Rashomon By Kurosawa: Movie Review

Rashomon (1950)

Video Analyzing

Kurosawa asked by the Japanese studio Daiei to direct film for them after a Scandal. For this project of film Kurosawa select the story of film based on ‘In a Groove’ by Ryunosuke Akutogawa. With the Hashimoto Shinobu, Kurosawa want to write script for story on Rashomon. Because ‘ in a Groove’ the story is too short for film it that’s why Kurosawa turn the film to Rashomon. Rashomon is first of two films of Kurosawa in which to work with the most talented and famous cinematography of japan is Kazuo Miyagawa. There is 10 years before they work again together in one film. The producing company of this film ‘Daiei’ was reluctant to allow the Kurosawa to this film project and become angrier about when discover the cost for the Rashomon gate set. Daiei is so confusing about the success of film until failure of next kurosawa next film. rashomon was awarded by academy award for the Bes Foreign Film. This was the film the put Japanese film on the map. Its impact on both Japanese cinema and cinema as a whole cannot be overstated.

Figure 1: Rashomon

During the Heian period, Rashomon is gate, there are four gates outside the capital city of Kyoto to the respective cities, rashomon is one of them gate. A man takes the refuge under the half ruined gate where he founds two other man already setting there in order to escape from the rain. A priest is played by the Minoru Chiaki, and a woodcutter, played by the Takashi Shimura. The two men were return from the testifying and the trial of surrounding death of samurai. They both had started their flash back by the story of third men. The sort of side stories for these men is known as frame story. The main story of Rashomon is death of samurai and the rape of samurai’s wife. The main point of the story is that human beings have a universal weakness. Everyone lies to make themselves look better. But some, as the film shows, are able to redeem themselves.

Without wasting even, a single shot Kurosawa start elaborating idea of film. The mood of film can be depicted by the very first frame. Starting of film stares with no dialogues or character but through the weather. As kurosawa was the big fan of rain. When Kurosawa met his idol john Ford, the first thing he said to Kurosawa that you really like rain.

The sequence of the Camera is one of most enjoying thing in the film as the wood cutter and priest is sitting under the Rashomon gate and trying to escape from the heavily rain so they took refuge there. Watching the rain and capture the rain through the different angles from start.

During the time civil war under the ruined gate outside the Kyoto, a cynical peasant takes the refuge under the gate where he found a (Minoru Chiaki) a priest and (Takashi Shimura) a woodcutter. Both men seem disturbing as returning from the court in the case samurai’s death and the rape of samurai wife over the bandits and they felt lament due to the disturbing series they experienced.

The most of the part of film is flash back or the sequence from the past. According to the Wood Cutter pint of view Its shows the version of events, that make up the storyline about the murder where they stumble it through the action, events and characters and cover up the possible theft and rape. The sequence is (02:00) Contains no dialogue, and is constructed from the sixteen shots, of which woodcutter appears in twelve. there are two close up end, present time close-up in which close to the Woodcutter face when he begins to tell his story to and the past close-up time in which a woman hanging into the bush that alerts the woodcutter something amiss. As narrative, the sequence is irrelevant the flashback could start on the shot of the hanging hat. As cinema, it’s more than a little fascinating.

Here, seems none of flashback can be reconciled not even with the testimony of woodcutter. So the Rashomon become the story telling spot where from no testimony can be proved as truth determine. Truth can only be reveal from the conclusion. But we actually believe the woodcutter is on viewing. According due to the lots of testimony it seems that woodcutter is not false at all. They cannot all be true given the opposing possibilities of the samurai’s death, the missing dagger, and a number of other loose ends.

Set to the 11th century of japan. In this Era, the rise of samurai class and feudal system is on the peak in japan. The story is begun from the Rashomon gate, there are four gates outside the capital city of Kyoto to the respective cities, rashomon is one of them gate. A man takes the refuge under the half ruined gate where he founds two other man already setting there in order to escape from the rain. A priest is played by the Minoru Chiaki, and a woodcutter, played by the Takashi Shimura. The two men were return from the testifying and the trial of surrounding death of samurai. They both had started their flash back by the story of third men. The sort of side stories for these men is known as frame story. The main story of Rashomon is death of samurai and the rape of samurai’s wife. The main point of the story is that human beings have a universal weakness. Everyone lies to make themselves look better. But some, as the film shows, are able to redeem themselves.

Figure 2: Rashomon Gate

Without wasting even, a single shot Kurosawa start elaborating idea of film. The mood of film can be depicted by the very first frame. Starting of film stares with no dialogues or character but through the weather. As kurosawa was the big fan of rain. When Kurosawa met his idol john Ford, the first thing he said to Kurosawa that you really like rain. While the movie starts, camera that directly start capturing the rain with the different angles and with wasting even a single shot, the mood of movie can be depicted from start. And the movie then showing the gate with two people sitting and seems taking refuge here.

Figure 3: Rain showing shot

The sequence of the Camera is one of most enjoying thing in the film as the wood cutter and priest is sitting under the Rashomon gate and trying to escape from the heavily rain so they took refuge there. Watching the rain and capture the rain through the different angles from start.

During the time civil war under the ruined gate outside the Kyoto, a cynical peasant takes the refuge under the gate where he found a (Minoru Chiaki) a priest and (Takashi Shimura) a woodcutter. Both men seem disturbing as returning from the court in the case samurai’s death and the rape of samurai wife over the bandits and they felt lament due to the disturbing series they experienced.

Figure 4: Priest, Woodcutter, Third men

Most of the starting of film is passed in showing scenes of films, where is Rashomon gate in which wood cutter and priest are sitting for taking refuge and suddenly a man running towards the Rashomon gate, though capturing the woodcutter and priest with different camera shot and raining from the other camera. Then suddenly a running man towards gate Kurosawa captured it from another camera. He came and saw men sitting with lament expression, due to the series they’ve survive in series.

Figure 5: Priest and Wood Cutter

The most of the part of film is flash back or the sequence from the past. According to the Wood Cutter pint of view Its shows the version of events, that make up the storyline about the murder where they stumble it through the action, events and characters and cover up the possible theft and rape. The sequence is (02:00) Contains no dialogue, and is constructed from the sixteen shots, of which woodcutter appears in twelve. there are two close up end, present time close-up in which close to the Woodcutter face when he begins to tell his story to and the past close-up time in which a woman hanging into the bush that alerts the woodcutter something amiss. As narrative, the sequence is irrelevant the flashback could start on the shot of the hanging hat. As cinema, it’s more than a little fascinating.

Figure 6: Start telling the story

Here, seems none of flashback can be reconciled not even with the testimony of woodcutter. So the Rashomon become the story telling spot where from no testimony can be proved as truth determine. Truth can only be reveal from the conclusion. But we actually believe the woodcutter is on viewing. According due to the lots of testimony it seems that woodcutter is not false at all. They cannot all be true given the opposing possibilities of the samurai’s death, the missing dagger, and a number of other loose ends.

Editing:

Stanley Kauffmann writes in the impact of Rashomon that Kurosawa take the shot of film with different cameras at the different angles. The reason for taking the shot from different cameras is to cut the film freely and splice together the pieces that feels so forcefully depicted the actual meaning of film and that correspond scenes. Another reason for taking from different cameras if to flying from one piece to another piece of film scenes. Moreover, despite these all he used the small shots and them combine them together to trick the audience that seems them to watching the one scene. Donald Richie said in his essay that Kurosawa used 407 Separate shots in whole body of film and This is more than twice the number in the usual film, and yet these shots never call attention to themselves.

Sound/ Music play:

The film is scored by the most respected Japanese composers and this film is scored by the Fumio Hayasaka. He includes the adaption of ‘Boléro’ by Maurice Ravel, especially during the women story. he includes the urgent step of bringing Mifune back to the studio after filming to record another line in the setbacks and some lost audio. By using the different headphone, the recording engineer lwao Ótani added the music with film for making it more thriller.

References:

1. From the Movie: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5td9k3
2. ERIC KIM “Rashomon (1950) Cinematography Composition by Akira Kurosawa” ERIC KIM n.d Available at: http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2017/12/05/rashomon-1950-cinemetography-composition-by-akira-kurosawa/ Last Accessed: February 20, 2019.
3. Brian Eggert “Rashomon” Brian Eggert June 9,2014 Available at: https://deepfocusreview.com/definitives/rashomon/ Last accessed: February 20, 2019.
4. KEVAN SMOLIAK “Rashomon (1950)” n.p, n.d Available at: http://kurosawainreview.blogspot.com/2009/06/rashomon-1950.html Last accessed: February 20, 2019.