Jigoku (film)
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| Jigoku | |
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| Directed by | Nobuo Nakagawa |
| Produced by | Mitsugu Okura |
| Written by | Nobuo Nakagawa Ichirō Miyagawa |
| Starring | Utako Mitsuya |
| Music by | Michiaki Watanabe |
| Cinematography | Mamoru Morita |
| Editing by | Toshio Goto |
| Release date(s) |  July 30, 1960 |
| Running time | 100 min. |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Jigoku (地獄 Jigoku?, Literally: Hell) is a 1960 Japanese horror film, directed by Nobuo Nakagawa and starring Utako Mitsuya and Shigeru Amachi. Jigoku was re-made in 1970 by Tatsumi Kumashiro, and later re-made again under the title of Japanese Hell by Teruo Ishii in 1999.
Jigoku is notable for separating itself from other Japanese horror films of the era such as Kwaidan or Onibaba due to its graphic imagery of torment in Hell.
Jigoku was released on DVD in America from the Criterion Collection in 2006.
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[edit] Plot summary
The story tells of a young theology student who flees a hit-and-run accident, he is plagued by both his own guilt-ridden conscience and a mysterious, diabolical doppelgänger represented by Tamura, who appears to know everyone's darkest secrets. Shortly after that, he tells his wife, who says he should tell the police. They take a taxi, which unfortunately has an accident, killing his wife. Eventually more deaths seem to occur around him, including his own which sends him plummeting into Hell.
[edit] Production
Nobuo Nakagawa asked Ichirō Miyagawa to write the script, which was originaly supposed to be called Heaven and Hell, under order of producer Mitsugu Okura.[1] Mitsugu Okura read the script and angrily said to Miyagawa that "Heaven is nowhere to be seen in this script!", to which Miyagawa joked that he would write about heaven in the sequal.[2] Actor Yoichi Numata played Tamura in the film, and expressed that he had tried to analize the role, but couldn't find the best way to play it.[3]
The film was not expected to be well received, as Shintoho studio was considered to be a maker of low budget, gory films. Jigoku was made in a hurry, and was the last Shintoho production. For the scenes which take place in hell, the cast and crew used Shintoho's largest soundstage and put dirt over it.[4] In a recent documentary, a crew member said that normally it would be just the crew helping to build the sets, but because it was Shintoho's last production, all the extras were helping.[5] Mamoru Morita said that Nobou Nakagawa tried in many ways to make Jigoku different from other horror films from the time. [6]
[edit] References
- ^ Miyagawa, Ichirō (Writer). (2007-03-13). Jigoku, DVD Extra: Building the Inferno [DVD]. Criterion Collection.
- ^ Miyagawa, Ichirō (Writer). (2007-03-13). Jigoku, DVD Extra: Building the Inferno [DVD]. Criterion Collection.
- ^ Numata, Yoichi (Actor). (2007-03-13). Jigoku, DVD Extra: Building the Inferno [DVD]. Criterion Collection.
- ^ Morita, Mamoru (Cinematographer). (2007-03-13). Jigoku, DVD Extra: Building the Inferno [DVD]. Criterion Collection.
- ^ (2007-03-13). Jigoku, DVD Extra: Building the Inferno [DVD]. Criterion Collection.
- ^ Morita, Mamoru (Cinematographer). (2007-03-13). Jigoku, DVD Extra: Building the Inferno [DVD]. Criterion Collection.
[edit] External links
- Jigoku at Allmovie
- Jigoku at the Internet Movie Database
- (Japanese) Jigoku at the Japanese Movie Database
- Jigoku at Rotten Tomatoes
- Jigoku at the TCM Movie Database
- Criterion Collection essay by Chuck Stephens
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