Onibaba (1964)

Two women kill samurais and sell their belongings for a living. While one of them is having an affair with their neighbor, the other woman meets a mysterious samurai wearing a bizarre mask.

Director:

Kaneto Shindô

Writer:

Kaneto Shindô

Stars:

Nobuko Otowa, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Kei Satô

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview:
Nobuko Otowa	...	Kichi's Mother
Jitsuko Yoshimura	...	Kichi's Wife
Kei Satô	...	Hachi
Jûkichi Uno	...	Samurai General
Taiji Tonoyama	...	Ushi
Someshô 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

Storyline

In the Fourteenth Century, during a civil war in Japan, a middle-aged woman and her daughter-in-law survive in a hut in a field of reed killing warriors and soldiers to trade their possessions for food. When their neighbor Hachi defects from the war and returns home, they learn that their son and husband Kichi died while stealing supplies from farmers. Soon Hachi seduces the young widow and she sneaks out of her hut every night to have sex with him. When the older woman finds the affair of her daughter-in-law, she pleads with Hachi to leave the young woman with her since she would not be able to kill the warriors without her help. However, Hachi ignores her request and continues to meet the young woman. When a samurai wearing a demon mask stumbles upon the older woman at her hut asking her to guide him out of the field, she lures him and he falls in the pit where she drops the bodies of her victims. She climbs down the hole to take his possessions and his mask, and she finds he is a ...

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Plot Keywords:

mask | folk horror | grass | female jealousy | japanese new wave | 

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Taglines:

The most daring film import ever...from Japan!

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Genres:

Drama | Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is part of the Criterion Collection, spine #226.

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Quotes

Woman: Want to sleep with me?
Hachi: [laughs] An old woman like you?
Woman: Stupid! I'm not old on the inside. Come on. Try me.

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Alternate Versions

Originally cut in England when released in 1968, though the video releases are uncut.

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Connections

Referenced in Pacific Rim (2013)

User Reviews

Down in a hole.

"Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."

• Nietzsche

The characters in Onibaba dwell in the bottom rung of Maslow's Pyramid.

Food, sex, shelter, survival - though not necessarily in that order.

Sexuality permeates every frame of this film. It is ever-present along with the oppressive heat and the marshland weeds.

The stark black and white cinematography perfectly captures the desolate mood.

The score – atonal free jazz backed by tribal rhythms - though completely anachronistic works surprisingly well.

One of the most fiercely primal depictions of the human condition on celluloid, Onibaba is a hauntingly erotic masterpiece.

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

4 February 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Onibaba

Filming Locations:

Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kindai Eiga Kyokai, Tokyo Eiga Co Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1