Review of The Outrage (1964) by Julianna Y — 01 Apr 2008

It's a Western remake of Kurosawa's "Rashomon" (it might even be a nearly shot-by-shot remake), with several different versions of a rape and murder told by a Mexican bandit, a former Confederate soldier, and his wife.

And against all odds, the movie works, for many of the same reasons that "Rashomon" works. In fact, it might follow "Rashomon" a bit too closely, as you spend a lot of time picking out the similarities and differences between the two, and find it hard to consider the movie as anything but a remake.

But the transition to the Western genre works, and although Newman seems to mimic Toshiro Mifune a bit too much, on the whole he and the rest of the cast do a good job. It doesn't surpass the genius of "Rashomon" (nothing could), but I think anyone who hasn't seen Kurosawa's movie would still find this enjoyable.