Seen today, sixty years after it was made, RASHOMON is still one of Akira Kurosawa's most accessible works to western viewers. Instead of a sprawling, multi-faceted historical epic, this uniquely original and inspiring film is a different beast entirely; a cinematic experiment if you will, or an exploration of the human psyche. It covers a seemingly straightforward event from different perspectives, throwing into question the nature of truth, while also exploring themes of the unreliable narrator and perception. It's also a highly entertaining film at that.
The small cast work wonderfully with the given material, particularly Toshiro Mifune, who's handed the scene-stealing role of the bandit who starts off the story. However, Machiko Kyo gets the meatiest role as the put-upon wife, and she's required to do the brunt of the emoting. Kudos also to Masayuki Mori, excelling as the typical stony-faced samurai character, and Kurosawa regular Takashi Shimura who's present in the framing sequences which help to set up the film's atmosphere.
Kurosawa's camera-work is first rate and he brings his forest backdrop to life, utilising all manner of shots to tell his story. He was famously the first director ever to shoot into the sun, but I particularly liked the stand-off in the second version of the tale between the three characters, which utilises point-of-view shots that Sergio Leone later used most famously for the duel in THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY. In the end, though, it's the originality of the film – and the clever exploration of a topic that in itself is quite difficult to use in the medium – that makes RASHOMON a classic and well worth anybody's time.
The small cast work wonderfully with the given material, particularly Toshiro Mifune, who's handed the scene-stealing role of the bandit who starts off the story. However, Machiko Kyo gets the meatiest role as the put-upon wife, and she's required to do the brunt of the emoting. Kudos also to Masayuki Mori, excelling as the typical stony-faced samurai character, and Kurosawa regular Takashi Shimura who's present in the framing sequences which help to set up the film's atmosphere.
Kurosawa's camera-work is first rate and he brings his forest backdrop to life, utilising all manner of shots to tell his story. He was famously the first director ever to shoot into the sun, but I particularly liked the stand-off in the second version of the tale between the three characters, which utilises point-of-view shots that Sergio Leone later used most famously for the duel in THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY. In the end, though, it's the originality of the film – and the clever exploration of a topic that in itself is quite difficult to use in the medium – that makes RASHOMON a classic and well worth anybody's time.