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 | Hut | Revenge

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
Kentaro Kaji	...	Runaway Warrior B (as Kentarô Kaji)
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)
• Connoisseur Video (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Palace Video (1983) (UK) (VHS)
• Palace Video (1983) (UK) (video) (Betamax)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (VHS)
• Tarantelle's Video (VHS)

Also Known As:

Devil Woman
The Demon
The Hole
The Ogress
The Witch
Gropen (Sweden) [sv]
Kobieta diabel (Poland) [pl]
La femme diabolique (Canada: French title) [fr]
Onibaba (Spain) [es]
Onibaba (Greece) [el]
Onibaba - Die Töterinnen (West Germany) [de]
Onibaba - tappajat (Finland) [fi]
Onibaba, el mito del sexo (Argentina) [es]

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:

The demon mask used in the movie inspired William Friedkin to use a similar design for the makeup in subliminal shots of a white-faced demon in The Exorcist (1973).

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Atman (1975)

Investigation Into Jealousy

Onibaba is a very well done film, purposefully using black and white cinema to its' advantage in this stunning portrayal of murder, jealousy, and uncontrollable human instinct in a dark period of Japan's history.

A film that aims at portraying the baser side of human nature and investigating human psychology, it is chalk-full of symbolic scenes and sequences. From start to finish it draws you in with the odd imagery and scenery of Japan's rural areas, and even though in this film though there are very few characters and elements that are to it, both visually and literally, through its' minimalism it effectively tells its' story.

This film is both very artistic & symbolic as well as literal and upfront, juxtaposing very graphic, real images of the face of humanity that demand the viewer to infer much throughout the whole of the film. When going into this film, I would say that it is very important for the viewer to think of the film as being very symbolic for the instincts and base nature of mankind, and perhaps even a 'state of nature' portrayal of humanity. If you watch this film with that in mind, it will help with the inferences that one must make to get the most out of this film.

As it stands by itself, aside from the deeper meaning, it is an intriguing story that is a veritable 'slice of life' film in the darker sense, viewing the way that people had to live during a period of war and hard times in feudal Japan. It deals with the hardships that these people face, and their method of survival, in addition to a very human story of jealousy and portrayal with a very interesting culminating point that I did not expect at all. The climax of the film is very much worth the build-up, though at times it seemed to be rather slow.

Overall, a very important piece of film when it comes to the symbolism and techniques employed. Through its' minimalism and black-and-white cinematography we are really treated to a great film that is, of its' own right, an influential and great movie. The cinematography is exceptionally good, especially the use of the reeds and the light at night.

I would recommend this film to anybody with a serious interest in film, as well as anybody who likes a good film that investigates the darker side of human nature.