Search - Rashomon [Criterion Collection] on DVD

Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Rape & Sexual Abuse Movie Release: 1951 DVD Release: 03/26/2002 Format: DVD - Black and White Edition: Dual Layered,Restored/Remastered,Special Collection Audio Tracks: English, Japanese Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 28 mins Studio: Criterion Members Wishing: 57 Genres: Drama, Period Film, Crime Drama, Samurai Film See Also: Rashomon [Criterion Collection]

This landmark film is a brilliant exploration of truth and human weakness. It opens with a priest, a woodcutter, and a peasant taking refuge from a downpour beneath a ruined gate in 12th-century Japan. The priest and the woodcutter, each looking stricken, discuss the trial of a notorious bandit for rape and murder. As the retelling of the trial unfolds, the participants in the crime -- the bandit (Toshiro Mifune), the rape victim (Machiko Kyo), and the murdered man (Masayuki Mori) -- tell their plausible though completely incompatible versions of the story. In the bandit's version, he and the man wage a spirited duel after the rape, resulting in the man's death. In the woman's testimony, she is spurned by her husband after being raped. Hysterical with grief, she kills him. In the man's version, speaking through the lips of a medium, the bandit beseeches the woman after the rape to go away with him. She insists that the bandit kill her husband first, which angers the bandit. He spurns her and leaves. The man kills himself. Seized with guilt, the woodcutter admits to the shocked priest and the commoner that he too witnessed the crime. His version is equally feasible, although his veracity is questioned when it is revealed that he stole a dagger from the crime scene. Just as all seems bleak and hopeless, a baby appears behind the gate. The commoner seizes the moment and steals the child's clothes, while the woodcutter redeems himself and humanity in the eyes of the troubled priest, by adopting the infant. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Toshiro Mifune - Tajomaru, the Bandit
Masayuki Mori - Takehiro, the Nobleman
Machiko Kyo - Masago, the Wife
Takashi Shimura - Woodcutter
Minoru Chiaki - Priest

Considered by many critics to be the director's finest film, Rashomon is finally given a proper release by Criterion. The print is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and does show some marks and fades but for the most part it is in quite good shape. The soundtracks offered are Japanese with English subtitles, Japanese only, and an English language dub track. All are Dolby Digital 2.0 (mono) and there is a slight but noticeable crackle noise heard on the tracks. The disc also features an excellent commentary track by Donald Richie, a noted critic and historian on the films of Kurosawa and Japanese cinema in general. He gives an expert breakdown of the multi-layered aspects of the film. American film director Robert Altman provides a personal introduction to the film which runs approximately six minutes. There is a 12-minute excerpt from a much longer documentary entitled "The World of Kuzuo Miyagawa," which focuses on the film's cinematographer and his work on the film. The clip is quite informative and includes some test footage outtakes. There is also a theatrical trailer in Japanese with English subtitles. Rashomon is seminal work in Japanese cinema that is required viewing for any cineaste. ~ A.R. Ferguson, All Movie Guide