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| Nobuko
Otowa, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Kei Sato, Jukichi Uno, Taiji
Tonoyama |
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Anamorphic
widescreen |
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Dolby Digital
5.1 |
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DTS |
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Trailer(s) |
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Featurette(s) |
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Documentary |
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Audio commentary
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Deleted scenes
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Concept art
/ storyboards |
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Multi-angle
feature |
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Hachi (Kei Sato): I hear
you two do good business. How many have you killed?
The mother and wife of a soldier
in medieval Japan survive in his absence by murdering other soldiers
passing through the swamplands where they live.
 A
somewhat notorious film at the time of its release due to its frank
depiction of sex, desire and violence, Onibaba has lost
little of its impact over forty years onwards. Its nightmarish
parable on human nature, sexual desire and survival could have
been made last year, and would still have raised an eyebrow or
two. The film succeeds admirably at investigating primal human
impulses without slipping into prurient depictions of nudity or
sexuality. It shows instead how strong sexual impulses are related
to the instinct for survival, and how swiftly morality is shoved
aside under adverse conditions.
The trio of actors is exceptionally strong, acting out the increasingly
unsettling drama with only very little dialogue. The cinematography
is gorgeous throughout, using the widescreen frame to engulf the
characters in the voluptuously waving grass fields that signify
both their own sexual impulses and their minuteness within the
natural world. The only thing that works slightly to the film's
disadvantage is a level of repetitiveness. This may add to the
film's off-kilter fairy tale atmosphere, but it also slows down
the pace at times when it should be picking up steam. Still, this
memorable picture comes highly recommended. |
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Apart from a Japanese DVD release
without subtitles, the only available version is the Region
1 release from the Criterion Collection, which served as
the basis for this review.
The anamorphic widescreen
image is framed at an aspect ratio of approx. 2.35:1. Some
very minor print damage notwithstanding, this transfer is
a real stunner, offering exquisite high-contrast detail
and very deep blacks. Film grain is hardly visible at all,
and the image is crisp and clear throughout.
The original mono sound mix, presented in Dolby Digital 1.0,
is surprisingly
good, rendering the highly dynamic soundtrack with surprising
fidelity,
unhindered
by hiss or crackle.
While not exactly one of
the higher-echelon Criterion editions, this release still
boasts a respectable number of well-chosen extras. Foremost
among these is the recent interview with
writer/director Kaneto Shindo. This highly prolific nonagenarian
filmmaker sheds light on the film's production as well as
its content, discussing the film's major themes and his goals
at length in this 21-minute feature. The other major supplement
consists of 38 minutes of silent Super-8 footage shot by
star Kei Sato during production. The full presentation might
be a bit of a long haul for most casual viewers, but fans
of the film will lap up this uniquely candid behind-the-scenes
material. The theatrical trailer, without
any of the usual text captions, is also on the disc, as is
a gallery of storyboards, poster designs and the original
promotional folder. The booklet included in the case houses
some excellent essays on the film along
with the short Buddhist parable that was the film's original
source. The
animated menu screens feature anime-style cartoon versions of characters
and situations from the film, with clever background detail and
nicely animated transitions.
Dan
Hassler-Forest
Reviewed:
April 28, 2004
Click
here for IMDB info on Onibaba.
Click here
to return to the front page.
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