Overview
A haunting exploration of truth and perspective in a world where reality is subjective.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Dense
- Violence
- Moderate
- brooding
- rain-soaked
- paranoid
- serious film study
- rainy day viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Rashomon as a landmark of formally innovative filmmaking, praising its contradictory perspectives, Kurosawa's direction, performances, and spellbinding cinematography.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The bandit, samurai's wife, dead samurai, and woodcutter offer conflicting accounts of the rape and murder.
The priest, woodcutter, and commoner shelter beneath Rashomon while recounting the trial and its disputed testimony.
Each witness reshapes the crime around honor, shame, guilt, or personal justification.
The relentless rain at the ruined gatehouse intensifies the characters' despair and uncertainty about human nature.
Films like Rashomon, and why
The Usual Suspects
shared multiple perspectives, unreliable testimony, moral ambiguity, and a mystery centered on competing versions of truth
Memento
shared fragmented narration, subjective recollection, and a crime investigated through contradictory accounts
The Last Duel
shared frame narrative, contested storytelling, and psychological uncertainty about what really happened
Harakiri
shared Japanese period setting, stark moral inquiry, and formal experimentation with perspective
Movie Details
- Director
- Akira Kurosawa
- Release Date
- 1950-08-26
- Runtime
- 88 min
- Rating
- 8.0 / 10 (2620)
Cast
- Toshirō Mifune
- Machiko Kyō
- Takashi Shimura
- Masayuki Mori
- Minoru Chiaki
- Kichijirō Ueda
- Noriko Honma
- Daisuke Katō
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Rashomon about?
- At a rain-lashed ruined gatehouse, a murder trial becomes a radically shifting inquiry into truth, self-deception, and the possibility of human goodness.
- What is Rashomon like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Rashomon as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as dense.
- Is Rashomon violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Rashomon as moderate.
- What did critics think of Rashomon?
- Critics broadly regard Rashomon as a landmark of formally innovative filmmaking, praising its contradictory perspectives, Kurosawa's direction, performances, and spellbinding cinematography.
- Which films are like Rashomon?
- Films with a similar feel include The Usual Suspects, Memento, The Last Duel, and Harakiri.
- How long is Rashomon?
- Rashomon runs 88 minutes.
- Where can I watch Rashomon?
- In United States, Rashomon streams on HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max.
