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Yeah, it kind of seems like the "Spielberg" ending. But I kind of like a little optimism in my movies anyway, so it's okay with me.
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Back to this Rashomon thing, I think an artist should be true to the moral and/or philosophical beliefs he holds. So if Kurosawa is more of a humanist, or at least sympathetic to the human condition then certainly you should walk away from one of his films with that mindset.
I don't think anyone would see Ikiru or Red Beard as contradicting the final tone of Rashomon. And in fact I think the same human optimism comes through in Seven Samurai, Sanjuro and even the darker, cynical Yojimbo.
The key (and this is tricky) is differentiating the ending created for the artist versus the ending created for the audience (or specifically the box office). If Kurosawa sits back and considers his work and says "I don't like that ending, that doesn't express how I feel about life" then I think modifying the ending to his emotional needs makes perfect sense.
Of course, as with all artists, that doesn't mean we have to agree with either his beliefs nor his method of telling them. I don't think he totally contradicts the rest of Rashomon with that ending, though it certainly puts a new slant on things. To me he has just modified the story to represent himself as an artist more than the original writer.