Cinema Seminar:
Rashomon

Taught by Paul Wright, Ph.D.
Instructor of English and History, Main Line Classical Academy

Kurosawa has said of perhaps his most famous film that the story on which it is based “goes into the depths of the human heart as if with a surgeon’s scalpel, laying bare its dark complexities and bizarre twists.” Upon its release in 1950, Rashomon proclaimed itself as a singular treatment of memory, self-deception, and the will to narrative that makes all human beings intrinsic storytellers—above all, about themselves.

A tale of a brutal (yet hotly disputed) rape and murder in the wild, Rashomon explores the conflicting and self-serving memories of participants and witnesses alike—to the point where the boundaries between truth and reinvention blur. Over the decades, the film has been re-tooled into everything from a 1959 Broadway play, to a 1964 Western (Martin Ritt’s The Outrage), to a 1996 English-language opera by Argentinean composer Alejandro Vinao. Legal scholars now speak of the “Rashomon Effect” whenever they wish to invoke the unreliability and contradictions of multiple witnesses. The legacy of the film is rich and complex.

Rashomon was also a watershed moment in cinema history. Its critical and commercial success trumpeted the arrival of Japan’s cinema on the world stage, and as a major creative force to rival those of France, Italy, Russia, or even the United States. In the broader context of world history, Rashomon—released a mere five years after the conclusion of World War II, which saw Occupied Japan humiliated, in ruins, and administered by General Douglas MacArthur—also heralded the return of its nation to the company of its former enemies as a new partner in a globalizing culture industry. Kurosawa’s first true masterpiece, Rashomon went on to win the Golden Lion at the 1951 Venice Film Festival, and its iconic place in world cinema remains unmatched. Join us for a lively seminar exploring this enduring cinematic achievement.