Onibaba (1964)

Director:

Kaneto Shindô

Writer:

Kaneto Shindô (written by)

Release Date:

4 February 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

After being forcefully inducted as a soldier into war in 14th century Japan, his wife and mother remain living in a swamp...

Plot Keywords:

Japan | Mask | Samurai | Revenge | Hut

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Nobuko Otowa	...	Kichi's Mother
Jitsuko Yoshimura	...	Kichi's Wife
Kei Satô	...	Hachi
Jûkichi Uno	...	Samurai General
Taiji Tonoyama	...	Ushi
Senshô Matsumoto	...	Runaway Warrior A
Kentarô Kaji	...	Runaway Warrior B
Hosui Araya	...	Ushi's Follower
Fudeko Tanaka	...	Old Woman
Michinori Yoshida	...	Samurai with Blood
Hiroyoshi Yamaguchi	...	Horse Riding Samurai A
Hiroshi Tanaka	...	Horse Riding Samurai B
Kanzô Uni	...	Horse Riding Samurai C
Nobuko Shimakage	...	Child

Directed by
Kaneto Shindô

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Kaneto Shindô		written by

Produced by
Hisao Itoya	....	producer
Kazuo Kuwahara	....	delegate producer
Tamotsu Minato	....	producer
Setsuo Noto	....	producer

Original Music by
Hikaru Hayashi

Cinematography by
Kiyomi Kuroda		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Toshio Enoki

Art Direction by
Kaneto Shindô

Sound Department
Tetsuya Ohashi	....	sound

Production Companies

• Kindai Eiga Kyokai
• Tokyo Eiga Co Ltd.

Distributors

• Toho Company (1965) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• International Film Distributors (1966) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Cocinor (1966) (France) (theatrical)
• Fox Films (1967) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Connoisseur Video (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Eureka Entertainment (2005) (UK) (DVD)
• Eureka Entertainment (2013) (UK) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Nihon Eiga Satellite Broadcasting (2012) (Japan) (TV)
• Palace Video (1983) (UK) (VHS)
• Palace Video (1983) (UK) (video) (Betamax)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (VHS)
• Tarantelle's Video (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

103 min | Argentina:105 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated | UK:15 (video rating, uncut) (1994) | UK:(Banned) (1965-1968) | UK:X (original rating, cut version) (1968)

Company:

Kindai Eiga Kyokai

Trivia:

Award: Grand Prix Inter-Clubs du Cinéma (France 1966).

Quotes:

Woman:I'm not a demon! I'm a human being!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Atman (1975)

Dogs In Heat

This particular flick caught my attention with the box description of "an old woman and her nubile young daughter lure unwary samurai into a wheatfield to rob and kill them." Well, there wasn't much luring...most of the samurais were just unlucky enough to wander into the old woman and nubile young daughter's home territory...but the movie was still a superb little find...in a suburban Blockbuster Video, of all places!

This movie, which I found to be faster paced than most Japanese period pieces, is just DRIPPING with weird psychological overtones. The story involves an old woman and her daughter-in-law living off the spoils of wars. Various samurai from countless wars are always stumbling into these bandits' territory and to be summarily jacked for their armor and weapons. It's one big happy family until an old comrade of the daughter's husband returns home and reports that the daughter's husband is dead. We're never really sure if this man killed the husband or not...but that issue is soon is overshadowed by the sexual tension of two women who haven't been with a fella for some time. Eventually, the nubile young daughter helps herself to this new lover, much to the jealous rage of her mother-in-law. So the old woman hatches a scheme to separate these two lovers...but keeping them apart is as difficult as keeping apart two dogs in...well, you get the idea.

The cinematography of this film is excellent. Each shot is meticulously and lovingly shot, building the tension and supplying the canine symbolism. The music is unusual too...it starts off with some hepcat bebop and then regresses into what I can only guess is theme music for an oni (Japanese ogre).

I would highly recommend Onibaba for those evenings where everyone feels a need to be disturbed and entertained at the same time. It also doesn't hurt that Jotsuki Yoshimuru, who plays the daughter-in-law, happens to be drop dead gorgeous...in a punk rock sort of way. You'll see what I mean when you check out this flick.

I doubt you'll find this flick at Blockbuster Video...unless you find one in the middle of a wheat field.....