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Kuroneko

Yabu no naka no kuroneko

Japan

1968

99 Min
Black and White
2.35:1
Japanese
  • Currently 4.0/5 Stars.
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DIR Kaneto Shindô

PROD Nichiei Shinsha

SCR Kaneto Shindô

DP Kiyomi Kuroda

CAST Kichiemon Nakamura, Nobuko Otowa, Kiwako Taichi, Kei Satô, Taiji Tonoyama, Rokko Toura, Hideo Kanze, Eimei Esumi, Masashi Oki

ED Hisao Enoki

PROD DES Takashi Marumo

MUSIC Hikaru Hayashi

Melbourne (Programme 38)

Synopsis

In this magnificently eerie and romantic film — loosely based on the Japanese folktale The Cat’s Return — a mother and daughter-in-law (Nobuko Otowa & Kiwako Taichi) are raped and murdered by pillagers, but return from the dead as vampiric cat spirits intent on revenge. As the ghosts lure soldiers into the bamboo groves, a fearless samurai, Gintoki (Kichiemon Nakamura), is sent to stop their reign of terror… —Masters of Cinema

Director

Original

Kaneto Shindô

Japanese filmmaker/scriptwriter Kaneto Shindo’s most famous directorial efforts include The Island (1960), a nearly silent, but powerful glimpse at a lonely farmer’s daily toil, and Children of Hiroshima (1952), a wrenching and sentimental account of the city’s post-bomb aftermath. Shindo was born in Hiroshima and got his start in films as an art director during the late ’30s. Less than a decade later, he wrote his first screenplays and went on to work with a number of Japanese directors, including Kenji Mizoguchi and Kon Ichikawa. In 1950, Shindo was a co-founder of a production company. He made his directorial debut in 1951 with The Story of a Beloved Wife.
He was married to actress Nobuko Otowa (1925–1994), who appeared in several of his films. He won the 1996 Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year for A Last Note.— allmovie guide 

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Kays Vanderest

12May13

3 1/2. It lacks the brilliance, tension and ultimate satisfaction of "Onibaba" but is still an entertaining if somewhat shallow endeavour. I was overall let down by this film but still worth a look.

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Ace Craven

21Mar13

What a creative movie: powerful imagery, striking violence and blood thirsty antiheroes -Black Cats. A beautiful depiction of ghost life; cheap tricks go a long way when done right. Brilliant examples of movement. Colorful characters. A mystery into history. Superb editing and design. "Isn't there anyone willing to kill this monster?"

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ElTigreNegro

6Mar13

While Onibaba is more of a psychological drama with a horror touch, this is a full horror story with dramatic touches. It lives up to it's reputation, horror and human drama done right.

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Andrew Colville

4Feb13

things i thought/felt: unique, interesting, at times exciting cinematography/visuals; complexly entertaining facial expressions; novel/inventive plot

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Fantasia 2010: KURONEKO Review

By Twitchfilm.com on May 17, 2011
[Our thanks to Matthew Grinshpun for the following review.]If you’re lucky enough to be in Montreal, or to live in a town being visited by the touring 35mm copy of Shindo Kaneto’s Kuroneko, you owe it
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Fantasia 2010: KURONEKO Review

By Twitchfilm.com on May 17, 2011
Hypnotic, entrancing and deeply theatrical, Fantasia presents a retrospective screening of Kaneto Shindo’s 1968 classic Kuroneko as a reminder of a different era. Presented on a gorgeous archival print
read on Twitchfilm.com

Fantasia 2010: KURONEKO Review

By Twitchfilm.net on July 16, 2010
Hypnotic, entrancing and deeply theatrical, Fantasia presents a retrospective screening of Kaneto Shindo’s 1968 classic Kuroneko as a reminder of a different era. Presented on a gorgeous archival print
read on Twitchfilm.net

Fantasia 2010: KURONEKO Review

By Twitchfilm.net on July 16, 2010
[Our thanks to Matthew Grinshpun for the following review.]If you’re lucky enough to be in Montreal, or to live in a town being visited by the touring 35mm copy of Shindo Kaneto’s Kuroneko, you owe it
read on Twitchfilm.net

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Kuroneko

By Chai Before Breakfa​st on February 10, 2011

A hungry and disheveled band of feudal Japanese soldiers is disgorged by a dense forest. Soundlessly they advance upon a hut that is the home of a young woman named Shige and her mother-in-law, Yone…  read review

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