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.
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Cast
- Toshirō MifuneTajômaru
- Machiko KyōMasako
- Takashi ShimuraWoodcutter
- Masayuki MoriTakehiro
- Minoru ChiakiPriest
- Kichijirō UedaCommoner
- Noriko HonmaMedium
- Daisuke KatōPoliceman
- 100
ReelViews
Today, nearly fifty years after it was made, Rashomon has lost none of its fascination or power. It's still a marvelous piece of cinema that asks unanswerable questions of great import. - 100
RogerEbert.com
The wonder of Rashomon is that while the shadowplay of truth and memory is going on, we are absorbed by what we trust is an unfolding story. - 100
CineVue
It was the film that introduced the world at large to master director Akira Kurosawa and his frequent, infinitely watchable star Toshiro Mifune. - 100
TV Guide Magazine
One of the most brilliantly constructed films of all time, RASHOMON is a monument to Akira Kurosawa's greatness, combining his well-known humanism with an experimental narrative style that has become a hallmark of film history. - 100
The A.V. Club
Every element in the film, from the dense thicket of forest branches to master cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa's deceptive framing and lighting design, is precisely calibrated to make the facts more difficult to discern. - 100
Empire
Kurosawa is always worth a look but this is a particular classic that has influenced so much to come, it's almost essential. - 100
The Guardian
Akira Kurosawa's 1950 masterwork is a chilling, utterly memorable dissection of the nature of human communication. - 90
Chicago Reader
Film is still an impressive piece of work, visually and rhythmically masterful.