Rashomon

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Rashomon

Released Dec 26, 1950

1h 28m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

98%

Tomatometer

64 Reviews

93%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Brimming with action while incisively examining the nature of truth, "Rashomon" is perhaps the finest film ever to investigate the philosophy of justice. Through an ingenious use of camera and flashbacks, Kurosawa reveals the complexities of human nature as four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.

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Critics Consensus

One of legendary director Akira Kurosawa's most acclaimed films, Rashomon features an innovative narrative structure, brilliant acting, and a thoughtful exploration of reality versus perception.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

It’s easy to forget, nonetheless, that the movie offers more rewards than a dazzling superstructure. It’s beautifully shot, vividly performed and is ultimately an arresting pop treatise on the impossibility of objective truth.

Rated: 5/5

Jan 9, 2023

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

Unmissable.

Rated: 5/5

Jun 17, 2010

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Ty Burr

Boston Globe

What Akira Kurosawa and his tiny production team wrought is now an accepted maxim of modern life, a creed by which to live in a world where everyone has a blog and an opinion.

Rated: 3.5/4

Apr 22, 2010

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Michael Clark

Epoch Times

“Rashomon” isn’t a whodunit thriller. Instead, it’s an observation of the unreliability of human short-term memory, particularly of the multiple witnesses at a crime scene, who are also possible victims or perpetrators.

Rated: 5/5

Sep 21, 2024

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Thoroughly unique, crafting a recognizable template for future films that opt to distort their narratives through the eyes of multiple storytellers and unreliable presentations of facts.

Rated: 6/10

Jul 20, 2024

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Daniel Barnes

Dare Daniel

The fourth story is seemingly the most objective of them all, and it's probably the closest to the truth. But even in that story, there are big holes. Everyone has something to hide.

Rated: 5/5

Nov 14, 2023

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Peter Santana

The perspective of four sides of the story so original for 1950!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/25/22

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Benjamin

Literally no exaggeration, one of the best movies ever.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/25/22

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thiago s

Filme mais ou menos, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são mais ou menos, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

07/14/25

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Audience Member

Rashomon (Rashōmon) is a 1950 Japanese jidaigeki film directed by Akira Kurosawa from a screenplay he co-wrote with Shinobu Hashimoto. It stars Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyō, Masayuki Mori, Minoru Chiaki and Takashi Shimura. The plot and characters are based upon Ryūnosuke Akutagawa's short story "In a Grove," with the title and framing story taken from Akutagawa's "Rashōmon." Kazuo Miyagawa was the cinematographer. The music was by Fumio Hayasaka. It was distributed and produced by Daiei Film Company Limited. Principal photography lasted from July 7th to August 17th, 1950, taking place primarily in Kyoto on an estimated ¥15–20 million budget. Post-production took only one week and was decelerated by two fires. Upon winning the Golden Lion at the 12th Venice International Film Festival, it later won Best Foreign Language Film at the 24th Academy Awards and was nominated for Best Film at the 6th British Academy Film Awards. Vision wrote: "what happened to the wise priest in the midst? A lot of back and forth. It follows various people who describe how a samurai was murdered in a forest. Very experimental but too complex. Unfitting of a bandit. Toshiro Mifune was not so convincing. On a positive note, the film pioneered the Rashomon effect, a plot device that involves various characters providing subjective, alternative and contradictory versions of the same incident. Amazing cinematography for its time. The music was immersive. Two and a half fries!"

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

07/12/25

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Stephen C

Success in 1 hour and 28 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In Japanese and English versions with English subtitles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/08/25

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Luca D

Well shot, well acted, well written. Very introspective even for a movie based in 11th century Japan. Would definitely recommend for movie buffs, not for most people as it's very dark and unsettling in a very existential way. Final scene had me tearing up wondering if I'm a good person.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/03/25

Full Review

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Akira Kurosawa

Director

Toshiro Mifune

Tajomaru

Machiko Kyō

Masako Kanazawa

Takashi Shimura

Woodcutter

Masayuki Mori

Takehiro

Minoru Chiaki

Priest

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Synopsis

Brimming with action while incisively examining the nature of truth, "Rashomon" is perhaps the finest film ever to investigate the philosophy of justice. Through an ingenious use of camera and flashbacks, Kurosawa reveals the complexities of human nature as four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.

Director: Akira Kurosawa
Producer: Minoru Jingo
Screenwriter: Ryûnosuke Akutagawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, Akira Kurosawa
Distributor: RKO Radio Pictures
Production Co: Daiei Motion Picture Company
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 26, 1950, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 23, 2017
Runtime: 1h 28m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Academy (1.33:1)

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