In 11th-century Japan, a woodcutter witnesses a horrific series of events–an ambush, the rape of a noblewoman and the murder of her samurai husband. Yet, in the recounting of the incidents at the trial, differing versions of what actually happened come from all involved–is anyone telling the truth?

Winner of the 1951 Golden Lion at Venice, Rashômon was the film that introduced Akira Kurosawa—and Japanese cinema itself—to international audiences. With its unreliable narrators offering different perspectives on the same event, this feudal allegory’s approach to storytelling was revolutionary.