Rashomon on VHS. Starring Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyo, Masayuki Mori, Takashi Shimura, Directed by Akira Kurosawa. Based on the novel In the Forest by Ryunosuke Hashimoto. 1950.
From the box:
A cinema classic, Rashomon introduced the Western world to the greatness of Akira Kurosawa and paved the way for fellow masters of the Japanese film industry. Characteristic of Kurosawa’s humanism and innovative narrative style, this eloquent masterpiece illuminates the subjectivity of truth through flashbacks, vigorous editing and luminous photography. Four different narrators describe the same brutal act — a woman’s rape and her husband’s consequent death — yet the facts elude us because each interprets the story to make himself appear in the best light. Through subtle gestures, Machiko Kyo (Ugetsu, Gate of Hell) conveys the woman’s supreme loss at the hands of her attacker, played by Toshiro Mifune (Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood) with a savage heat. This visually rich tale poignantly confronts man’s potential for kindness and corruption.
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