Rashomon

Rashomon
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Akira Kurosawa
Screenplay by	Akira Kurosawa Shinobu Hashimoto
Based on	"In a Grove" by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
Produced by	Jingo Minoura
Starring	Toshiro Mifune Masayuki Mori Machiko Kyō Takashi Shimura Minoru Chiaki
Cinematography	Kazuo Miyagawa
Edited by	Shigeo Nishida
Music by	Fumio Hayasaka
Production company	Daiei Film
Distributed by	Daiei
Release dates	August 25, 1950 (1950-08-25) (Imperial Theatre) August 26, 1950 (1950-08-26) (Japan)
Running time	88 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Budget	¥15–20 million
Box office	$943,376 (overseas)[a]

Rashomon (Japanese: 羅生門, Hepburn: Rashōmon)^[b] is a 1950 Japanese jidaigeki film directed by Akira Kurosawa from a screenplay he co-wrote with Shinobu Hashimoto. Starring Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyō, Masayuki Mori, and Takashi Shimura, it follows various people who describe how a samurai was murdered in a forest. 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". Every element is largely identical, from the murdered samurai speaking through a Shinto psychic to the bandit in the forest, the monk, the assault of the wife, and the dishonest retelling of the events in which everyone shows their ideal self by lying.

Production began in 1948 at Kurosawa's regular production firm Toho but was canceled as it was viewed as a financial risk. Two years later, Sōjirō Motoki pitched Rashomon to Daiei Film upon the completion of Kurosawa's Scandal. Daiei initially turned it down but eventually agreed to produce and distribute the film. Principal photography lasted from July 7 to August 17, 1950, taking place primarily in Kyoto on an estimated ¥15–20 million budget. When creating the film's visual style, Kurosawa and cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa experimented with various methods such as pointing the camera at the sun, which was considered taboo. Post-production took only one week and was decelerated by two fires.

Rashomon premiered at the Imperial Theatre on August 25, 1950, and was released throughout Japan the following day. The film received mixed reviews from Japanese critics and was Daiei's fourth highest-grossing film of 1950. It later became the first Japanese film to receive a significant international reception,^[4][5] grossing roughly $800,000 abroad and winning the Golden Lion at the 12th Venice International Film Festival and Best Foreign Language Film at the 24th Academy Awards.

Rashomon is now considered one of the greatest films ever made and among the most influential movies from the 20th century. It is recognized for pioneering the Rashomon effect, a plot device that involves various characters providing subjective, alternative, and contradictory versions of the same incident.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).