL, MARKETA LAZAROVA etc.) Of these RASHOMON may be the earliest, popularizing the setting through avant-garde techniques that would seem audacious even if made today. Breaking continuity, pointing the camera directly at the sun, constantly tracking from beneath twigs and branches. At times the cinematography appears almost impressionist, blending the characters into the background, literally forcing man to become a part of nature. This immersion of man into nature comes at a point when we are expecting excitement and action. Entering a flashback prefaced by horror and death, Kurosawa instead decides to spend 3 minutes tracking a woodsman as he wanders through the forest. In one of the most brilliant sequences I have ever seen put to film, Kurosawa introduces man at its most honest, alone, and unassuming. When the woodsman stumbles upon the deceased samurai, his hands are splayed upwards, mirroring the branches that framed the woodsman previously. All of this acts as a preface to Kurosawa's exploration of the folly of mankind through lies, manipulation, and hyperbole. The very nature of film is to exaggerate and embellish characters by placing them into easily understandable categories of protagonist and antagonist. Here Kurosawa exposes this by retelling the exact same narrative 3 different ways, with each character placing themselves as the murderer, only pretending to be in control of their own actions. It is only until the 4th version, where the woodsman appears to tell the "truest" version of this story, exposing how fragile these people really are. Note that I say truest since his story is the only version of the events that are revealed to be an outright lie because of the exclusion of the bejeweled dagger. When we witness the fight sequence between the samurai and Tajomaru, the bandit, the first time it appears well choreographed like an elaborate dance number, with Tajomaru noting that he fought honorably and crossed swords 36 times. When we see the fight scene the second time, however, it is much more barbaric and fearful. The fright appearing through the slight trepidation on Mifune's hand during the battle. This dissonance between the perceived "noble" samurai and the brutality of war would be explored 4 years later in Kurosawa's own SEVEN SAMURAI. Many times throughout the film institutions based on trust and the unknown are explored, such as the priest and the medium. Their reliance only affirmed by the others' willingness to believe them. The film ends with a man stealing a blanket from a baby. When confronted by the priest he affirms his actions by shouting that we are no different from dogs. Selfishness is the only thing that provides for self-preservation and you can't trust anybody but yourself. This idea shatters the priests faith as this solipsistic notion puts all of mankind at odds against itself, painting a backdrop of war and conflict as a continuation of false bravado and self aggrandizement. At this point when the axeman tries to take the baby off of the priest's hands he is met with hostility as there would be no way to trust a bandit with the fate of a small child. It is not until the bandit reveals that he already has 6 other's that the priest reaffirms his faith by allowing himself to believe a complete stranger. Although this may seem like a tacked on happy ending, the film has set us up to assume that we cannot put our trust in anything but our own perceptions. The bandit could very well be lying to the priest and kidnapping the child for alternative reasons. Like the religion the priest blindly follows, mankind is an institution that we have to either commit to fully or not at all.

Sir Azid Ahmad If there is one filmmaker who really understands movies, it is Akira Kurosawa. His films (I have only seen "Ran", "Seven Samurai", "Ikiru" and "Rashomon" so far) are the epitome of complete cinema. Kurosawa, like Stanley Kubrick, has a great history of not directing bad movies out of his career. "Rashomon" is probably his first great masterpiece, and became an instrument for the spark of his international fame. The movie was not adored at Japan upon early release though, despite being received positively in the west. After the worldwide success of "Rashomon", Kurosawa began to work on other Japanese greats like "Ikiru", "Seven Samurai", "Throne of Blood", "Kagemusha" and "Ran". To receive the honour of a preservation by 'Academy Film Archive' and became a major influence for movies internationally, "Rashomon" is now regarded as one of the greatest works in the canon of cinematic art."Rashomon" revolves around characters The Bandit (Toshiro Mifune), The Wife (Machiko Kyō), The Samurai (Masayuki Mori) and The Woodcutter (Takashi Shimura), whom later 'recall' about an accident at a forest. Although the stories from the four characters do not favourably support one another, we can at least agree that a murder and rape do happen. It is interesting that in the story, the court places its importance on the murder (victim – The Samurai) but not the rape (victim – The Wife).According to The Bandit, The Samurai is only dead during a duel between the two men. The Wife never mentioned of a duel but keeps trying to suggest that she is docile and innocent. About what causes the death of The Samurai remains a mystery in her story. The Samurai (through a medium) talks of his wife's wicked betrayal and still, never hints about an incident involving a duel. The Samurai, according to his version, sees death through suicide. The Woodcutter's report, however, bears some resemblance to The Bandit's story but later becomes questionable when he actually attempts to conceal his crime of stealing a valuable from the scene of the murder.This masterpiece runs at a modest runtime of 88 minutes but still manages to be not straightforward. "Rashomon"'s story is beautifully problematic, and what so great about it is the deliberate sketchiness of it. The idea that four accounts of the similar incident are not identical concludes that either only one of them tells the truth, or all four of them lie. There is no need to find out on who is being truthful; the message that Kurosawa tried to put across is how a motivation from self-interest could easily overturn one's innocence. When "Rashomon" is so close with matters linked with human nature, it made it made it to be even darker than his films like "Seven Samurai" and "Ran" (I have not seen "Throne of Blood", "The Hidden Fortress", "High and Low" ). It quickly ranked as one of his best works by many. But darker is of course not necessarily better.Cinematicmadness.blogspot.com