Onibaba
Blu ray
Criterion
1964/ 2.39:1/ 102 Minutes
Starring Nobuko Otowa, Jitsuko Yoshimura
Directed by Kaneto Shindô
Kaneto Shindô’s Onibaba is a campfire tale not for the faint of heart. The director was just a child when he first heard the Buddhist fable about a bewitched matriarch, told to him by his own mother in lieu of a bedtime story. That evening, the child’s perception of the world, and the women in it, took on a new dimension. The movie Shindô made from those memories is unclassifiable—a Bergmanesque allegory filmed in a graceful yet spartan style with a healthy dose of Grand Guignol to mitigate its pretensions. Produced in 1964, the film is set in the medieval era just as civil war has leveled Kyoto, sending the populace scurrying to the hinterlands.
Shindô wrote the screenplay and he leaves it to one of his characters, a deserter named Hachi, to...
Blu ray
Criterion
1964/ 2.39:1/ 102 Minutes
Starring Nobuko Otowa, Jitsuko Yoshimura
Directed by Kaneto Shindô
Kaneto Shindô’s Onibaba is a campfire tale not for the faint of heart. The director was just a child when he first heard the Buddhist fable about a bewitched matriarch, told to him by his own mother in lieu of a bedtime story. That evening, the child’s perception of the world, and the women in it, took on a new dimension. The movie Shindô made from those memories is unclassifiable—a Bergmanesque allegory filmed in a graceful yet spartan style with a healthy dose of Grand Guignol to mitigate its pretensions. Produced in 1964, the film is set in the medieval era just as civil war has leveled Kyoto, sending the populace scurrying to the hinterlands.
Shindô wrote the screenplay and he leaves it to one of his characters, a deserter named Hachi, to...
- 10/19/2021
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Produced by the Art Theatre Guild, Kaneto Shindo’s “Hymn” is one of many adaptations of Junichiro Tanizaki’s “A Portrait of Shunkin”, and a truly thorough exploration of the dark side of love.
The film begins with a researcher, played by Kaneto Shindo himself, who read a book about the relationship of Shunkin with Sasuke, and now tries to to find some of the people who witnessed the story first hand, in order to find out the truth about the events. His search brings him into an elderly home, where a now retired maid from Shunkin’s household, Teru, is living. Through bribes and timely questions, the researched gradually draws the truth from her, who is soon revealed as a true voyeur, always listening behind closed doors and looking from the shadows on what was going on between the two protagonists.
In that fashion, we witness...
The film begins with a researcher, played by Kaneto Shindo himself, who read a book about the relationship of Shunkin with Sasuke, and now tries to to find some of the people who witnessed the story first hand, in order to find out the truth about the events. His search brings him into an elderly home, where a now retired maid from Shunkin’s household, Teru, is living. Through bribes and timely questions, the researched gradually draws the truth from her, who is soon revealed as a true voyeur, always listening behind closed doors and looking from the shadows on what was going on between the two protagonists.
In that fashion, we witness...
- 12/17/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Kaneto Shindo was a prolific director and screenwriter who created some of the most memorable films of the black and white era, such as “Onibaba” (1964) and “Kuroneko” (1968). In “The Naked Island” (1960) Shindo gives us a window on a small farming family living on an island, showing the harsh conditions under which they survive.
The film begins with a man and woman collecting water that they transport back to the island on a small vessel. We see that they have two sons living with them. It is clear from the beginning that theirs is a difficult life. The dry earth means that they are required to continually water their crops, travelling back and forth from the island and hauling their buckets up the steep hill. The eldest son is taken by his mother to school on the mainland. While much of their time is taken up with an endless struggle against the elements,...
The film begins with a man and woman collecting water that they transport back to the island on a small vessel. We see that they have two sons living with them. It is clear from the beginning that theirs is a difficult life. The dry earth means that they are required to continually water their crops, travelling back and forth from the island and hauling their buckets up the steep hill. The eldest son is taken by his mother to school on the mainland. While much of their time is taken up with an endless struggle against the elements,...
- 4/8/2020
- by Matthew Cooper
- AsianMoviePulse
Don't let your boss see this movie, it'll give them ideas. Writer-director Kaneto Shindo reduces the human drama to its basics, as an isolated family endures a backbreaking existence of dawn 'til dusk toil to eke out a living. It's a beautiful but humbling ode to adaptability and human resolve. And the show has no conventional dialogue. The Naked Island Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 811 1960 / B&W / 2:35 widescreen / 94 min. / Hadaka no shima / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date May 17, 2016 / 39.95 Starring Nobuko Otowa, Taiji Tonoyama, Shinji Tanaka, Masanori Horimoto. Cinematography Kiyomi Kuroda Film Editor Toshio Enoki Original Music Hikaru Hayashi Produced by Eisaku Matsuura, Kaneto Shindo Written and Directed by Kaneto Shindo
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Writer-director Kaneto Shindo started his own production company in the 1950s earning critical attention but not great success with pictures on topical themes -- the legacy of Hiroshima, the story of the fishing trawler irradiated by a hydrogen blast.
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Writer-director Kaneto Shindo started his own production company in the 1950s earning critical attention but not great success with pictures on topical themes -- the legacy of Hiroshima, the story of the fishing trawler irradiated by a hydrogen blast.
- 5/10/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Special Mention: Spirits Of The Dead (Histoires extraordinaires)
Written and directed by Federico Fellini (segment “Toby Dammit”), Louis Malle (segment “William Wilson”), Roger Vadim (segment “Metzengerstein”)
France, 1968
The first thing you should notice is the three directors: Federico Fellini, Louis Malle, and Roger Vadim. Secondly, take notice of the cast, which includes Brigitte Bardot, Jane Fonda, Peter Fonda, Alain Delon, Terence Stamp, Salvo Randone, James Robertson Justice, Françoise Prévost and Marlène Alexandre. Spirits Of The Dead is an adaptation of three Edgar Allan Poe stories, one of which demands to be seen.
The first segment of the film, Vadim’s “Metzgengerstein”, is unfortunately the least impressive, but is still great in its own right, and features a marvelous performance by Jane Fonda. Malle’s segment, which is the second of the three, turns Edgar Allan Poe’s 1839 story into an engrossing study in cruelty and sadism. This episode is an engaging enough entry,...
Written and directed by Federico Fellini (segment “Toby Dammit”), Louis Malle (segment “William Wilson”), Roger Vadim (segment “Metzengerstein”)
France, 1968
The first thing you should notice is the three directors: Federico Fellini, Louis Malle, and Roger Vadim. Secondly, take notice of the cast, which includes Brigitte Bardot, Jane Fonda, Peter Fonda, Alain Delon, Terence Stamp, Salvo Randone, James Robertson Justice, Françoise Prévost and Marlène Alexandre. Spirits Of The Dead is an adaptation of three Edgar Allan Poe stories, one of which demands to be seen.
The first segment of the film, Vadim’s “Metzgengerstein”, is unfortunately the least impressive, but is still great in its own right, and features a marvelous performance by Jane Fonda. Malle’s segment, which is the second of the three, turns Edgar Allan Poe’s 1839 story into an engrossing study in cruelty and sadism. This episode is an engaging enough entry,...
- 10/27/2015
- by Ricky Fernandes
- SoundOnSight
Every year, we here at Sound On Sight celebrate the month of October with 31 Days of Horror; and every year, I update the list of my favourite horror films ever made. Last year, I released a list that included 150 picks. This year, I’ll be upgrading the list, making minor alterations, changing the rankings, adding new entries, and possibly removing a few titles. I’ve also decided to publish each post backwards this time for one reason: the new additions appear lower on my list, whereas my top 50 haven’t changed much, except for maybe in ranking. I am including documentaries, short films and mini series, only as special mentions – along with a few features that can qualify as horror, but barely do.
****
Special Mention:
Häxan
Directed by Benjamin Christensen
Denmark / Sweden, 1922
Häxan (a.k.a The Witches or Witchcraft Through The Ages) is a 1922 silent documentary about the history of witchcraft,...
****
Special Mention:
Häxan
Directed by Benjamin Christensen
Denmark / Sweden, 1922
Häxan (a.k.a The Witches or Witchcraft Through The Ages) is a 1922 silent documentary about the history of witchcraft,...
- 10/30/2013
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Feature Dan Auty 8 Jul 2013 - 06:35
Two classic films from Onibaba director Kaneto Shindo arrive on Blu-ray. Dan takes a look at The Naked Island and Kuroneko...
Without question, Kaneto Shindo’s best-known film is his chilling 1964 masterpiece Onibaba. Frequently listed as one of the greatest horror films ever made, this tale of a murderous wife and daughter in feudal Japan has long been available in the UK on VHS, DVD and now Blu-ray, and stands as a landmark of Japanese cinema. But what of Shindo’s other films? The director’s death last year - at the grand age of 100 - has led to resurgence in interest in his work, and this week Masters Of Cinema release two of his other classics in gorgeous new Blu-ray editions.
The Naked Island (1961)
The Naked Island was the prolific Shindo’s 15th film, but for a while it looked like it might his last.
Two classic films from Onibaba director Kaneto Shindo arrive on Blu-ray. Dan takes a look at The Naked Island and Kuroneko...
Without question, Kaneto Shindo’s best-known film is his chilling 1964 masterpiece Onibaba. Frequently listed as one of the greatest horror films ever made, this tale of a murderous wife and daughter in feudal Japan has long been available in the UK on VHS, DVD and now Blu-ray, and stands as a landmark of Japanese cinema. But what of Shindo’s other films? The director’s death last year - at the grand age of 100 - has led to resurgence in interest in his work, and this week Masters Of Cinema release two of his other classics in gorgeous new Blu-ray editions.
The Naked Island (1961)
The Naked Island was the prolific Shindo’s 15th film, but for a while it looked like it might his last.
- 7/5/2013
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
★★★★☆ The latest welcome addition to the Masters of Cinema's growing Kaneto Shindô catalogue, the cult Japanese director's 1968 film Kuroneko (Yabu no naka no kuroneko) feels like the near-perfect partner piece to his demonic earlier effort, Onibaba. Celebrating both pictures' atmospheric, effortlessly sensual and often terrifying feudal Japan-set ghostly narratives, the restoration and ongoing preservation of these two mini masterworks has rightly helped the late Shindô to earn the kind of acclaim and reverence previously reserved for iconic figureheads such as Akira Kurosawa and Yasujirō Ozu.
Loosely based on the Japanese folktale The Cat's Return, Kuroneko begins with the brutal rape and murder of a poverty-stricken mother and daughter-in-law (Nobuko Otowa and Kiwako Taichi) at the cruel hands of a pillaging band of low-life samurai. Brought back from the dead as vengeful, vampiric cat spirits, the unholy duo take it upon themselves to prey on wayward soldiers trespassing across their accursed place of rest.
Loosely based on the Japanese folktale The Cat's Return, Kuroneko begins with the brutal rape and murder of a poverty-stricken mother and daughter-in-law (Nobuko Otowa and Kiwako Taichi) at the cruel hands of a pillaging band of low-life samurai. Brought back from the dead as vengeful, vampiric cat spirits, the unholy duo take it upon themselves to prey on wayward soldiers trespassing across their accursed place of rest.
- 7/2/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Throughout the month of October, Editor-in-Chief and resident Horror expert Ricky D, will be posting a list of his favorite Horror films of all time. The list will be posted in six parts. Click here to see every entry.
****
Enjoy!
150: Session 9
Directed by Brad Anderson
Written by Stephen Gevedon and Brad Anderson
2001, USA
If there was ever a perfect setting for a horror movie, it would be the abandoned Danvers State Mental Hospital. Built in 1878 on an isolated site in rural Massachusetts, it was a multi-acre, self-contained psychiatric hospital rumoured to have been the birthplace of the pre-frontal lobotomy. The hospital was the setting for the 2001 horror film Session 9, where an asbestos clean-up crew discover a series of nine tapes, which have recorded a patient with multiple personalities, all of which are innocent, except for number nine. With a shoestring budget and no real special effects, Session 9...
****
Enjoy!
150: Session 9
Directed by Brad Anderson
Written by Stephen Gevedon and Brad Anderson
2001, USA
If there was ever a perfect setting for a horror movie, it would be the abandoned Danvers State Mental Hospital. Built in 1878 on an isolated site in rural Massachusetts, it was a multi-acre, self-contained psychiatric hospital rumoured to have been the birthplace of the pre-frontal lobotomy. The hospital was the setting for the 2001 horror film Session 9, where an asbestos clean-up crew discover a series of nine tapes, which have recorded a patient with multiple personalities, all of which are innocent, except for number nine. With a shoestring budget and no real special effects, Session 9...
- 10/3/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Choosing my favourite horror films of all time is like choosing between my children – not that I have children, but if I did, I am sure I would categorize them quite like my DVD collection. As with all lists, this is personal and nobody will agree with every choice – and if you do, that would be incredibly disturbing. Also, it was almost impossible for me to rank them in order, but I tried. I based my list taking into consideration three points:
1- Technical accomplishments / artistry and their influence on the genre.
2- How many times I’ve revisited the films and how easily it makes for a repeated viewings.
3- Its story, atmosphere and how much it affected me when I first watched them.
Finally, there are many great films such as The Witchfinder General, The Wickerman and even Hour Of The Wolf that won’t appear here. I...
1- Technical accomplishments / artistry and their influence on the genre.
2- How many times I’ve revisited the films and how easily it makes for a repeated viewings.
3- Its story, atmosphere and how much it affected me when I first watched them.
Finally, there are many great films such as The Witchfinder General, The Wickerman and even Hour Of The Wolf that won’t appear here. I...
- 10/29/2011
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Chicago – Halloween just isn’t the same without an Onryō. Thanks to America’s tireless remakes of Japanese horror films, the materialization of Onryōs in pop culture has become as much of a seasonal tradition as witches and goblins. They’re often characterized by long black hair, white robes, bodily contortions, tragic backstories and an unquenchable thirst for vengeance beyond the grave.
In short, Onryōs unnervingly embody the old adage that “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned…even a dead one.” It’s easy to see how spine-tingling modern classics like “Ringu” and “Ju-on: The Grudge” followed in the ghostly footsteps of Kaneto Shindô’s overlooked 1968 masterwork, “Kuroneko” (“Black Cat”). Though the film is more hypnotic than scary, it still manages to creep under the skin as it spins a tale of real emotional and erotic power.
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
As in Shindô’s better-known 1964 classic, “Onibaba,” this film...
In short, Onryōs unnervingly embody the old adage that “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned…even a dead one.” It’s easy to see how spine-tingling modern classics like “Ringu” and “Ju-on: The Grudge” followed in the ghostly footsteps of Kaneto Shindô’s overlooked 1968 masterwork, “Kuroneko” (“Black Cat”). Though the film is more hypnotic than scary, it still manages to creep under the skin as it spins a tale of real emotional and erotic power.
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
As in Shindô’s better-known 1964 classic, “Onibaba,” this film...
- 10/25/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
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