Onibaba Blu-ray

Runtime: 105 min

Director: Kaneto Shindo

Cast: Nobuko Otowa, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Kei Satō, Jūkichi Uno, Taiji Tonoyama

Studios: Kindai Eiga Kyokai

While her son, Kichi, is away at war, a woman and her daughter-in-law survive by killing samurai who stray into their swamp, then selling whatever valuables they find. Both are devastated when they learn that Kichi has died, but his wife soon begins an affair with a neighbor who survived the war, Hachi. The mother disapproves and, when she can't steal Hachi for herself, tries to scare her daughter-in-law with a mysterious mask from a dead samurai.

Special Features:

High-definition digital restoration

with uncompressed monaural soundtrack.

Audio commentary from 2001

featuring director Kaneto Shindo and actors Kei Sato and Jitsuko Yoshimura.

Interview from 2003 with Shindo

On-location footage shot by Sato

Trailer

Plus

An essay by film critic Elena Lazic, a version of the Buddhist fable that inspired the film, and a 2001 director’s statement by Shindo.

Technical Specifications:

• 102 minutes
• Black & White
• Monaural
• In Japanese with English subtitles
• 2.39:1 aspect ratio