Rashomon (1950)

A murder of a woman told by 4 different witnesses, all with 4 different people as the murderer

Image Courtesy of Daiei.:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042876/mediaviewer/rm1111162368/

*Disclaimer: this film includes an implied rape scene. Some viewers may find this material disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised*

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Crime, Drama, Mystery

Japan, 1950 1 hr. and 28 min.

Director: Akira Kurosawa

Producers: Minoru Jingo, Masaichi Nagata

Writers: Ryûnosuke Akutagawa, Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto

Cinematographer: Kazuo Miyagawa

Starring: Toshirô Mifune, Machiko Kyô, Masayuki Mori

In Japanese, English Subtitles

Historical Context and 21st Century Connections

• The audience becomes the detective in Rashomon (1950), which is similar to the nature of murder mystery shows like Sherlock (2010-2017) and Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989-2013). The end of every murder mystery episode usually results with the detective gathering all the witnesses together, organizing the time of events to determine what really happened, and finally, revealing who the murder was. The conclusion of Rashomon (1950) wasn’t like this, however, which was refreshing.

• Rashomon (1950) places an emphasis on truth vs lies, but it also ends on a more hopeful note with the discussion about the good and bad in humanity. Since this film was made a couple years after WW2, the hopeful, lighthearted conclusion of the film sent a positive message to a country that was going to have to rebuild significantly.

• The term "Rashomon Effect" ordinates from the film, meaning that the human memory is unreliable when recalling a course of events. This can be used in legal studies, or applied to everyday situations