#138: KUROSAWA, Akira: Rashomon (1950)

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KUROSAWA, Akira (Japan)
Rashomon [1950]
Spine #138
DVD/Blu-ray


A riveting psychological thriller that investigates the nature of truth and the meaning of justice, Rashomon is widely considered one of the greatest films ever made. Four people give different accounts of a man's murder and the rape of his wife, which director Akira Kurosawa presents with striking imagery and an ingenious use of flashbacks. This eloquent masterwork and international sensation revolutionized film language and introduced Japanese cinema — and a commanding new star by the name of Toshiro Mifune — to the Western world.

88 minutes
Black & White
Monaural
in Japanese
1:37:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2012
Director/Writers


Based on two stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa.
Scenario by Akira Kurosawa and Shinobu Hashimoto.
Kurosawa was 40 when he directed Rashomon.

Eclipse Series 7: One Wonderful Sunday (1947)
#413: Drunken Angel (1948)

The Film

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

DVD: Twenty-eight page booklet featuring essays by Stephen Prince, Kurosawa, and Akutagawa’s stories Rashomon and In a Grove.

Blu-ray: Forty-four page booklet with the same.

DVD and Blu-ray:

Commentary

By Japanese-film historian Donald Richie.

Video introduction

By director Robert Altman.
Excerpts

From The World of Kazuo Miyagawa, a documentary film about Rashomon’s cinematographer.

DVD:

Theatrical trailer

Blu-ray: 

A Testimony as an Image

A sixty-eight minute documentary featuring interviews with cast and crew.

Archival audio interview

With actor Shimura.

A sixty-eight minute documentary featuring interviews with cast and crew.

Original and rerelease trailers

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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