After a Scandal, Kurosawa was asked by Japanese studio Daiei for directing film. Kurosawa chose to direct the film story based on Ryunosuke Akutogawa’s ‘Ina Groove. Kurosawa wrote a script to tell the story of Rashomon using the Hashimoto Shinobu. Kurosawa made the film Rashomon because ‘ina Groove’ is too short. Rashomon was Kurosawa’s second film. It is the first in a series of films that Kurosawa has worked with Kazuo Myagawa, Japan’s most famous cinematographer. They will not work together again for 10 years. Daiei, the film’s producer, was reluctant to let Kurosawa take part in the film’s production and became more angry when he discovered the high cost of Rashomon gates. Daiei confuses about film’s success until it is too late for next Kurosawa film. Academy awarded Rashomon the Bes Foreign Film Award. This film is the one that made Japanese film famous. Its influence on Japanese cinema and cinema in general cannot be understated.
During Heian times, Rashomon was gate. There are four gates to access the respective cities. Rashomon one gate. Two men set up shelter under the partially ruined gate to escape the rain. Minoruchiaki plays a priest and Takashishimura plays a wooden cutter. They were returning from the testifying and trial surrounding the death of the samurai. Both men had begun their flashback by hearing the stories of third men. These men have side stories called frame stories. Rashomon’s main story focuses on the murder of samurai and his wife being raped. The story reveals that humans have a common weakness. To make themselves appear better, everyone lies. The film shows that not everyone lies to make themselves appear better. You can easily capture the mood in a single frame. Film begins with the weather, and no dialogue. Kurosawa loved rain. Kurosawa’s idol, John Ford, told Kurosawa the first time he saw him was that he liked rain.
The Camera sequence is one of my favorite scenes in the film. It is where the priest and wood cutter are sitting under Rashomon gates trying to escape the rain. The rain is captured from all angles.
A peasant with a dark streak seeks refuge under the gate in the middle of the civil war. There he finds a priest (Minoru Chiaki), and a woodcutter (Takashi Shmura). They were both disturbed when they returned from the court to discuss the death of the samurai and the rape and murder of the wife by bandits.
Flashback or the past sequence makes up the majority of the film. According to the Wood Cutter pint-of-view It shows the version, or the sequence from the past, of the murder storyline. The characters are shown attempting to cover up the theft and the rape. It is (02:00). There is no dialogue and it is made up of the 16 shots. Woodcutter is in twelve. There are two close-ups, one present-time and one past. It is this time that the Woodcutter reveals his story. It’s not necessary to show the flashback sequence. It’s fascinating as cinema.
The flashbacks are impossible to reconcile with the woodcutter’s testimony. Rashomon has become the story-telling spot where there is no evidence that can be used to prove truth. The conclusion is the only way to reveal truth. But, the woodcutter does appear to be on our viewing. Woodcutter seems to be true, judging by the many testimonials. Given the conflicting possibilities of death for the samurai and the disappearance of the dagger, they cannot all be true.
The 11th century in Japan. The Era is when Japan’s feudal system and samurai classes are at their peak. The Rashomon gates are located outside Kyoto’s capital. They lead to four cities. Rashomon one gate. Two men set up shelter under the partially destroyed gate to escape the rain, and a man finds them. Minoruchiaki plays a priest and Takashishimura plays a wooden cutter. Two men returned from testifying in the trial surrounding the death samurai. Both men had begun their flashback by hearing the stories of third men. This is called a frame story. Rashomon’s main story focuses on the murder of samurai and his wife being raped. The story reveals that humans have a common weakness. To make themselves appear better, everyone lies. Some, however, can be redeemed, as shown in the film.
Stanley Kauffmann wrote in The Impact of Rashomon, that Kurosawa shoots film using different cameras from different angles. The idea behind taking shots with different cameras is that you can cut the film in any way that suits your needs and then combine them to create the scene. You can also fly from one scene to the next by using different cameras. He also used small shots to confuse the audience into believing he was only showing one scene. Donald Richie explained in his essay how Kurosawa used 407 separate shots in the entire body of film. This amount is more that twice what it takes to make a normal film. Yet, the shots are never noticed.
The film’s score is by one of the most renowned Japanese composers, the Fumiohayasaka. He incorporates the adaptation from ‘Bolero by Maurice Ravel in the film’s women story. He mentions that Mifune must be returned to the studio immediately after filming due to setbacks. Also, he needs to recover some audio. The recording engineer lwao Ottani used a different headphone to make the film more thrilling.
Citing sources
From the Movie: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5td9k3
ERIC KIM “Rashomon (1950) Cinemetography 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.
Brian Eggert “Rashomon” Brian Eggert June 9,2014 Available at: https://deepfocusreview.com/definitives/rashomon/ Last accessed: February 20, 2019.
KEVAN SMOLIAK “Rashomon (1950)” n.p, n.d Available at: http://kurosawainreview.blogspot.com/2009/06/rashomon-1950.html Last accessed: February 20, 2019.
