Onibaba [1964] [Criterion] (BLU)
Kaneto Shindo
Synopsis
Deep in the windswept marshes of war-torn medieval Japan, an impoverished older woman and her daughter-in-law murder lost samurai and sell their belongings for the most meager of sustenance. When a bedraggled neighbor returns from battle, 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, the chilling folktale Onibaba by Kaneto Shindo conjures a nightmarish vision of humankind's deepest desires and impulses.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- Restored high-definition transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- Audio commentary from 2001 featuring director Kaneto Shindo and actors Kei Sato and Jitsuko Yoshimura
- Interview from 2003 with Shindo
- On-location footage shot by Sato
- Trailer
- Filmmaker's statement from writer/director Kaneto Shindo
- English subtitle translation
- PLUS: An essay by film critic Elena Lazic, a 2001 director's statement by Shindo, and a version of the Buddhist fable that inspired the film
Product Details
- Format: Widescreen
- Language: Japanese
- Subtitles: English
- Aspect Ratio: 2:35:1
- Number of Discs: 1
- Rating: Not Rated
- Label: The Criterion Collection
- Release Date: 10/05/2021
- Run Time: 102 minutes
- Catalogue #: 3300
- Region: Canada, US