British distributors Eureka Entertainment have officially announced and detailed their upcoming Blu-ray release of director Kaneto Shindo's Onibaba (1964), starring Nobuko Otowa, Jitsuko Yoshimura and Kei Sat๔. Onibaba will be available for purchase on February 25th.
Kaneto Shindō, one of Japan's most prolific directors, received his biggest international success with the release of Onibaba (The Demoness) in 1964. Its depiction of violence and graphic sexuality was unprecedented at the time of release. Shindō managed through his own production company Kindai Eiga Kyōkai to bypass the strict, self-regulated Japanese film industry and pave the way for such films as Yasuzo Masumura's Mojuu (1969) and Nagisa Oshima's In the Realm of the Senses (1976).
Onibaba is set during a brutal period in history, a Japan ravaged by civil war between rivaling shogunates. Weary from combat, samurai are drawn towards the seven-foot high susuki grass fields to hide and rest themselves, whereupon they are ambushed and murdered by a ruthless mother (Nobuko Otowa) and daughter-in-law (Jitsuko Yoshimura) team. The women throw the samurai bodies into a pit, and barter their armour and weapons for food. When Hachi (Kei Satō), a neighbour returning from the wars, brings bad news, he threatens the women's partnership.
Erotically charged and steeped in the symbolism and superstition of its Buddhist and Shintō roots, Kaneto Shindō's Onibaba is in part a modern parable on consumerism, a study of the destructiveness of sexual desire and filmed within a claustrophobic sea of grass one of the most striking and unique films of Japan's last half-century, winning Kiyomi Kuroda the Blue Ribbon Award for Cinematography in 1965. The memorably frenetic drumming soundtrack was scored by long-time Shindō collaborator Hikaru Hayashi.
Special Features:
Full-length director's audio commentary by director Kaneto Shindō and the stars of the film, Kei Satō, and Jitsuko Yoshimura
Video introduction by Alex Cox
8mm footage (40-minutes) shot on location by lead actor Kei Satō
Optional English subtitles
Original theatrical trailer
Production stills and promotional art gallery
36-PAGE BOOKLET with a new essay by Doug Cummings, an English translation of the original short Buddhist fable that inspired the film and a statement from writer/director Kaneto Shindō about why he made Onibaba
A Criterion edition would likely not have the audio commentary since its current DVD doesn't, so the MoC edition is more desirable provided you have an all-region player.
Love this movie and I really love the cover art (especially after it replaced a rather lackluster temporary design that was displayed on this site). All these locked MoC movies make me really want to invest in an all-region player!
