Rashomon (1952)

When sheltering from a torrential downpour, a commoner becomes audience to a woodcutter and a priest who share the strange story of a recent death and inquiry in the village.

We see the event from the perspective (honest or deliberately twisted?) of each of the three people involved and the one "witness." Each story is an ugly one -- but none are identical.

Despite the fact that I rank two of Akira Kurosawa's later films: The Seven Samurai and Yojimbo above this one, it's a groundbreaking, must-see.

B