Rashomon

Pros: Cinematography, story, acting
Cons: Subtitles, dark subject matter

Rashomon (1950) Akira Kurosawa is probably the most well-known Japanese film director outside of Japan. Active from the 1940s through the 1980s, he did his best work during the 50s and 60s, with Rashomon arguably his best work. ...

Pros: Miyagawa's cinematography, Kurosawa's direction, ensemble cast, Criterion extras
Cons: the cliché of an imitation of Ravel's "Bolero" throughout the film

"Rashômon," the 1950 adaptation of two stories by Akutagawa Ryunosuke (1892-1927) was the first Japanese film that I ever saw--two decades after putting Japan on the world cinema map at the 1951 Venice Film Festival, where it won not only the Golden ...

Pros: Great cinematography, direction, character portrayals and storytelling
Cons: None

Japanese director, Akira Kurosawa sent us some great movies in the middle of the 20th Century (Seven Samurai, Ikiru, Throne of Blood, Yojimbo, Ran). But it was Rashômon in 1950 which was recognized as his breakthrough, winning the Golden Lion Award ...

Pros: An absolute classic.
Cons: None at all.

The common misconception about Akira Kurosawa’s 1950 film Rashomon is that it’s a film concerned about ultimate truth and just how fleeting the truth can really be. Kurosawa does certainly make that part of the theme in Rashomon, but to see it so ...

Pros: Mifune, Shimura, Machiko, Kurosawa's direction, Cinematography
Cons: Bolero

Rashomon was a ground breaking film for Akira Kurosawa, and is even today one of the more interesting films you could view. Recently (March 2002) released in DVD in the Criterion Collection, it would make a terrific addition to any serious classic movie...

Pros: cinematography, acting, direction.
Cons: Disk is terrible

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 ...

Pros: Mifune, Kurosawa's visuals and handling of the story, the post-modern narrative
Cons: Suspect acting at times, pace could be tightened

I've referred to writer/director Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon" many times since I started reviewing, mostly in a literary sense. I once wrote that Matthew Kneale's book "English Passengers", "had a kind of hyper-'Rashomon' quality" to its narrative....

Pros: An interesting examination of observational bias and spin; visually poetic cinematography
Cons: Somewhat contrived story; over-the-top performance by Mifune

Akiri Kurosawa’s film Rashômon (1950) was his first to generate international attention, winning the 1951 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film as well as the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. Its historical significance is ...

Pros: Kurosawa's Direction, Script, Theatricality, Cinematography, Editing, Music, & Cast.
Cons: None Though Might Disturb Some Viewers.

One of the premier and beloved directors of Japanese cinema, there was no one bigger than Akira Kurosawa. While many of his films were in the genre of the samurai movies, Kurosawa often creates unconventional stories and morals into the stories. Even ...

Pros: Cinematography, Toshiro Mifune's performance
Cons: Confusing

Famed Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s 1950 black and white film Rashomon could easily be made into a stage play, despite the fact that the repeated flashbacks on which the movie relies so heavily would probably have to be omitted for the sake of ...

Pros: Excellent in almost every aspect
Cons: A few minor niggles

Contrary to what my list of movie reviews on this site, and the general feeling about me and films by all who know me, I actually do watch 'proper' films amongst my spades of straight to video martial arts nonsense and horror garbage. Indeed, I can't ...

Pros: Everything
Cons: Nothing

The year was 1951. The jury at the Venice International Film Festival sat down to watch an entry from Japan. The movie was called Rashomon, directed by a not-so-prominent director called Akira Kurosawa. 88 minutes later, when the movie ended, they were ...

Pros: Story, cinematography, acting, just about everything
Cons: The frame story is slightly unnecessary, Mifune gets a little goofy.

When we watch a film, when we are a part of the audience, we take the role of the observer. We see what is presented to us and we make a judgment. In some films, the story is straightforward. We don’t have to work for understanding, it’s all laid out ...

Pros: Strange. Forces you to think.
Cons: Strange. Forces you to think.

(Note: This is another essay originally written for my Japanese 106 Cinema class from the winter of 1999. It reveals few plot details, so if you haven't seen the movie, I might recommend renting it or reading some other reviews to orient yourself. I...

Pros: Mifune's subtle, yet powerful acting, Kurosawa's direction
Cons: none

Akira Kurosawa, the director of Yojimbo, Seven Samurai, Ran, and Dreams, first gained critical acclaim for Rashomon. Rashomon is the story of a rape and murder told from several Points of view, much like Faulkner's As I...