FAQ

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. It is assumed that no one who is diligently avoiding spoilers will be visiting this page in the first place.

The Rashômon, Rajmon or Raseimon is the main gate to a walled city. The ruined gate is the central setting and provides the title for Akira Kurosawa's famous 1950 film, Rashômon.

Yes. "Rashomon" provides the setting of the story, while "In a Grove" is the character and plot of the movie. Both stories are from Japanese short story writer Akutagawa Ryunosuke (1892 - 1927).

From Wikipedia: "The film's concept has influenced an extensive variety of subsequent works, such as the films Hero, Vantage Point, Courage Under Fire, The Usual Suspects, One Night at McCool's, Basic, Dokuz, Hoodwinked!."

Rashomon itself is based on the story "In a Grove" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_a_Grove#.22In_a_Grove.22_and_the_movies) << The following movies have been based on the story of "In a Grove":

* "The Outrage" - 1964, America; Director: Martin Ritt; Starring: Paul Newman * "Iron Maze" - 1991, America; Director: Hiroaki Yoshida; Starring: Jeff Fahey, Bridget Fonda, Hiroaki Murakami * "In a Grove" - 1996, Japan; Director: Hisato Satō; Starring: Shunsuke Matsuoka, Kaori Sakagami, Shigeki Hosokawa * "Misty" - 1997, Japan; Director: Kenki Saegusa; Starring: Yūki Amami, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Etsushi Toyokawa * "Ghost Dog" - 1999, Jim Jarmusch. >>

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Les Diaboliques (1955) Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot

Wild Strawberries (1957) Directed by Ingmar Bergman

Vertigo (1958) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

8 1/2 (1963) Directed by Federico Fellini

Sans Soleil (1984) Directed by Chris Marker

Back to the Future Parts I, II & III (1985-90) Directed by Robert Zemeckis

Twelve Monkeys (1995) Directed by Terry Gilliam ***based on the short film La Jetee by Chris Marker

Memento (2000) Directed by Christopher Nolan

All of the films listed deal with issues pertaining to the perception of time and/or events. This is only a short list of notable films that illustrate this very popular, perception theme. Does it all stem from Rashomon? Perhaps in the film medium, but in the literary sense this theme can be traced back thousands of years and is otherwise ancient. Either way, I believe all of the directors listed were at least aware of, if not influenced directly by Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon as it was one of the first foreign films to ever win an Academy Award.