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Amazon.co.uk Review
If Hammer Studios had ever set up a Japanese franchise, the outcome might have looked rather like this. Kaneto Shindo's film has something of the lurid, full-throated relish for the horror of Hammer at its best, plus a visual elegance all its own. The story is based on a folk tale, set in Japan's war-torn 14th century. The action takes place almost entirely in a riverside marshland overgrown with tall swaying reeds. A woman and her daughter-in-law living in a hut prey on wounded samurai warriors fleeing from a nearby battlefield, killing them and selling their armour for handfuls of rice. When the younger woman falls for a handsome young deserter, the mother decides to put a stop to the affair. But the method she chooses demands a terrible price. Shooting in lustrous widescreen black-and-white, Shindo creates an eerie, atmospheric world haunted by the ceaseless dry whisperings of the reeds. None of the characters is loveable, or even likeable, but the thorough rapacity of the women, and the raw sexuality of the lovers, convey a fierce determination to survive even at the lowest scavenging edge of a violent society. --Philip Kemp
DVD Description
Kaneto Shindo, one of Japan's most prolific directors, received his biggest international success with the release of Onibaba in 1964. Its depiction of violence and graphic sexuality was unprecedented at the time of release. Shindo managed — through his own production company Kindai Eiga Kyokai — 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 Ai no corrida (1976).
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
ONIBABA was a worldwide hit when it was released in 1964. It's not hard to see why. The film is an allegory on several levels, commenting on the pointlessness of war and the failings of capitalism. The film can be enjoyed without appreciating any of that, with it's simmering erotisim and superb photography in a unique setting.
The DVD has worthwhile extras. The director's and actor's commentary is quite interesting as is the home video footage taken on location by Kei Sato.
Highly recommended
The DVD has worthwhile extras. The director's and actor's commentary is quite interesting as is the home video footage taken on location by Kei Sato.
Highly recommended
21 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I first saw this film during the late 1960s and thought then it was something special. Certainly very different to what Hollywood was producing at the time. This film, superbly filmed and acted, oozes a tremendous atmosphere throughout. Set during the civil wars which blighted Japan during the 16th century, two women, mother and daughter, struggle to survive within a torrid landscape riddled with death. They strip dead Samurai warriors of their armour to sell in order to feed themselves. The daughter then develops a relationship with a warrior who has escaped the war and is just looking for a peaceful and loving existence. Her mother becomes jealous and develops plans to destroy the relationship. Although the ending is a little bizarre, it just ends abruptly, it doesnt spoil the film entirely. There is enough in this film to satisfy any movie buff. Worth seeing.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Never has a film been more a prisoner of its own environment than this film, which is shot entirely amongst the beautiful swaying susuki grass. Hiroshi Teshigahara's "Woman of the Dunes" was a similar captive to the all pervading sands it was filmed in. It is as if the characters of the film are marooned on an isolated island, where they scavenge off the flotsam that comes their way. In this instance it happens to be the hapless half dead soldiers of 14th century feudal Japan who fall victims to an old woman and her daughter in law. These unfortunate victims are polished off in brutal fashion by the women and then robbed of all their armour. The bodies are then dumped unceremoniously down a sinister black hole. They then sell their ill gotten gains for much needed food and then wait like spiders for the next juicy flies to fall into their web. Just when things seem to be going so well a man enters their lives to turn their cloistered existence upside down.
The film was a financial success which is unsurprising given the heavy marketing of the strong sexual content. Strong for the time I should hasten to add! Apart from a few bare breasts and some simulated sex there is only enough naughty content to upset a prudish granny. It all seems a bit tame by todays standards! The film was initially refused a certificate in the UK. It is beautifully shot amongst the grass with some memorable scenes, none better than the young woman running breathlessly through the swaying sea of grass to her lover, the grass seeming to possess a life of its own. The repressed emotions are beautifully conveyed by Nobuko Otawa as the older woman, with mere glances and expressions. Otawa also happened to be the wife and muse of the director Kaneto Shindo. Jitsuko Yoshimura seems to effortlessly become the object of desire that would make most men lust after, her frustrated sexual desires slowly erupting to the surface. The film is accompanied by an exceptional score by Hikaru Hayashi which seems to beat a rhythm that lies at the very heart of the film. It is an example of how music can perfectly complement a film.
Alex Cox gives a brief but interesting introduction to the film. This is a piece of movie making that sticks in the mind and has influenced other directors. Asif Kapadia's recent "Far North" seems to be an inferior Arctic version of "Onibaba". The film still has the power to disturb even after all these years which is a credit to the movie making skills of Shindo. It has received mixed reviews with one critic eloquently describing it as a "pot pourri of ravenous eating and blatant sex". Well yes, one cannot deny it has plenty of both, but I think the critic missed the sheer mesmeric beauty of the film. It is wonderful to look at and is a masterclass in repressed emotions, deserving to be part of the "Masters of Cinema" series.
The film was a financial success which is unsurprising given the heavy marketing of the strong sexual content. Strong for the time I should hasten to add! Apart from a few bare breasts and some simulated sex there is only enough naughty content to upset a prudish granny. It all seems a bit tame by todays standards! The film was initially refused a certificate in the UK. It is beautifully shot amongst the grass with some memorable scenes, none better than the young woman running breathlessly through the swaying sea of grass to her lover, the grass seeming to possess a life of its own. The repressed emotions are beautifully conveyed by Nobuko Otawa as the older woman, with mere glances and expressions. Otawa also happened to be the wife and muse of the director Kaneto Shindo. Jitsuko Yoshimura seems to effortlessly become the object of desire that would make most men lust after, her frustrated sexual desires slowly erupting to the surface. The film is accompanied by an exceptional score by Hikaru Hayashi which seems to beat a rhythm that lies at the very heart of the film. It is an example of how music can perfectly complement a film.
Alex Cox gives a brief but interesting introduction to the film. This is a piece of movie making that sticks in the mind and has influenced other directors. Asif Kapadia's recent "Far North" seems to be an inferior Arctic version of "Onibaba". The film still has the power to disturb even after all these years which is a credit to the movie making skills of Shindo. It has received mixed reviews with one critic eloquently describing it as a "pot pourri of ravenous eating and blatant sex". Well yes, one cannot deny it has plenty of both, but I think the critic missed the sheer mesmeric beauty of the film. It is wonderful to look at and is a masterclass in repressed emotions, deserving to be part of the "Masters of Cinema" series.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Onibaba
I saw this film in 1967. Loved it then & still do. Subtle, powerful & entertaining. The sort of film I'll go on watching indefinitely.
Published 14 months ago by jmak
Ghost Story!
What can I say? Grabs you right from the start and dosen't let go till the end. Best viewed on a hot summer night with a bunch of susceptible friends. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Eddie Lewis
Stunning photography!
I've been collecting films for the past 7 or 8 years, making my interest in film "a dream come true" when all of a sudden DVD made it possible to get and to watch almost all the... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Daniel Svensson
Swamp love
This is one of those classic Japanese films that I had managed to miss till now. To tell too much of the plot is to give it away, so I won't but it's a really well-told tale with... Read more
Published on 1 Sep 2009 by Fanshawe61
The previous reviewer is a noggin.
Seriously, Sir, this film *is* a masterpiece. Why spend your time hammering something you clearly don't understand, something which annoyed you. Read more
Published on 13 Feb 2007 by Basil Nasrajar
Be careful before spending your money on
There's little point in me discussing every point of the film here, as I only want to make a few brief comments to warn people not to waste money on this film unless they are... Read more
Published on 8 Dec 2006 by James McGovern
Can You Dig it?
The general belief that the 1960's was the ground-zero for massive sociological upheaval is one that generally forgets that that decade was almost half over by the time it became... Read more
Published on 13 Oct 2006 by Adrian Stranik
The Sensousness of Shindo
The deconstrunction and demystification of the samurai myth had been a project Akira Kurosawa had taken upon himself and that had seemingly reached a conclusion in YOJIMBO (1962),... Read more
Published on 19 May 2006 by Shaun Anderson
Really gripping
This is a very intense film, a very deep plot, but quite scary in parts. It is especially good because the moral doesn't detract from the tension
Published on 17 Oct 2000
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