Compared to the other Kurosawa films that I've seen Rashomon is a surprisingly cynical movie. It's a story that features 4 people who each witnessed the same event, and yet each character gives a very different account of what happened. Throughout the film Kurosawa never reveals which account is the truth, but on the contrary, seems to indicate that none of them are the complete truth. It explores the realities of truth and how a persons feelings and personality can effect their descriptions of events. Now since the 4 different accounts vary so drastically in terms of style, and tone, they each required different things from the actors involved. For this reason I'm going to address the different accounts individually, rather than just describe the whole film in one foul swoop.

The first account is narrated to the audience through the eyes of the guilty party himself. The bandit Tajomaru who is experiencing feelings of love for the woman, that have caused pangs of guilt to arise inside him for the first time. In his version this guilt causes him to exaggerate his own evil traits, as well as the woman's fight against him. Yet his love for her causes him to draw particular attention to her giving herself willingly. Toshiro Mifune, who plays the part of the bandit, does particularly well in portraying the character as he sees himself. He plays it almost like a uncaged animal as he jumps around laughing and screaming. It's hypnotic to watch this all occurring on screen, especially when combined with the performance from Machiko Kyo as the wife at the center of the controversy. Hers is the character who changes the most radically over the different sections and yet she still manages to upstage a veteran like Mifune in each one. Through the eyes of the bandit the character was at times both fearful and determined, but since the character didn't have much dialogue in this section it required a physical performance from the actress. It was her performance that contained the 2 most memorable moments in this portion. The first was when she is told by the bandit that her husband has been hurt, and even though the scene is only a few seconds long, and lacks dialogue, she is still able to perfectly convey the characters love and need for her husband. The other moment is when she tries to fight off the bandit, because since this is told through his eyes, and he respected her determination, then it needed to be successfully conveyed in this story particularly. Once again she manages to show her characters determination to fight, and unwillingness to give up without uttering a single line. Very few people from any country are able to play a role without much dialogue which is why she is so mind blowing in this section.

The Second account is narrated by the victim of the rape. It's radically different from the first story, as the event has left her traumatized. Though the event itself didn't have that much of an effect on her, but rather it was her husbands reaction that caused the real grief. Scared and upset, we see her view of herself as a lot weaker than the bandit viewed her. She never describes herself as putting up any sort of fight beyond trying to run to her husband, and certainly never gives any hint that she was a willing party. She sees the bandit as even more evil, and animal like than he sees himself, and yet he is not seen for very long, almost as if she has blocked that part of the story from her mind. Ultimately the wife remembers very little of the events outside of the despair she felt at her husbands reaction, and so she got to be a little more verbal this time. Masayuki Mori who plays her husband had to get his facial expression just right in this episode as it's all he gets to do, and the look of pure, abject hatred that his wife perceived was captured perfectly.

The third account is narrated by the murdered husband. The one who feels the most anger toward those involved. In his version we see how he feels betrayed by his wife, and so he focuses on how she gave in to the bandit willingly, as well as describing how she asked the bandit to kill him. However in the sheer hatred he felt for his wife, he started to develop a respect for the bandit as he describes the honorable actions that follow. This account allows Toshiro Mifune to branch out and play more variety to his role, because the character is perceived as cunning yet noble, rather than a violent animal. Of all of the accounts this is the closest to the Toshiro Mifune that I'm used to seeing in films like The Hidden Fortress, and the practice he's had before serves him well. However this is very much the story that allows Masayuki Mori to really shine as the films real victim. Again he never gets any real dialogue, but his facial expressions display both anger and sorrow as his emotions are constantly changing.

However it's at this point that you realize that, even allowing for different feelings, the stories still have some major inconsistencies. For instance, in each story the characters each claim responsibility for the killing, leaving you with the realization that the same emotions that effected the characters perceptions have also caused them to make up portions of their respective stories. This is where hope is introduced as a new witness is revealed who should be able to give an unbiased account of what happened. However this is also where the films cynical nature is really revealed. It shows that even from an outsider, objective truth is impossible. The woodcutters account is the most exaggerated, far fetched and purely unbelievable out of all the accounts. You are lead to believe that the shocking nature of the events, combined with his not knowing the characters could be the reason. Yet after he has told it, you find that he too was making parts up for his own gain, and you are left unsure as to whether or not the character witnessed the events at all.

Ultimately I think that Rashomon has the best story out of all Kurosawa's films that I've seen. It's cynical and edgy in a way that I never expected to see from him. It has his trademarks in the amazing acting, fantastic cinematography and perfect score. Yet it's seems to be much more about the story than anything else. The story demands to be explored, analyzed in depth before it can be truly enjoyed, and I have to admit that it's going to take a few more views before I fully understand it. Never the less with a bit of concentration it has remained extremely rewarding, and whilst I, as a big cynic, didn't need the ending, it wasn't written in a way that ruined the rest of the film. So the film remains an incredibly thought provoking masterpiece.

The rest is a review of the UK Region 2 BFI DVD

The Disk

Extras
Disappointing disk in the extras department. There's a biography for both Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune, and both of these made interesting reads when I brought the Hidden Fortress DVD, but I don't need to read them again. I suppose that's not really the fault of this disk as it was released first, but it's still annoying as the only other extra is a trailer for Seven Samurai. Web Links are once again available for net users.

How does the DVD look?
Kurosawa's amazing visual style is to be found in Rashomon, but unfortunately the picture quality on the disk doesn't do it justice. Extremely grainy, a lot of dirt still on the film. In fact it doesn't look like there has been any cleanup on the film at all.

How does the DVD sound?
The sound is as bad as the picture. It's a very old film, and it hasn't been worked on at all. Kurosawa's amazing soundtrack is nearly spoiled by the mono sound, that also sounds decidedly hollow too.


Overall
Widely regarded by many as Kurosawa's finest moment. I prefer some of his other films, but Rashomon is still a masterpiece. Unfortunately the disk has nothing to really recommend it over the VHS. I'd recommend getting the Criterion DVD, unless like me you're collecting the BFI Kurosawa releases.

Related Articles
The Hidden Fortress
Throne Of Blood

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older