This is one of my favorite Kurosawa films--right up there with IKIRU and RAN. Considering SCANDAL was made in 1949, I think it's interesting that Kurosawa was already showing how Shakespeare and Dostoyevsky influenced him. The corrupted lawyer's dilemma whether he should side with the prosecutors or defendants is something straight out of HAMLET. And like Hamlet, he doesn't make his decision until the very end. The painter who tried to find justice in a corrupt society reminded me of Raskolnikov in Dostoyevsky's CRIME AND PUNISHMENT. Although the painter didn't commit a crime, he was still being tried for one and treated like a criminal. You begin to see how his anger to a corrupt society is rooted to his psychological makeup of the "superman" complex--or the little man standing up to the big boys. After SCANDAL, Kurosawa made a number of films that show how he was influenced by Dostoyevsky and Shakespeare: THE IDIOT (Dostyovesky), IKIRU (Dostoyevsky), THRONE OF BLOOD (Shakespeare), RAN (Shakespeare), etc. I highly recommend SCANDAL.
Review of Scandal
