A Rashomon TV series in development HBO Max; the show, which has been in the works since 2018, is being developed by The Haunting of Hill House creator Amblin Television. Rashomon is a 1950 psychological crime/thriller film directed by Akira Kurosawa. The movie explores the barbaric murder of a samurai and the rape of his wife through the varying, dishonest retelling of the events by the film's cast. Roshomon was the first Japanese movie to attract significant international attention. While the film was viewed narrowly by critics in Japan, international analysts hailed Rashomon for its inventive narrative structure, splendid performances, and reflective examination of truth and impression.
As reported by Variety on Thursday, HBO Max has tapped Amblin Television to render Rashomon into a streaming series. While the show will not be a direct adaption of the Japanese movie, it will utilize its central plot device, where the mystery behind an assault and killing is unraveled via multiple, contradictory, and self-serving character narrations. At the moment there are no actors attached to star, but the series has locked on its pen-pushers and executives. Billy Ray and Virgil Williams, who have pledged to make the show "a loving homage to Kurosawa’s talent as an artist," will serve as the series' writers. Amblin co-presidents of TV Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey will executive produce along with Mark Canton.
Given Rashomon's rave reviews in the US, its HBO Max reboot will have to make an effort to do justice to Kurosawa's vision, and to make an outdated inspirational story relevant to a modern-day audience. The original film revolutionized its genre by the means of an inventive mechanism, but its plot device has since been overused. Therefore, in order for the TV series to stand out, it will have to get creative with its different flawed stories, as to make every narrative compelling and believable.
Source: Variety