10 Movies You Didn’t Know Were Responsible For Game-Changing Innovations
3. The Rashomon Effect - Rashomon
Akira Kurosawa is one of the most influential film-makers who ever lived. His films have been the inspiration for Westerns like A Fistful Of Dollars and The Magnificent Seven, even inspiring George Lucas for his little known art house film Star Wars.
On the tech side it's the first time a film camera directly shot the sun. Due to the incredible flammability of celluloid, film-makers did all they could to limit the sun's contact with their expensive equipment in case it burst into flames. Kurosawa took the gamble and Rashomon makes much use of direct light.
Rashomon is more widely known for its narrative innovation: the Rashomon Effect. A samurai is dead and the events leading to his death are told from the perspective of a woodcutter, the samurai's wife, a bandit and... the dead man's ghost. With each of them telling a different story, it's up to the viewer to decide which story is the truth.
This device has been used HUNDREDS of times, mostly in TV with the Rashomon episode becoming a staple of long running programs. The X-Files, House, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, three different Star Treks, Power Rangers, and The Simpsons all have at least one Rashomon episode.