Review of Rashomon (1950) by Colo G — 19 Feb 2012

I'm new to Kurosawa, this was to be my second one after Yojimbo, which I rather liked, and I had high hopes for this one. Turns out I couldn't even finish this one. I got about half way through - when the medium was introduced - and I stopped the movie. The acting and the directing was fine I suppose (though It was much better in Yojimbo), the problem for me, I think, was the story.

I had unwittingly watched the more recent 'Tajomaru Avenging Blade' two weeks ago. And as the Tajomaru character was revealed in this film, I suddenly realised that the other movie was a remake, and they both shared much the same story. This definitely didn't help. I didn't even like the other movie, much on account of the story, but I did prefer the way which it presented it as opposed to this one's several retellings of the same story, each with their own variations.

I still have great respect for Kurosawa, and eagerly look forward to watching more of his films. And I think considering I only watched half of it, 2 stars is generous.