Rashômon (Rashomon) (In the Woods) poster & wallpaper
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Toshiro Mifune, Masayuki Mori, Machiko Kyo, Takashi Shimura, Minoru Chiaki ... see more see more... , Kichijiro Ueda , Fumiko Homma , Daisuke Katô

This landmark film is a brilliant exploration of truth and human weakness. It opens with a priest, a woodcutter, and a peasant taking refuge from a downpour beneath a ruined gate in 12th-century Japan... read more read more.... The priest and the woodcutter, each looking stricken, discuss the trial of a notorious bandit for rape and murder. As the retelling of the trial unfolds, the participants in the crime -- the bandit (Toshiro Mifune), the rape victim (Machiko Kyo), and the murdered man (Masayuki Mori) -- tell their plausible though completely incompatible versions of the story. In the bandit's version, he and the man wage a spirited duel after the rape, resulting in the man's death. In the woman's testimony, she is spurned by her husband after being raped. Hysterical with grief, she kills him. In the man's version, speaking through the lips of a medium, the bandit beseeches the woman after the rape to go away with him. She insists that the bandit kill her husband first, which angers the bandit. He spurns her and leaves. The man kills himself. Seized with guilt, the woodcutter admits to the shocked priest and the commoner that he too witnessed the crime. His version is equally feasible, although his veracity is questioned when it is revealed that he stole a dagger from the crime scene. Just as all seems bleak and hopeless, a baby appears behind the gate. The commoner seizes the moment and steals the child's clothes, while the woodcutter redeems himself and humanity in the eyes of the troubled priest, by adopting the infant. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

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Unrated, 1 hr. 23 min.

Directed by: Akira Kurosawa

Release Date: December 26, 1951

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DVD Release Date: March 26, 2002

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Stats: 2,877 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (2,877)

  • fb573414556
    August 8, 2012
    fb573414556
    Don't really need to say much about 'Rashomon', the films it has inspired speak for it enough already. A masterfully made classic, with an intersting plot and ideologies, without 'Rashomon' I'm more then certain that many of people's favourite contemporary favourite films - like ... read more'Resevoir Dogs' - wouldn't exist.
  • RCCLBC
    January 11, 2012
    RCCLBC
    Beautifully shot.
    Great premise/story.
    I can appreciate why this film is held in such high esteem...but it felt a little convoluted to me, to spite it's fairly short running time.
  • c0up
    January 4, 2012
    c0up
    'Rashomon'. A landmark film by Kurosawa in his clever telling of a story from four contradictory, but very plausible perspectives, exploring honesty, honour and the goodness of man.
  • blkbomb
    June 7, 2011
    blkbomb
    Rashômon was the first Kurosawa film I have seen and I am completely stunned at how engrossing it is. The use of flashbacks to tell the different stories is brilliantly done. We have no idea which is true. The movie is haunting and beautiful in the way it is shown. There are long... read more, silent stretches, but they aren't boring, they are insightful. Kurosawa had balls to make this movie, to show us the same event, from contradicting viewpoints. I wish more movies were this inspired in the point they are trying to get across.
  • hunterjt13
    January 21, 2011
    hunterjt13
    Once again, Kurosawa's strength is his remarkable ability to fit so many round characters into an eighty-eight-minute film. Each character, at least initially, gives us reason to doubt his/her credibility, and their flaws are as interesting as their admirable qualities.
    The stor... read morey relates the rape of a woman and her husband's murder through the eyes of four different characters; obviously each account differs. The basic premise of the film suggests that human perception is ultimately limited by our arrogance, prejudice, and the frailty of our memory. This isn't a post-modern statement about the immutability of truth; everything seems rooted in character. Kurosawa wants us to walk away from the film without knowing what "really" happened. Except we're never given a solid reason to doubt the last story told. The man strips himself of arrogance and prejudice, and his recollection of details belies any frailty of memory. So, yes, I do think I know what really happened. I see this as a mild inconsistency in the film's message.
    Additionally, there is a small character who plays quite a significant role in the conclusion, yet I wondered where s/he came from. What is more, I often thought the moments of silence were too drawn out; what needed to be accomplish was ... five seconds ago.
    Overall, Kurosawa is clearly a superior filmmaker, one who changed the medium forever, but this film would be the highlight of any other director's repertoire, not his.
  • kenstachnik
    December 13, 2010
    kenstachnik
    Why did I wait so long?
  • ajv2688
    October 26, 2010
    ajv2688
    An interesting story presented in an unique way, this is one of the best movies I've seen so far from Japan, and I highly recommend it.
  • fb619846742
    July 31, 2010
    fb619846742
    A stunning achievement in film-making. Kurosawa fully captures a dark, rainy atmosphere in which to tell a disturbing masterpiece, a story concerning a woman who is raped, and how her husband is murdered following the attack by a vile bandit. Kurosawa populates his piece with int... read moreeresting, very emotional characters who are very affected by the events they are exposed too. It's a rare film in the sense that it doesn't give its viewers all the answers by the end of the picture - but this is absolutely the right move in accomplishing an incredibly grim but intense finale that feels satisfying even though it really isn't in a way. While this isn't the best film Kurosawa ever did ("Seven Samurai"), it's certainly one of the best films of the 20th century by far.
  • ythelastman89
    July 28, 2010
    ythelastman89
    For being one of Akira Kurosawa's earlier projects, it's extremely impressive and original. Looking at an event from different perspectives had been done before, but not in a way like this. It's interesting to see how much the characters change throughout their various incarnatio... read morens, especially the wife being frail to a cold hearted she-devil. While this does like the giant emotional impact of Kurosawa's later works, this has an extremely strong message and is more fast paced than a drawn out epic.
  • ceWEBrity
    February 25, 2010
    ceWEBrity
    Rashomon's greatest virtue, its construction, has been strip mined over the last sixty years by every film maker ever. Not to sell it short; it is truly great, and a totally involving plot. The evolution of film is an exercise in taking the aspects that work, however, and despite... read more Rashomon's sacred cow status in the art house, there are a lot of parts about it that no longer work. Though it can all be chalked up to age and the fluidity of perspective on what a film should be, there are certain aspects of the movie that will hold up only for the most sympathetic of viewers. The acting is technically proficient, in that Kurosawa's cast knew what they were doing and had considerable control, but these days it looks awfully overdone. Toshiro Mifune as the bandit Tajomaru is an embarrassment, but it is a true test of endurance to get through Machiko Kyo's incessant, unbelievable wailing. About ten minutes of this movie's 90-minute runtime is watching her cry at the top of her lungs, which is a pretty gripping character trait at first, if only through her portrayal. But then it goes on...and on...and on. It stops building the character eventually, and unless Kurosawa's intention was to bug the shit out of the viewer, the overactive framing of his actors is one of the aspects of Rashomon that hasn't come out so well. The second problem is a consistent one in Kurosawa films - the man is SO FUCKING OBVIOUS with his themes. It's like he's writing the script in crayon. There's no breathing room for implication or subtext here, when Kurosawa is all but spilling his intentions and secrets through the mouths of his characters. If you weren't sure as to what the movie was about for the first hour and ten minutes, the nonstop morality monologuing will be sure and clear that up for you in the final ten. Again, this is more a reflection of the times than an immediate and remediable weakness in the film itself, but there's little stimulation to be found within the film's writing. Distinct and innovative, Rashomon makes for a decent mystery, but as modern entertainment or even a deep film, it's not much of an investment anymore. It's not that its problems make it difficult to appreciate, but for a classic, it's pretty easily left in the dust in some regards. Kurosawa's efforts hold up best in his assembly of the movie. His vision is clearly meticulous, especially demonstrated through the stunning cinematography, and though some aspects don't hold up as well as others it is still a significant film for any avid fan of the medium.

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Critic Reviews

Ty Burr
April 22, 2010
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

What Akira Kurosawa and his tiny production team wrought is now an accepted maxim of modern life, a creed by which to live in a world where everyone has a blog and an opinion. Full Review

Jonathan F. Richards
March 2, 2010
Jonathan F. Richards, Film.com

Not many movies make such an impact that their names enter into the language. Rashomon is such a movie Full Review

Michael O'Sullivan
November 13, 2009
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post

Film buffs should love it. But so should anyone who appreciates a good yarn or two (or three or four). Full Review

April 20, 2009
TIME Magazine

Rashomon is a novel, stimulating moviegoing experience, and a sure sign that U.S. film importers will be looking hard at Japanese pictures from now on. Full Review

Variety Staff
October 16, 2008
Variety Staff, Variety

This caused a flurry in critical circles for its brilliance of conception, technique, acting and its theme of passion. Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum
February 21, 2008
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

An impressive piece of work, visually and rhythmically masterful. Full Review

February 9, 2006
Time Out

Its virtues are still plentiful: Kurosawa's visual style at its most muscular, rhythmically nuanced editing, and excellent performances. Full Review

Bosley Crowther
May 20, 2003
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

Much of the power of the picture -- and it unquestionably has hypnotic power -- derives from the brilliance with which the camera of director Akira Kurosawa has been used. Full Review

Roger Ebert
June 1, 2002
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Rashomon (1950) struck the world of film like a thunderbolt. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Kurosawa's most brilliant move in Rashomon is never to reveal what really happened. We are left to make our own deductions. Full Review

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