In Italy, Checco Dal Monte manages a troupe of traveling performers with plenty of heart but minimal talent. At a small town engagement, he encounters the starry-eyed, gorgeous Lily Antonelli, and hires her as a dancer on the show. Vivacious Lily quickly sells out crowds and earns the resentment of Checco's mistress, Melina Amour, but the fledgling performer has far bigger ambitions and soon sets her sights on a higher-profile role.

花街乃江湖中人聚居之处, 街中得意楼则为市井之徒群集之所. 居民小葫芦与妻白兰花在得意楼中卖唱为生, 育有一女大平. 大平入学, 好友连宝亦得小葫芦之助入教养所学艺, 其后辗转在工厂当学徒. 抗战期间, 小葫芦举家逃难, 独奶奶坚持留下. 小葫芦在路上与妻女失散; 大平随母流浪各地卖唱, 几经转折才能和母亲重返花街. 当地恶霸高老爷之子垂涎大平, 多番诱赠, 连宝见状, 常加规劝, 但大平不听. 小葫芦终流浪归来, 重返得意楼表演相声. 保长骆驼迫小葫芦唱大东亚亲善歌, 小葫芦左右为难, 最后在献唱大东亚亲善歌之余, 加插了一段怒骂日寇的唱词, 招来一场毒打. 抗战胜利, 骆驼串同警方拘小葫芦, 诬称他为汉奸, 奶奶力阻无效, 被殴至重伤. 骆驼乘机敲诈, 白兰花典当殆尽, 始能赎出小葫芦, 惜奶奶已伤重而死. 不久战事再起, 高老爷拟挟财远走, 放火烧毁花街, 图骗保险金. 混乱间高老爷与骆驼反被烧死, 而高少爷亦因车祸葬身火海. 火后花街, 旧貌不再.

After the end of WWII, a young Lithuanian woman and a young Italian man from Stromboli impulsively marry, but married life on the island is more demanding than she can accept.

A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity.

Brimming with action while incisively examining the nature of truth, "Rashomon" is perhaps the finest film ever to investigate the philosophy of justice. Through an ingenious use of camera and flashbacks, Kurosawa reveals the complexities of human nature as four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.