Ushered in from another medium, Akira Kurosawa started off as a painter; it shows most in his use of the telephoto lens that flattens on-screen space into more abstracted compositions. His keen eye for visual elegance, coupled with his strict attention to detail and dictatorial perfectionism (his nickname being "Emperor") allowed him to attain a level of mastery yet unmatched in Japan's history. Indeed, he is not just the best known Japanese director, he continues to be praised and idolized as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time by fellow cinematic notables—from Bergman and Fellini to Spielberg and Scorsese.

His fame began in 1950, when his surprise victory at the Venice Film Festival propelled him—and Japanese film in general—into the international spotlight. The film's title literally denotes a location in the film, but has come to signify the 'subjectivity of perception on recollection' owing to the way in which Rashomon's four main characters each give mutually contradictory yet equally plausible accounts of the very same event.

Rashomon was more than just commercial entertainment. It was a film of ideas, made by a serious artist with a sophisticated aesthetic design.
Stephen Prince, 2002, Criterion