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IMDb > Rashômon (1950)
Rashômon
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Rashômon (1950) More at IMDbPro »

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Rashômon (1950) -- CineMagia.ro - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 2% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Ryunosuke Akutagawa (stories)
Akira Kurosawa (writer) ...
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for Rashômon on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
26 December 1951 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
The husband, the wife...or the bandit?
Plot:
A heinous crime and its aftermath are recalled from differing points of view. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 7 wins & 2 nominations more
User Comments:
A brilliant masterpiece from a masterful director more (173 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)
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Directed by
Akira Kurosawa 
 
Writing credits
Ryunosuke Akutagawa (stories Rashomon and In a Grove)

Akira Kurosawa (writer) &
Shinobu Hashimoto (writer)

Produced by
Minoru Jingo .... producer
Masaichi Nagata .... executive producer
 
Original Music by
Fumio Hayasaka 
 
Cinematography by
Kazuo Miyagawa 
 
Film Editing by
Akira Kurosawa 
 
Production Design by
Takashi Matsuyama 
 
Set Decoration by
H. Motsumoto 
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tokuzo Tanaka .... assistant director
Mitsuo Wakasugi .... assistant director
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Fujio Morita .... assistant camera
Kenichi Okamoto .... lighting technician
 

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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Rashomon (Japan) (alternative transliteration)
Rashou-mon (Japan) (alternative transliteration)
more
Runtime:
88 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
In the downpour scenes showing the Rashomon Gate, Kurosawa found that the rain in the background simply wouldn't show up against the light gray backdrop. To solve this problem, the crew ended up tinting the rain by pouring black ink into the tank of the rain machine. The ink is clearly visible on the Woodcutter's face towards just before the rain stops. more
Quotes:
Priest: I don't want to hear it. No more horror stories.
Commoner: They are common stories these days. I even heard that the demon living here in Rashômon fled in fear of the ferocity of man.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Jackie Brown (1997) more

FAQ

What is a "RashĂ´mon"?
What movies are inspired from or similar to Rashomon?
A NOTE REGARDING SPOILERS
more
48 out of 56 people found the following comment useful.
A brilliant masterpiece from a masterful director, 8 April 2006
10/10
Author: MovieAddict2009 from UK

"Rashomon" was Akira Kurosawa's first national hit (becoming, at the time, the highest-grossing foreign film in America) and even gained an Oscar for Best Foreign Film, but almost sixty years later it still hasn't lost any of its impact. It is widely revered as one of the most influential films of all-time, but unlike some other movies, it is not a film that feels dated. The revolutionary methods of Kurosawa are still effective and on-par with the cinema of today -- this isn't a movie where you say, "Yeah, fifty years ago it might have been different, but now it's done in all the movies." Kurosawa's techniques are still superior to most of his imitators. Look at the 2003 John McTiernan film, "Basic," which copies a good portion of "Rashomon's" concept. Which is the better film? It's not a hard choice.

The film begins under a structure which reads "Rashomon" on its exterior, in a small Japanese village. It's raining outside and a woodcutter (Takashi Shumura) and a priest (Minoru Chiaki) inadvertently find themselves in the company of a wandering commoner (Kichijiro Ueda), and as he asks them what is the matter they both begin to relay the most horrific story they claim to know -- of a brutal murder a few days prior.

Kurosawa then switches to flashback and we see three different versions of the exact same event -- the slaying of an innocent man (the murderer played by Kurosawa film regular Toshirô Mifune) in the woods outside the village. Was it because of lust? Betrayal? Envy? Or insanity? We hear from the murderer, the wife of the victim, and a woman channeling the spirit of the dead man.

"Rashomon" is brilliant. Some people have complained that the ending is a cop-out and sentimental hogwash, but I think Kurosawa was fond of sentimentality to a point (he uses a good deal of it in "Ikiru") but the difference between what he does with sentimentality as opposed to many filmmakers of today is that he uses to to ENRICH the story, not provide an easy solution to all the problems.

Is there resolution in the finale of "Rashomon"? To a degree. But, like "Ikiru," it also leaves an open answer to its audience -- this film questions us, and our humanity, and it says something about the human condition and our weaknesses as a species. Yet it also proposes that along with the evil is an inherent good, and in my opinion the message of "Rashomon" is just as important and effective as its film-making techniques and acting.

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When is the story set? arielle88
Other movies with different accounts of same story? DanDV
Mesmerizing Idiocrat
Who else thought... jon-larsen
Okay, but not a great movie for me tennismenace
Is there an accepted agreement of the actual events that took place? vza036
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