352 Jigoku

[shirobamba]

Jigoku

[img]http://criterion_production.s3.amazonaws.com/release_images/1136/352_box_348x490_w100.jpg[/img]

Shocking, outrageous, and poetic, Jigoku (Hell, a.k.a. The Sinners of Hell) is the most innovative creation from Nobuo Nakagawa, the father of the Japanese horror film. After a young theology student flees a hit-and-run accident, he is plagued by both his own guilt-ridden conscience and a mysterious, diabolical doppelgänger. But all possible escape routes lead straight to hell—literally. In the gloriously gory final third of the film, Nakagawa offers up his vision of the underworld in a tour de force of torture and degradation. A striking departure from traditional Japanese ghost stories, Jigoku, with its truly eye-popping (and -gouging) imagery, created aftershocks that are still reverberating in contemporary world horror cinema.

Disc Features

- New, restored high-definition digital transfer
- Building the Inferno, a new documentary on director Nobuo Nakagawa and the making of the film, featuring exclusive interviews with actor Yoichi Numata, screenwriter Ichiro Miyagawa, Nakagawa collaborators Chiho Katsura and Kensuke Suzuki, and Cure and Doppelganger director Kiyoshi Kurosawa
- Theatrical trailer
- Galleries of posters from selected Nakagawa and Shintoho Studios films
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- Plus: A new essay by noted Asian-cinema critic Chuck Stephens

Criterionforum.org user rating averages

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[Lino]

I would definitely nominate Nakagawa Nobuo's JIGOKU, from 1960 ... A legit US release of the film is due out on DVD this fall from Criterion, and I produced a 40m featurette on the disc interviewing the screenwriter and others. It should be a nice package.

Perhaps this will make Annie's day.

It has! Thank you for posting this. This film really deserves more recognition and with Criterion now backing it maybe that will happen.

[daniel p]

Excellent news indeed. Have been wanting to see this for a while, and have not come across it locally.

Anyone care to comment on the film?

[BrightEyes23]

this film gave me nightmares the night after i watched it...granted i was currently on a lot of narcotic painkillers for a chronic back problem at the time, so the nightmares were intensified even more...but i woke up in a cold sweat and i was actually quite shaken up...

[Lino]

Anyone care to comment on the film?

There already are some opinions here

[ByMarkClark.com]

I told you this one was coming!

Unfortunately, I've seen JIGOKU and wasn't overly impressed. Its opens well, but the second act is repetitive and rather dull. The film doesn't actually spend that much time on its (supposedly) climactic tour of the netherworld. And hell, in this telling, plays a lot like an H.G. Lewis movie.

Although not without interest, this is one I don't feel compelled to buy. Frankly, I'm surprised it's not coming out under the Eclipse banner.

[Buttery Jeb]

Image Entertainment page

[Lino]

I really do hope this is the first of other Nakagawa titles to be released by Criterion. I would love to see Black Cat Mansion get a spine number, one of the most gorgeously shot horror movies I've ever seen.

[BrightEyes23]

so...is this a sign that Eclipse is...not gonna happen? is this the segway title for eclipse...or is this not considered "cult" enough for eclipse...or is eclipse not going to be "cult"...and while a boxset would be nice...hopefully a super gorgeous transfer will be done...it'd be nice to have an audio commentary...epsecially during the trip through hell.

[htdm]

I'm really looking forward to the Nakagawa documentary on this.

[Jeff]

Swarming devils, indeed.

[Gregory]

is this the segway title for eclipse

segue: a transition
segway: silly gizmo that young George Bush went flying off of like a spaz.

[toiletduck!]

segway: silly gizmo that young George Bush went flying off of like a spaz.

It wasn't switched on, you vultures!

[godardslave]

yeah, but George Bush is definitely a spaz.

[BrightEyes23]

is this the segway title for eclipse

segue: a transition
segway: silly gizmo that young George Bush went flying off of like a spaz.

oops! although...what i meant was that if there's no news of Eclipse than many forum members will be flying off like spazzes in anticipation..yeah thats it

[Napoleon]

Nothing on meta or rotten but Guilala(in presumably human form) on imdb says:

A sinner goes to hell and suffers. He see thousands of people drown in blood, skulls and snakes everywhere, and most disgusting of all a man sawed in half while his guts spill out. This is one of the grossest movies I've ever seen. The scenes in hell are most intense.

Call me an anti-social bedwetter but this sounds fuckin-A+

[Narshty]

so...is this a sign that Eclipse is...not gonna happen? is this the segway title for eclipse...or is this not considered "cult" enough for eclipse...or is eclipse not going to be "cult"

I'm sure they have more than two titles planned on which to launch an entire label. It is peculiar that they'd release two long-sought-after cult horror titles right on the eve of the Eclipse launch though. Maybe they're trying to lure Criterion customers into a less highbrow realm with a tiny taste of the dark stuff.

[manicsounds]

Sounds much fancier and much cheaper than the currently available Japanese DVD which has pretty much no extras, but does have English subtitles, a rarity.

[Lino]

Just revisited this title this morning in anticipation of the Criterion disc (I own the greek DVD to be found at xploited.com) and boy, are you guys for a treat when this one comes out! It held my attention for its entire duration and the last third never fails to astound and shock.

I cannot wait to check out the 40 minute docu that's going to be included as extra. I need to know more about Nakagawa. He was a genius.

[Scharphedin2]

So Annie, for a long time I was eyeing those subtitled releases of Nakagawa's films at Yes Asia... how many of them did you manage to see? Did they hold up to the standard of JIGOKU? Any that you would recommend more than others?

[Lino]

You can read my thoughts in this thread

So far, I've only managed to watch 3 of them with Jigoku being the no-brainer and I'm especially glad that Criterion has picked it. Certainly, we couldn't hope for a better sponsor of his films in the West -- just look at what they did with the work of Kurosawa.

If you're really interested in checking out more of them, I couldn't recommend more titles beyond the ones I've seen but nevertheless, these are very good as well. They have one thing in common and it's that they''re all shot in a very classical style with wonderful set-up pieces and very competent acting. These are definitely not cheap-looking movies or shlock entertainment -- they were made with the same attitude and effort as any so-called "serious" film of its time. Nakagawa was a true master at what he did. And it shows.

[Cinesimilitude]

Btw, I hope this is not the final cover of the DVD. The "JIGOKU" font is horrible and imho the "Criterion Collection" logo shall be moved horizontally to the bottom right corner ...[/quote]

It is. and they won't move the logo. on any release.

[criterionsnob]

Beaver Review

[Lino]

I have to admit I'm a bit disappointed at those screencaps. I own the greek DVD and frankly I was expecting this Criterion edition to hit all the marks and come out nothing short of a revelation. Sadly, this is not the case although as Gary has mentioned in his review, the transfer is very good albeit its inherent flaws (grain and hiss).

I will be buying this edition mainly because of the extras and to support the idea of future Nakagawa titles getting the Criterion treatment.

[Steven H]

Lino (you're a guy now? my mind is blown), are you saying the Greek DVD looks better? If so, could you please post screencaps. I've only seen the HK discs (which, I believe, are bad transfers of the Japanese R2 DVDs), so I see very little to compare. I agree with Gary's estimate that it seems very "HVE", and specifically reminds me of a couple of their color Suzuki titles (a little fade, a little print damage, but overall worth the price of admission.)

Pretty high bitrate with a forty minute documentary at a low tier price point, doesn't seem too shabby of a deal. That being said, I recently saw the film and it'll be a while before I'm interested in getting through it another time.