63. Jidaigeki Kaidan, feat. Stefan Hammond, author of Sex & Zen & A Bullet in the Head
ONCE UPON A TIME IN JAPAN, WARS RAGED, ANGRY SPIRITS STALKED THE COUNTRYSIDE, AND VILLAGERS HID FROM MURDEROUS YOKAI IN THE TALL REEDS…
Japanese cinema had an international breakthrough in the 1950s and ‘60s, fronted by a series of artful period pieces, known locally as jidaigeki. Many of these were supernatural folktales and ghost stories, called kaidan (or kwaidan). Join Gabe and returning guest Stefan Hammond as they discuss Kenji Mizoguchi’s Ugetsu (1953), Tokuzô Tanaka’s Demon of Mount Oe (1960) and Snow Woman (1968), Kaneto Shindō’s Onibaba (1964) and Kuroneko (1968), and, just for fun, Michio Yamamoto’s Evil of Dracula (1974).
00:00 – Intro (a quick history of post-War Japan and regional ghost stories)
11:06 – Ugetsu
35:59 – Demon of Mount Oe
47:14 – Onibaba
1:04:46 – Kuroneko
1:20:58 – Snow Woman
1:38:09 – Evil of Dracula (and the rest of the Bloodthirsty Trilogy)
1:52:16 – Outro and other recommendations
Stream or download from the Genre Grinder website
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Buy Stefan’s latest book, More Sex, Better Zen, Faster Bullets: The Encyclopedia of Hong Kong Films, from Headpress Books.
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