:
Toshiro Mifune,
Toshiro Mifune,
Masayuki Mori,
more...
:
Akira Kurosawa,
Akira Kurosawa
see all cast/crew...
: Criterion
: Classics, Drama, Foreign, Costume Drama/Period Piece, Japan, Classic Drama, Classic Crime, Crime, Classic Crime, Classic Drama, Samurai, Criterion Collection
: 88 min.
: English, Japanese
: English
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This landmark film is a brilliant exploration of truth and human weakness. It opens with a priest, a woodcutter, and a peasant taking refuge from a downpour beneath a ruined gate in 12th-century Japan. The priest and the woodcutter, each looking stricken, discuss the trial of a notorious bandit for rape and murder. As the retelling of the trial unfolds, the participants in the crime -- the bandit (Toshiro Mifune), the rape victim (Machiko Kyo), and the murdered man (Masayuki Mori) -- tell their plausible though completely incompatible versions of the story. In the bandit's version, he and the man wage a spirited duel after the rape, resulting in the man's death. In the woman's testimony, she is spurned by her husband after being raped. Hysterical with grief, she kills him. In the man's version, speaking through the lips of a medium, the bandit beseeches the woman after the rape to go away with him. She insists that the bandit kill her husband first, which angers the bandit. He spurns her and leaves. The man kills himself. Seized with guilt, the woodcutter admits to the shocked priest and the commoner that he too witnessed the crime. His version is equally feasible, although his veracity is questioned when it is revealed that he stole a dagger from the crime scene. Just as all seems bleak and hopeless, a baby appears behind the gate. The commoner seizes the moment and steals the child's clothes, while the woodcutter redeems himself and humanity in the eyes of the troubled priest, by adopting the infant. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
You might also enjoy:
Yojimbo
Kurosawa's comic reconception of the Western
The Hidden Fortress
Moving ahead four centuries to 16th Century feudal Japan, Kurosawa's classic had some inspiration on Star Wars
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| Very inspiring
by joshmehler
December 9, 2006 - 7:04 PM PST
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| This is a great example of Kurosawa's early work, and Toshiro Mifune is great. I recommend the short documentary that is included on this DVD about the director and cinematographer. There is also a very good commentary by a man who is a real expert on Kurosawa. If you are a student of film, this is a great opporunity to learn more about this influental movie. One thing I could say is that the film is slower than we westerners are used to, and will require some thought on the viewers part. If you are looking for a more action oriented Kurosawa film, try Throne of Blood. |
| As I recall...
by TaoG
April 8, 2005 - 5:31 PM PDT
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1 out of 1 members found this review helpful
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I'm sure it's been said before; the iconic 11th century "Gate" in Rashomon is almost a character in itself. Images of it resonate long after viewing this film, leading us into the wilderness of the human ego and a film that is disturbing as stunningly poetic. Kazuo Miyagawa's cinematography is breathtaking on a grand scale. With his success, some in Japan accused Kurosawa of making a film that appealed to western "oriental exoticism", but time seems to have dispelled that notion. This is a distilled masterwork of light and shadow.
*Footnote: Try not to read the written synopsis. It gives away a few important details of the story for no reason?? |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 8.24)
702 Votes
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