黑澤明

When Mr. Kurosawa's Rashomon reached Western audiences in1951， little was known outside Japan about the country's cinema.4That changed overnight with Rashomon， a compelling study ofambiguity and deception that provides four contradictory accounts of amedieval rape and murder recalled by a bandit， a noblewoman， theghost of her slain husband and a woodcutter. The characters， Mr.Kurosawa said， have a \"sinful need for flattering 1hood\" and\"cannot survive without lies to make them feel they are better peoplethan they really are.\"