Onibaba (The Criterion Collection)
by Kaneto Shindô
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Actor: Jûkichi Uno, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Kei Satô, Nobuko Otowa, Taiji TonoyamaDirector: Kaneto Shindô
Brand: OTOWA,NOBUKO
Cinematographer: Kiyomi Kuroda
Writer: Kaneto Shindô
Editor: Toshio Enoki
Producer: Hisao Itoya
Producer: Kazuo Kuwahara
Producer: Setsuo Noto
Producer: Tamotsu Minato
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Japanese (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Anamorphic, Black & White, Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 103 minutes
Published: 2004-03-01
DVD Release Date: 2004-03-16
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Criterion
DVD Reviews of Onibaba (The Criterion Collection)
DVD Review: 4 ½ Stars: A Haunting Tale of Sex, Terror and Survival....
Summary: 4 Stars
ONIBABA (1964) precedes the Japanese classic "Kwaidan". This film is shot in its entirety in black and white, the film is Kaneto Shindo's masterpiece. Based on Buddhist folklore about morality, love and the manifestation of more refined emotions. The film is excellently executed, words, gestures and actions are conveyed with such emotional content that the film may just prove compelling even if it was made as a silent film.
A 45 year old woman (Nobuko Otawa) and a daughter-in-law (Jitsuko Yoshimura) struggle to survive when a war breaks out between feuding clans. Hungry, penniless and desperate, they resort to wanton acts of murder, they prey on lost or wounded samurai, killing them and taking their armor, valuable swords and sells them to a war profiteer (Taiji Tonoyama). The opening act is a grisly depiction of the two women slaughtering two unsuspecting samurai, not exactly a subtle way to begin a tale based on fable.
Their lives become intertwined with Hachi (Kei Sato), a neighbor who returns from the field of battle with the news that their husband/son had been killed in combat. Left without a spouse, the daughter-in-law becomes attracted to Hachi, and he with her. What happens next is a frightful, sensual wind of lust, sex, envy, greed and murder...the kind that may catapult the trio into a downward spiral into hell.
"Onibaba" means "demon woman", the film is a simple, uncompromising dramatization on how low humanity can sink into to survive. The tale is about escalating intense emotions and passionate interactions(?). The film is excellently structured, the film plays like a morality drama but never once loses its frightening aspect. The film is a tale of lust, jealousy and anger. The main focus of the film is the older woman (Nobuko Otawa) who sees Hachi as a deserter, lazy and may be the cause of her son's death; this man may also ruin the arrangement she has with her daughter-in-law. Her love soon becomes hatred as she realizes that Hachi may become the cause of her becoming alone and left to fend for herself. The irony is; the older woman also longs for the touch of a man and the very sight of them embracing ignites a fire of envy, desire and rage that may consume the entire household. There are subtle symbols and metaphors to be had with the film; the blades of grass blowing with a movement to mimic the ocean represents passion and the demonic mask may well be a metaphor to something else. It all depends on how you interpret it.
Narratives aside, the film is a successful blend of its subject and camera work. There are moments that the camera stays still, that it feels almost voyeuristic that time had stopped is a haunting touch. The excellent cinematography gives life to the film's proceedings as well as to its characters. There is a haunting and ghostly, speechless gestures that add to the film's atmosphere. Shindo's direction is almost flawless in expressing the terror that is beginning to take hold of the trio's lives. Shadows are used effectively to convey the schemes and murderous plots that add to the film's moody and atmospheric feeling. If atmosphere is the main strength of a horror film, then this film would reign as king. The black and white approach actually added to the film's strength (I'm not sure if this was intentional), the bleakness and darkness in the lives of the protagonists are further expressed by the colorless proceedings.
The film is also uninhibited with its portrayal of sexual relations. For a film made in 1964, there are quite a number of long, unglamorous nude scenes (for that time) by Otawa and Yohimura. Otawa (she became Shindo's wife) is a powerful presence with her gestures and facial mannerisms that exudes lust and rage. Yoshimura is a woman awakened by sexuality and lust, but before that she had that "shocked" characteristic that she exuded instinct. Kei sato seemed very bestial in his portrayal of Hachi and Tonoyama makes a convincing presence as the sleazy profiteer.
"Onibaba" is a unique experience. While it may lack the raw intensity of modern Japanese horror films, and may not be as visually horrific as modern horror films; it is still refreshing to know that a relic from the past can still endure as one of the best Japanese horror films with its defining moments of the aspects of lust and hatred.
Highly Recommended! [4 ½ stars]
Criterion sports an impressive enhanced widescreen transfer with a clear mono track. Subtitles are excellent. The extras contain interviews, making of features, galleries and a booklet about the the parable that inspired the film.
Description of Onibaba (The Criterion Collection)
Deep within the wind-swept marshes of war-torn medieval Japan, an impoverished mother and her daughter-in-law eke out a lonely, desperate existence. Forced to murder lost samurai and sell their belongings for grain, they dump the corpses down a deep, dark hole and live off of their meager spoils. When a bedraggled neighbor returns from the skirmishes, lust, jealousy, and rage threaten to destroy the trio's tenuous existence, before an ominous, ill-gotten demon mask seals their horrifying fate. Driven by primal emotions, dark eroticism, a frenzied score by Hikaru Hayashi, and stunning images both lyrical and macabre, Kaneto Shindo?s chilling folktale, Onibaba, is a singular cinematic experience.Bestsellers in DVD
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