Jigoku (film)

Infobox Film
name = Jigoku


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director = Nobuo Nakagawa
producer = Mitsugu Okura
writer = Nobuo Nakagawa
Ichirō Miyagawa
starring = Utako Mitsuya
music = Michiaki Watanabe
cinematography = Mamoru Morita
editing = Toshio Goto
distributor =
released = flagicon|Japan July 30, 1960
runtime = 100 min.
country = Japan
language = Japanese
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id = 1:301783
imdb_id = 0154683nihongo|"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.

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.

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. [cite video |people=Miyagawa, Ichirō (Writer) |date2=2007-03-13 |title=Jigoku, DVD Extra: "Building the Inferno |medium=DVD |publisher=Criterion Collection |time=] Mitsugu Okura read the script and angrily said to Miyagawa that "Heaven is nowhere to be seen in this script!", to which Miyagawa jokingly replied that he would write about Heaven in the sequel. [cite video |people=Miyagawa, Ichirō (Writer) |date2=2007-03-13 |title=Jigoku, DVD Extra: "Building the Inferno |medium=DVD |publisher=Criterion Collection |time=] Actor Yoichi Numata played Tamura in the film, and expressed that he had tried to analyze the role, but couldn't find the best way to play it. [cite video |people=Numata, Yoichi (Actor) |date2=2007-03-13 |title=Jigoku, DVD Extra: "Building the Inferno |medium=DVD |publisher=Criterion Collection |time=]

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. [cite video |people=Morita, Mamoru (Cinematographer) |date2=2007-03-13 |title=Jigoku, DVD Extra: "Building the Inferno |medium=DVD |publisher=Criterion Collection |time=] 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. [cite video |date2=2007-03-13 |title=Jigoku, DVD Extra: "Building the Inferno |medium=DVD |publisher=Criterion Collection |time=] Mamoru Morita said that Nobuo Nakagawa tried in many ways to make "Jigoku" different from other horror films from the time. [cite video |people=Morita, Mamoru (Cinematographer) |date2=2007-03-13 |title=Jigoku, DVD Extra: "Building the Inferno |medium=DVD |publisher=Criterion Collection |time=]

References

External links

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* " [http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1960/cj003560.htm Jigoku] " at the Japanese Movie Database
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* [http://www.criterion.com/asp/release.asp?id=352&eid=500&section=essay Criterion Collection essay] by Chuck Stephens