Waterloo - Cinematheque Waterloo’s fall programming continues with a screening of Akira Kurosawa’s mesmerizing 1950 classic Rashomon. In keeping with the local film group’s goal of presenting motion pictures as they were intended to be seen – on quality 35mm prints and on the big screen -- Rashomon is a glorious, recently restored print. It screens at the Original Princess Cinema (Waterloo) on Tuesday, September 22 at 7:00 pm.

The film that single-handedly created a vogue for Japanese cinema in North America, Rashomon presents a philosophical conundrum – can we ever truly know the truth? – in an electrifying manner, as four witnesses/participants in a murder present their side of the story, with each varying wildly, even down to the identity of the culprit. Adding to the dilemma is the perplexing twist than many of them implicate themselves.

Winner of the prestigious Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and widely credited with being the reason behind the creation of the Best Foreign Film Oscar, Rashomon’s cultural impact was immediate and has been long-lasting. The title has even entered the Oxford English Dictionary, defined as "...resembling or suggestive of the film Rashomon, esp. in being characterized by multiple conflicting or differing ... interpretations." The film also made an instant star of Toshiro Mifune, whose intensely physical portryal of the bandit Tajomaru is unforgettable, and who would go on to play the lead in many of Kurosawa’s greatest films, including Seven Samurai (1954) and Yojimbo (1961).

Cinematheque’s fall season will continue with the Oscar-winning Midnight Cowboy (1969), the Italian neo-realist gem Bicycle Thieves (1948), and Woody Allen’s Manhattan (1979).

EVENT: Rashomon (1950, Japan, 88 min., 35mm)

WHEN: Tues., September 22, 7:00 pm

WHERE: Original Princess Cinema, 6 Princess St. W., Waterloo

COST: Cinematheque Waterloo members - FREE; Princess Cinema members - $7; Under-14/Over-65 - $6; Non-members - $10.