Onibaba
“The most daring film import ever...From Japan!”
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.
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Cast
14 people
Nobuko Otowa
Woman
Known for
The Naked Island
Kuroneko
Jitsuko Yoshimura
Young Woman
Known for
The Insect Woman
Pigs and Battleships
Kei Satō
Hachi
Known for
Harakiri
Death by Hanging
Jūkichi Uno
The Samurai
Known for
Nobody's Boy: Remi
The Life of Oharu
Taiji Tonoyama
Ushi
Known for
In the Realm of the Senses
The Naked Island
Someshō Matsumoto
Runaway Warrior
Known for
The Bad Sleep Well
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
Kentarô Kaji
Runaway Warrior
Known for
Kuroneko
Kamen Rider
Fudeko Tanaka
Old Woman
Known for
Throw Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets
Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41
Hiroyoshi Yamaguchi
Horse Riding Samurai / Horse Riding Samurai A
Also in
Sanjuro
The Sword of Doom
Hiroshi Tanaka
Horse Riding Samurai
Known for
Grave of the Fireflies
Return of the Street Fighter
Kanzō Uni
Horse Riding Samurai
Also in
The Sword of Doom
Red Beard
Hosui Araya
Ushi's Follower
Also in
Taking the Castle
Kaneto Shindō Director · Hikaru Hayashi Composer Kiyomi Kuroda Cinematographer
United States release February 9, 1965 · Produced in Japan · Original title 鬼婆
Production
Kindai Eiga Kyokai
Production
Japan
Produced in
Languages
Original title
鬼婆
Original language
Japanese
Spoken on screen
Japanese
Release dates
Denmark · November 21, 1964
Limited theatrical
Japan · November 21, 1964
Theatrical
United States · February 9, 1965
Theatrical
United States · March 16, 2004
Physical · DVD
United States
October 5, 2021 · Physical · Blu-ray
Brazil
November 1, 1965 · Theatrical
Finland
July 28, 1967 · Theatrical
France
January 26, 1966 · Theatrical
September 21, 2005 · Physical · DVD
March 5, 2024 · Physical · Blu-Ray
Germany
June 4, 1966 · Theatrical · *West Germany
November 22, 1974 · Theatrical · *East Germany
Hungary
August 6, 1970 · Theatrical
Italy
June 4, 1966 · Theatrical
Mexico
March 7, 1968 · Theatrical
Netherlands
September 1, 2009 · Physical · DVD
Peru
November 1, 1965 · Theatrical
Poland
March 3, 1969 · Theatrical
Russia
October 2, 2011 · Limited theatrical · Retrospective of Kaneto Shindô Films
Sweden
November 21, 1964 · Theatrical
United Kingdom
August 22, 2005 · Physical · DVD
February 25, 2013 · Physical · Blu-ray
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Some details come from TheTVDB.