Rashomon

By way of celebrating Akira Kurasawa's birth in 1910 - more an excuse I guess: who needs an excuse to see/show these films - the QFT offered a short season of films; almost a "Best of" of his early work. The only one we were able to get to see was "Rashomon"

Even more than "Seven Samurai", this film provided so much fuel for subsequent Holywood Westerns it is very difficult to watch without being reminded of what came after. The film is littered with what we now think of as movie cliches; made so by the excessive use in Holywood films generally. Once you start to recognise these devices it can be a fun game counting them off as they appear and listing them after the show.

Even with these distractions, the film still stands up today: filmed in black & white, with Japanese subtitles, traditional Japanese music, no fancy martial arts, not even a hint of clever stunts and, of course, not a smell of CGI. Still a terrific action film.

When this was first released on an unsuspecting American public in 1951/2, hardly surprising it took the country by storm (check out Wikipedia). Everything magically works together: invention complementing the story-line, action sequences balanced by slow, interior sequences all the while building on the characterisation of main players.

Spectacular still and all the better seeing it on a big screen.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥