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Akira Kurosawa, Rashomon (still), 1950; image: courtesy Janus Films

Film

Rashomon

Friday, Oct 7, 2016

6 p.m.

Modern Cinema’s Founding Supporters are Carla Emil and Rich Silverstein.

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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.

This screening includes a special introduction by filmmaker Philip Kaufman.


Rashomon is
that rare film that has transcended its own status as film, influencing not
just the moving image but the culture at large… Kurosawa’s nonlinear
narrative and sensual, kinesthetic style helped to change the face of world
cinema.” —Stephen Price, Criterion.com

“Since the advent of the talkies in the 1930s, I felt, we had misplaced and forgotten what was so wonderful about the old silent movies… In particular, I believed that there was something to be learned from the spirit of the French avant-garde films of the 1920s. Rashomon would be my testing ground, the place where I could apply the ideas and wishes growing out of my silent-film research.” —Akira Kurosawa


Film Details

Country: Japan
Language: Japanese, English subtitles
Year: 1950
Running time: 88 min
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Producer: Jingo Minoura
Writers: Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto
Cinematographers: Kazuo Miyagawa
Editor: Akira Kurosawa
Music: Fumio Hayasaka

With: Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyo, Masayuki Mori, Takashi Shimura, Minoru Chiaki

Print Source: Academy Film Archive

Restored by the Academy Film Archive, the National Film Center of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, and Kadokawa Pictures, Inc.


Films and schedules may be subject to change.