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

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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 Night of the Babysitter (2017)

User Reviews

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.....

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