Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon" 1950

[Katashi_itto]

Rashomon (羅生門 Rashōmon?) is the 1950 Japanese period drama film directed by Akira Kurosawa, working in close collaboration with cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa. It stars Toshiro Mifune, Masayuki Mori, Machiko Kyō and Takashi Shimura. The film is based on two stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa: "Rashomon", which provides the setting, and "In a Grove", which provides the characters and plot.

The film is known for a plot device which involves various characters providing alternative versions of the same incident, a rape. The name of the film refers to the enormous city gate of Kyoto.

Although the film was released to only a small number of cinemas internationally, Rashomon introduced Kurosawa and the Japanese film to Western audiences. It is considered a masterpiece and has won numerous awards, including the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and an Academy Honorary Award at the 24th Academy Awards.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. Trivia note: Rashômon is the name of a gate that formerly existed in Kyoto

and Akutagawa's Ryûnosuke's original story was the frame for the main story, the travelers seeking shelter at the gate during a rainstorm and finding an abandoned baby.

There's an older story called Rashômon from the 1100s or so, in which a man seeks shelter inside the gate during a period of war and famine and finds a servant woman cutting off her dead mistress's hair to sell to a wig maker.

The central story, the one in which the same incident is told from four points of view, is actually based on an Akutagawa story called Yabu no naka or "In a Thicket."

[Katashi_itto]

2. Very nice thanks!