The Top 100 Project

Our 357th episode finds us talking about that legend of legends, Akira Kurosawa, and his 70-year-old classic Rashomon. Simply put, this film is about honour and dishonour (ie. lying). Who’s telling the truth? Can we ever know the REAL truth? This is a difficult storyline with a rapist destroying what seems to be a bad marriage. And how did that samurai end up dead? Points of view are clung to. Kabuki ensues! Okay, so the acting is a bit much, but this movie is so influential with its story structure and its technical merits that it’s easy to look past how big Toshiro Mifune et al are in this flashback-fest. So load us up because Kurosawa is on the docket and if you love film, you pretty much have to love his work. Well, Actually: Patrick Henry was known for saying “give me liberty or give me death”, not “death before dishonour”. Also, it’s the woodcutter (not the priest) who says he “can’t understand” at the beginning of the movie. If you’re looking for a beverage to help you tell the whole truth, Sparkplug C