Onibaba

Be the first to write a review

Overview

A landmark in fantasy cinema, this lyrical ghost story is set in medieval Japan amid a bloody conflict between rival fiefdoms. While the warrior Kichi's impoverished wife Jitsuko Yoshimura and mother Nobuko Otowa wait for his return from battle, they maintain a humble existence by luring lost soldiers into the surrounding fields of tall grass and murdering them in order to sell their armor and weapons for food; the bodies are then disposed of in a deep cavern. After learning that her son has been killed in ...
See more details below
This VHS is Not Available through BN.com
See All Options

More About This Product

Overview

A landmark in fantasy cinema, this lyrical ghost story is set in medieval Japan amid a bloody conflict between rival fiefdoms. While the warrior Kichi's impoverished wife Jitsuko Yoshimura and mother Nobuko Otowa wait for his return from battle, they maintain a humble existence by luring lost soldiers into the surrounding fields of tall grass and murdering them in order to sell their armor and weapons for food; the bodies are then disposed of in a deep cavern. After learning that her son has been killed in battle, Otowa begins to concoct a scheme to frighten her daughter-in-law into staying at home with her indefinitely. After killing a soldier clad in a hideous demon mask -- which hides his grotesque, scarred face -- the mother dons the mask and succeeds in frightening Yoshimura away from her new lover's house. To her own horror, the mother quickly discovers that the mask is now securely stuck to her face, and her attempts to remove it culminate in the greatest horror of all. Fraught with sexual tension, nefarious schemes, and Freudian symbolism, this compelling masterpiece, by turns hypnotically beautiful and shockingly brutal, represents the finest in horror filmmaking, driven by powerful imagery and aided by sumptuous black-and-white photography.
Read More Show Less

Editorial Reviews

All Movie Guide - Jonathan Crow
Brimming with ambient dread and sensuality, director/ writer Kaneto Shindo's Onibaba masterfully evokes a world of grinding desperation, feral lust, and otherworldly menace. In a patch of tall swamp grass at the edge of a war, an old woman and her nubile daughter eke out a miserable existence of killing and scavenging. When her threadbare subsistence is threatened by the presence of a rakish neighbor, the old woman tries to frighten the girl with a frightening mask. The end of the film, when her plan fails tragically, is both horrific and brilliantly absurd. In many ways, this film is similar to Kenji Mizoguchi's masterpiece Ugetsu (1953), a supernatural drama about women struggling to survive during wartime. Yet, while Mizoguchi's characters remain self-effacing and self-sacrificing, Shindo's are aggressively sexual, brutally violent, and thoroughly amoral. Onibaba is a visual tour-de-force, featuring sumptuous black-and-white cinematography, elegant horizontal camera movement, and a stark, claustrophobic visual style. It is a hypnotic, profoundly spooky work that will haunt you long after the credits roll.
Read More Show Less

Product Details

  • Release Date: 6/13/2000
  • UPC: 037429111536
  • Original Release: 1964
  • Source: HOMEVISION
  • Format: VHS

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Nobuko Otowa Woman
Jitsuko Yoshimura The Daughter-inLaw, Young Woman
Kei Sato Hachi Farmer
Jukichi Uno Samurai
Taiji Tonoyama Ushi
Technical Credits
Kaneto Shindo Director, Art Director, Screenwriter
Toshio Enoki Editor
Hikaru Hayashi Score Composer
Toshio Konya Producer
Kiyomi Kuroda Cinematographer
Tetsuya Ohashi Sound/Sound Designer
Read More Show Less

Customer Reviews

Be the first to write a review
( 0 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(0)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identity on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

 
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously