Scorsese's 'Rashomon': A Remake Begging to Happen

Back in 1950 an unknown director named Akira Kurosawa invited the filmgoers to a rainy day in medieval Japan beneath the Rajōmon city gate, where a woodcutter and a priest were taking cover from the downpour. There the two are joined by a petty thief to whom they start recounting a disturbing story they have just witnessed. Now, what followed did not only launch the international career of a legendary filmmaker and introduce the world to Japanese film industry, but also gave us a truly fascinating cinematic exploration of human nature. One that is about time we continued.

So, let's take a look at what makes Rashomon one of these rare classics that almost invites someone remake it and why that someone should be non other than Martin Scorsese.

What is 'Rashomon' About?

Coming back to that disturbing story recounted by the woodcutter and a priest, it's about a murder trial involving the mysterious death of a Samurai from three different accounts: Samurai's wife with whom he was traveling through the woods, the bandit who they came across and the dead Samurai himself (from afterlife via a medium). However, there is a small catch here, as the three accounts don't exactly seem to match. In fact, the only common link between them is the undeniable outcome of whatever happened in these woods (the death of the Samurai). Yet, based on the little evidence there is, all could potentially be true.

So, to put it simply, Rashomon is an exploration of truth and how elements like different viewpoints, pride and self-interest tend to haze it. Something, which is all brilliantly framed by having the three rain refugees start their own debate on the human nature, as this mezmerisingly executed and timeless classic unfolds.

Why does it deserve a remake?

With Rashomon being such a timeless classic it of course leads us to the inevitable question regarding remakes: if it's so perfect, then why redo it? And well, needless to say that, this is why so many remakes fail, as they don't really have an answer for that (appart from trying to cash in on a known property).

However, as touched upon earlier, Rashomon is this rare case, when a remake could actually form a harmonious coexistence with the original. You see, while the exploration of truth and human nature in Rashomon is indeed largely timeless, its story and characters are not, as their values and motivations are inevitably affected by elements like the era and culture they live in. Therefore, by simply replacing the medieval Japan with a contemporary setting, we would end up with a completely different set of motivations, values and reasons why people would choose to blur the truth. In other words, a filmmaker could tell roughly the same story, explore the same themes, but have completely new set of tools and possibilities to play with.

Also, it should be pointed out that exploring the relativity of truth has never been more relevant than it is now. You see, while the emergence of internet and social media has no doubt greatly expanded our awareness of the world around, it has also enabled us to create these cocoons of information, where we only get news from sources that go along with what we want to hear regardless of it's relation to reality.

In short, what it all means is that it's a wonderful opportunity to create a fascinating companion piece to the original. One that would simultaneously enable us to explore how a different setting changes human behavior, but also observe what aspects of it remain the same. Of course, this is all provided that its pulled off with the same level of brilliance as the original, thus leading us to the director of choice — Martin Scorsese.

Why Scorsese?

I suppose the simple answer would be that why not, as Scorsese is one of the most accomplished and talented filmmakers out there. However, there are also quite a few more specific reasons that make him perfect for this gig. Firstly, it's fair to say that he is something of an explorer of human soul, as many of his iconic films are essentially character studies (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, King Of Comedy, Cape Fear). You see, here's a filmmaker who doesn't heroise or villanize his characters. He just explores them in a clever and deeply compelling manner. That, in turn, is exactly the sensibility a purposefully ambiguous story like Rashomon needs.

Adding to that, lets not forget that Rashomon is still essentially a crime story with an ensemble cast. And, well, safe to say that Scorsese doesn't exactly have a bad track record in that field (Goodfellas, The Departed, etc.).

Speaking of Scorsese's track record, he also has a fine one in making adaptions come to life, as most of his movies are based on books or movies (Age Of Innocence, Gangs Of New York, of The Departed, Cape Fear). Now, the key here is that he has always been able to apply his trademark style in a manner, which lets the film stay true to the source material but still be undeniably a Scorsese flick. A fine balancing act Rashomon's remake definitely needs.

Furthermore, Scorsese and Kurosawa actually share many similarities. Firstly, both like to use long flowing takes and play with the lightning of the scene. In fact, Scorsese has gone on record to have been inspired by Kurosawa's use of light and shadows in Rashomon (something, which is clearly apparent in his mastery of it in Raging Bull). Also, both have a tendency to use unconventional camera angles and transitions but do so in an extremely subtle and almost simplistic way.

How would it look like?

Now as previously touched upon, all that needs to remain is the main story: recounting of a murder trial and different accounts/viewpoints on it. Everything else is pretty much an open playing field, as you could add many additional players to this murder mystery and generally use the new setting to mix things up. However, to give it all some perspective, let's not veer too far from the original structure and have a little bit of fun with some hypothetical fan-fiction on how the story could be set up in a setting closest to Scorsese — New York.

It would open with an image of NY entering a thunder storm, as we cut to a fictional bar named "Rashomon". There, sitting behind the bar table, we would be introduced to two figures: a university philosophy professor (played by Timothy Dalton) and a retired bus driver (played by Robert De Niro) both deep in conversation and a little distraught. Shortly after, they would be joined by a rather talkative stranger, who later turns out to be petty thief and a street musician (played by Zoe Salanda).

Now, with the bar being relatively empty, she naturally overhears their conversation, gets curious and decides to chime in with some blunt remark. This would eventually lead to the two starting to recount a murder trial they had just witnessed, where all the parties involved gave these rather contradicting accounts. The film would then transition into a courtroom and give us the first of these accounts.

As for the case itself, the crime scene could be everything form Central Park to a random apartment building. In regards to the parties involved, why not replace the Samurai with a high-ranking politician, police officer or a judge (played by someone with quiet gravitas like Denzel Washington), give the lady he's with more edge and mystery (have her played by Eva Green) and make the bandit a mafioso (and let Leonardo DiCaprio explore his shady side once again). From there, it would just be a pure cinematic joy to see it all unfold (both at the bar and at the crime scene).

To Sum Up

While the truth may indeed be relative, one thing is for certain: Rashomon is a memorable film experience, which opened a gate for fascinating exploration of humanity that is just begging to be continued.

Also, if you're still not convinced that Scorsese is the right guy for the job, check out this fascinating interview below: