Review by Doug Cooper
Stars Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyo, Takashi Shimura,
Masayuki Mori, Minoru Chiaki, Kichijiro Ueda,
Fumiko Homma, Daisuke Kate
Written by Akira Kurosawa
Certification UK 12A
Runtime 88 minutes
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Currently London's BFI Southbank are showing a season of Akira Kurosawa movies, featuring some of his greats such as The Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, Yojimbo and Sanjuro. The season is also showcasing movies inspired by his work, such as The Magnificent Seven, A Fistful of Dollars and The Outrage, but the centrepiece is this new print of his 1950 masterwork. Rashomon was years ahead of its time and has now been much imitated.
This is because its central premise - the murder of a 12th century samurai after his wife has been supposedly raped - is told from four different viewpoints giving a different emphasis to each telling. The bandit (Mifune) allegedly responsible gives his version, followed by the wife (Kyo) and then the dead victim (Mori), speaking via a medium. Finally, a woodcutter (Shimura) also gives an interpretation to the strange and unsettling events.
The performances are fierce and almost operatic in tone, with Mifune totally commanding as the steely bandit, radiating aggressive power. The rain soaked setting is well conjured by the director and the sleek narrative is confidently developed. But after 50 years, does the movie still stand up? Not to this reviewer.
If truth be told, it's been copied too many times and now doesn't appear to be nearly as innovative or penetrating as it perhaps once was. There are too many longueurs to keep one fully involved and what might have been rivetting all those years ago seems rather flaccid and feeble now.
Looked at with fresh eyes, one can admire the achievement for its time but one can no longer be as impressed with its effects.