Rosenthal, Laurence – “Rashomon” – [Carlton]

Belladonna   10/22/2014   12-inch, Soundtrack

Laurence Rosenthal is an award winning Film/TV/Broadway composer who is known for his work on Cinema Paradiso, Miracle Worker, A Raisin in the Sun, Man of La Mancha, Clash of the Titans (original) and even Fantasy Island. Rashomon is two short stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa which were then adapted into the Oscar-winning film by Akira Kurosawa but THIS release is from an adaptation for the Broadway stage, using elements from the Kurosawa film that were not present in the short stories. The Broadway production stared Rod Steiger and his wife at the time Claire Bloom who are obviously not Japanese although the story is about a Samurai and his wife. The story is told from four different viewpoints which vary greatly. This is very visual and unique, quite dramatic and heavy on percussion and flute, gamelan, gongs and cymbals.