“Although human beings are incapable of talking about themselves with total honesty, it is much harder to avoid the truth while pretending to be other people. They often reveal much about themselves in a very straightforward way. I am certain that I did. There is nothing that says more about its creator than the work itself.” ― Akira Kurosawa
This is a really interesting concept exploring lies and deception, with the belief that humans mostly act in self interest. The story is so twisted and distorted by each narrator to cast themselves in the best possible light, that we genuinely don't know WHO to believe by the end.
This film was also an influence in many TV shows over the years. There were episodes of various sitcoms in which there were several versions of how a certain event happened along with the bias and prejudices that came with each version. I saw the film on TCM some years back after hearing so much about it and it's still a very gripping work!
In one of my college courses we talked a lot about memory and truth, and along with eternal sunshine of a spotless mind this was one of the films we watched. An absolute masterpiece of a film and easily in my top 3 favorites, and now a fantastic complimentary video by one of my fav creators!
I love these videos that explore deeper concepts rather than just ‘the day ____ died’. It’s a shame they don’t get the same engagement level. But I hope you know this content is appreciated and awesome (even if engagement is lower)
Hey I appreciate that. Unfortunately I don't get to make videos like this that much anymore for this very reason. They just don't have the same engagement which scares away sponsors and then I take a big hit to my wallet. Sucks that it has to be that way. Wasn't that way years ago when I first started.
You were wrong on one note: you say that the only constant element was the murder, but this is incorrect. The samurai's suicide would be inconsistent. The only constant element was the rape.
I've seen Rashomon several times, but only now I can see Kurosawa also worked within the film with all the genres he produced in his career: Thriller, Drama, Period Piece, Literary adaptation, Black comedy. Great video!!! Thanx!!!
I went on a Kurosawa binge when I bought a house. I felt like, after watching the clone wars and rebels, I needed to see some Lucas inspirations. And Holy heck, seven samurai became my favorite movie. I started with hidden fortress, then seven samurai into Rashomon. Such amazing masterpieces from an absolute legend.
I had seen a video about ten years ago analyzing this film and the Rashomon effect and it was fascinating to see. I love that this film doesn't reveal the truth because that's not what it's about. It's about how interpretations and how our memories can either be accurate or biased.
The UA-cam algorithm system has hurt so many channels, and made many others struggle to get off the ground its a pain. Great video once again ! I hope your work gets seen by more as its always an entertaining and interesting watch. The idea of multiple perspectives/interpretations to one story always interests me, its a concept that could be very well used in a game. Have say 3 characters all run through a story, but each one things happen in different ways in terms of story and gameplay that throw off the player, but you don't know which of them is the true story.
If you're a fan of pulp/grindhouse, check out Battles without Honour or Humanity (aka the Yakuza Papers). It takes place in Hiroshima after WWII when the main character falls in with the Yakuza after being sent to prison for punching a GI who was assaulting a Japanese woman. It really captures the desperation and bad luck that drives character to crime.
Good show on this foreign film. I think you could do another comparative explanation on the recent movie called “The Last Duel”. It also tells the same story from alternate points of view.
If you’re looking for other Japanese director recommendations I highly recommend the works of Juzo Itami. He’s become one of my favorite directors and you can find all of his films on the Criterion channel. He only directed ten films before his untimely death in the late 90’s, and each film is a commentary on some aspect of Japanese culture during that time period. I recommend his ramen western “Tampopo”, which is just a joyful fun time. Kurosawa is my next Japanese Director. Also, keep up the good work! I’ve always loved your videos. 👍👍😊
Really great video. I've been to Hiroshima. It's a very beautiful city and its scars still show not just by its memorials and museums, but even the remains of black soot stained along the rivers. I was taught for years in school that the atomic bombs were justified to end the war, but it was in Hiroshima that I learned the rest of the world did not see it that way. I don't know what the truth is and I probably won't until eternity, but it was important to learn as someone who would later become extremely patriotic and pro-America. Whether the bombing was justified or not is a mystery, but ive come to the conclusion it most likely wasn't given it was authorized by the same vice president of the racist administration that was at the time still detaining over a hundred thousand American citizens in camps just for being Japanese (which is in my opinion the worst thing my country has ever done). Even on that point I'm certain many Americans view those camps as justified to this day. Again, great job on this video and analyzing the ideas of truth, perspective, and understanding some specifics are just unknown. Love your work.
@@Vivi_9 my opinion has changed on this a little after learning Japan was planning on releasing the bubonic plague on California by infecting their own men and crashing theirs subs on the beaches
@@Vivi_9 Here's an official source about that operation. You're absolutely right it could be propaganda which is why i don't have a strong belief one way or the other.
Okay, Hoodwinked is a perfect movie that follows this pattern. Even with the different stories there is an overlying truth. I like that a lot better because, even though we might not see everything and know the complete truth, there is an omniscient narrator of history (God) who knows the truth.
Whoever's reading this, i pray that whatever you're going through gets better and whatever you're struggling with or worrying about is going to be fine and that everyone has a fantastic day! Amen
Goddammit. I avoided this video at first because I didn’t want Rashomon spoiled for me, but you got me with the new clickbait thumbnail and your videos are too engaging to click off of once I start. 💀
Against a nation that has already lost. But a nation that has not admitted defeat by surrendering. Just pointing out that it was a poor choice of words.
Numerous U.S. generals and military reports said that the Japanese were already willing to surrender and that the bombs did not end the war but were just used to send a message to the Soviets.
That woman wasn't raped only in the offender's "confession", so, I guess we can assume with a 90% certainty that she was abused. From this point of view, I don't find the story where she'd begged to kill her husband believable. But, again, it might be my bias speaking.
How many Japanese classics before ETE becomes a catboy weeb? Taking bets now. 😄 Whatever you do ETE, DON'T watch Grave of the Fireflies. You will want to cry for 4 days, minimum.
Get one month of great cinema FREE on MUBI: mubi.com/entertaintheelk
With the support of Creative Europe - MEDIA Programme of the European Union
is there an end date to this offer? Hoping to start it on Sunday maybe
@@HelmutVonDogbiscuit Nope! Code is still good. Just make sure you use my code. That helps me so much! :)
“Although human beings are incapable of talking about themselves with total honesty, it is much harder to avoid the truth while pretending to be other people. They often reveal much about themselves in a very straightforward way. I am certain that I did. There is nothing that says more about its creator than the work itself.”
― Akira Kurosawa
Love this.
That first sentence tells me he never met an autistic person.
This is a really interesting concept exploring lies and deception, with the belief that humans mostly act in self interest. The story is so twisted and distorted by each narrator to cast themselves in the best possible light, that we genuinely don't know WHO to believe by the end.
It works so well.
Everyone is the hero in their own narrative. Your brain will tie itself in knots justifying all sorts of things.
So true
This film was also an influence in many TV shows over the years. There were episodes of various sitcoms in which there were several versions of how a certain event happened along with the bias and prejudices that came with each version.
I saw the film on TCM some years back after hearing so much about it and it's still a very gripping work!
I saw the Last Duel recently and wow I didn't realise how much it was inspired by Roshomon. Will have to watch it for myself.
Yeah The Last Duel is great and definitely has the Rashomon vibes.
Oh. I hear that elk screech, and it just tickles my brain. It's pavlovian
Thank you good sir! And thank you for being a patron. :)
In one of my college courses we talked a lot about memory and truth, and along with eternal sunshine of a spotless mind this was one of the films we watched. An absolute masterpiece of a film and easily in my top 3 favorites, and now a fantastic complimentary video by one of my fav creators!
Eternal Sunshine is probably my favorite movie of all time.
I love these videos that explore deeper concepts rather than just ‘the day ____ died’. It’s a shame they don’t get the same engagement level. But I hope you know this content is appreciated and awesome (even if engagement is lower)
Hey I appreciate that. Unfortunately I don't get to make videos like this that much anymore for this very reason. They just don't have the same engagement which scares away sponsors and then I take a big hit to my wallet. Sucks that it has to be that way. Wasn't that way years ago when I first started.
You were wrong on one note: you say that the only constant element was the murder, but this is incorrect. The samurai's suicide would be inconsistent. The only constant element was the rape.
I've seen Rashomon several times, but only now I can see Kurosawa also worked within the film with all the genres he produced in his career: Thriller, Drama, Period Piece, Literary adaptation, Black comedy. Great video!!! Thanx!!!
My favourite Kurosawa film is Stay Dog from 1949. It's one of the very first police procedural movies.
I went on a Kurosawa binge when I bought a house. I felt like, after watching the clone wars and rebels, I needed to see some Lucas inspirations. And Holy heck, seven samurai became my favorite movie. I started with hidden fortress, then seven samurai into Rashomon. Such amazing masterpieces from an absolute legend.
I had seen a video about ten years ago analyzing this film and the Rashomon effect and it was fascinating to see. I love that this film doesn't reveal the truth because that's not what it's about. It's about how interpretations and how our memories can either be accurate or biased.
Rented this from a local store yesterday and watched it tonight! What a great film. Still trying to figure out what truth to choose. Great video 👍
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed the film and my video.
It would be interesting if you saw Kurosawa's Rhapsody in August 1991, the movie in which explicitly talks about the bomb. Great work with this one
Roshoman is one of my favourite Kurosawa films, hands down.
Can't wait to watch more of his catalog.
@@EntertainTheElk Ran is also great. Speaking of epics, have you seen Shogun? It's not especially historically accurate, but it is fun.
The last duel is another modern rashomon film
You're totally right!!!
The UA-cam algorithm system has hurt so many channels, and made many others struggle to get off the ground its a pain.
Great video once again ! I hope your work gets seen by more as its always an entertaining and interesting watch.
The idea of multiple perspectives/interpretations to one story always interests me, its a concept that could be very well used in a game. Have say 3 characters all run through a story, but each one things happen in different ways in terms of story and gameplay that throw off the player, but you don't know which of them is the true story.
Thanks! Yeah, UA-cam's new algorithm is garbage and only pushes the videos by already hugely popular UA-camrs while strangling growing channels.
If you're a fan of pulp/grindhouse, check out Battles without Honour or Humanity (aka the Yakuza Papers). It takes place in Hiroshima after WWII when the main character falls in with the Yakuza after being sent to prison for punching a GI who was assaulting a Japanese woman. It really captures the desperation and bad luck that drives character to crime.
This sounds awesome. Thanks for the recommendation.
I watched Rashomon for the first time last night. Perfect timing !
Wow that's great timing.
Another great video, thank you for talking about Kurosawa. Like you, I would like to know more about his work because what I watched is just genius.
Glad you enjoyed it!
The editing here is just stunning, as always.
Thank you very much!
Good show on this foreign film. I think you could do another comparative explanation on the recent movie called “The Last Duel”. It also tells the same story from alternate points of view.
*looking at the hundreds of thousands of dead innocents" there's just no way to know if we were right or wrong.......
You'd be surprised. History is written by the victors.
@@EntertainTheElk ain't that the horrifically depressing truth. amazing video by the way!
If you’re looking for other Japanese director recommendations I highly recommend the works of Juzo Itami. He’s become one of my favorite directors and you can find all of his films on the Criterion channel. He only directed ten films before his untimely death in the late 90’s, and each film is a commentary on some aspect of Japanese culture during that time period. I recommend his ramen western “Tampopo”, which is just a joyful fun time. Kurosawa is my next Japanese Director. Also, keep up the good work! I’ve always loved your videos. 👍👍😊
Thanks for the recommendation!
Wait so it’s what influenced the Ben affleck, Matt Damon, Adam driver movie?
This is a nice examination of how this story & film work, with some valuable background--and a reminder that it's due for a re-watch! Thanks
Glad you dug it!
Really great video. I've been to Hiroshima. It's a very beautiful city and its scars still show not just by its memorials and museums, but even the remains of black soot stained along the rivers. I was taught for years in school that the atomic bombs were justified to end the war, but it was in Hiroshima that I learned the rest of the world did not see it that way. I don't know what the truth is and I probably won't until eternity, but it was important to learn as someone who would later become extremely patriotic and pro-America. Whether the bombing was justified or not is a mystery, but ive come to the conclusion it most likely wasn't given it was authorized by the same vice president of the racist administration that was at the time still detaining over a hundred thousand American citizens in camps just for being Japanese (which is in my opinion the worst thing my country has ever done). Even on that point I'm certain many Americans view those camps as justified to this day. Again, great job on this video and analyzing the ideas of truth, perspective, and understanding some specifics are just unknown. Love your work.
Thank you so much for watching and for the comment!
It's not a mystery dude, the usage of atomic bombs was totally barbaric, we should all remember only one nation in history has resorted to nukes.
@@Vivi_9 my opinion has changed on this a little after learning Japan was planning on releasing the bubonic plague on California by infecting their own men and crashing theirs subs on the beaches
@@MetaVaria is that 100% truth though? Could be propaganda
@@Vivi_9 Here's an official source about that operation. You're absolutely right it could be propaganda which is why i don't have a strong belief one way or the other.
People say it all the time but in this case? You could not make a movie like this now.
The Last Duel by Ridley Scott came out last year and has a very similar vibe. You should check it out. It's good!
Okay, Hoodwinked is a perfect movie that follows this pattern.
Even with the different stories there is an overlying truth.
I like that a lot better because, even though we might not see everything and know the complete truth, there is an omniscient narrator of history (God) who knows the truth.
Whoever's reading this, i pray that whatever you're going through gets better and whatever you're struggling with or worrying about is going to be fine and that everyone has a fantastic day! Amen
I just watched Rashomon and man this video was needed
That's great timing!
Ohmigoto desushita!
Seems like a really cool film. I should too check out the japanese classics.
Yes. yes yes yes.
Goddammit. I avoided this video at first because I didn’t want Rashomon spoiled for me, but you got me with the new clickbait thumbnail and your videos are too engaging to click off of once I start. 💀
Glad the new thumbnail worked on you! The video was performing terribly so I had to make a change.
Against a nation that has already lost. But a nation that has not admitted defeat by surrendering.
Just pointing out that it was a poor choice of words.
Ah yes, the movie about the "subjectivity of truth." I won't reveal what REALLY is about in here.
Underrated channel
Thank you so much!
Very interesting Video, Ruhe Nr.1 dont believe those TV and Hollywood movies, thats just entertainment.
Wow this film seems awesome
That’s not how I remember it.
(ba dum ching)
Well played.
Yojimbo and Seven Samurai are his best work. I hope you cover them.
Ran and High and Low are up there imo. It's hard for me to pick a favorite Kurosawa, but if I had to pick, I'll go with Ran.
@@abnerrufino3613 agree and I'll go with High and Low.
That would be awesome. Would love to talk about Kurosawa again.
I wanna check these out.
Yojimbo is my watch this weekend. Toshiro Mifune is such a badass.
I mean, that's one take on things, but I see it differently
The Last Duel is just a remake.
Numerous U.S. generals and military reports said that the Japanese were already willing to surrender and that the bombs did not end the war but were just used to send a message to the Soviets.
Liking and commenting to help you with that darn algorithm
Amazing channel ❤
Thank you!
That woman wasn't raped only in the offender's "confession", so, I guess we can assume with a 90% certainty that she was abused. From this point of view, I don't find the story where she'd begged to kill her husband believable. But, again, it might be my bias speaking.
Great video.
Thanks!
Love the content bro
Thank you so much!
How many Japanese classics before ETE becomes a catboy weeb? Taking bets now. 😄 Whatever you do ETE, DON'T watch Grave of the Fireflies. You will want to cry for 4 days, minimum.
algorithm engage!
Fr fr
the true history of why the 2 nuclear bombs were dropped are far more boring yet sad :(
.
i def know who, out of the 4 100% lied xd
Kurosawa invented the cinematic multiverse in a single film.
First
Quick to the trigger!
This is only true if you aquiesce to moral relativism.
I haven't even watched the movie but now I really wanna know what the real truth is !!
Go check it out and decide what's true for yourself. :)
All of them are true.
First