Rashomon

Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Toshirô Mifune, Machiko Kyô, Masayuki Mori, Takashi Shimura, Minoru Chiaki
1950

In ancient Japan, a woman is raped and her husband killed. RASHOMON is played out by giving us four stories with every story revealing different points of view. The question remains - just which version is the truth?

As each account is revealed, what seemed black and white turns to various hues of gray, leading to surprising--and confounding--relevations. A landmark of international cinema, Rashomon won the prestigious Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1951, bringing both Kurosawa--and Japanese film in general--to the attention of Western audiences. From the rain-soaked opening sequence to its moving conclusion, the film is a stunning examination of truth and human nature. The entire cast is pitch-perfect, with regular Kurosawa lead actors Mifune and Shimura giving typically outstanding performances. While critics and cinephiles debate over exactly how many masterpieces Kurosawa directed, Rashomon stands as one of the revered filmmaker's indisputably brilliant motion pictures. In fact, the film's influence is so pervasive that it has inspired everything from a high profile Hollywood remake (The Outrage starring Paul Newman) to numerous tributes in movies such as Courage Under Fire and The Usual Suspects.

Rashomon is perhaps the finest film ever to investigate the philosophy of justice.
It remains one of the truly great films of the 20th century.

This is "one of the most philosophical and briliant film of all time" - Arts Movies Reviews