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Three Films by Hiroshi Teshigahara (Pitfall / Woman in the Dunes / The Face of Another) (The Criterion Collection)

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Filmmaker Hiroshi Teshigahara was a true artiste who saw film as one of several creative outlets, which is why the sum of his cinematic output feels relatively paltry compared to his contemporaries. The Criterion Collection has smartly seen fit to present a four-disc DVD set showcasing his three most accomplished works - plus four shorts and a feature-length documentary about Teshigahara and his most frequent collaborator, author/screenwriter Kôbô Abe. Teshigahara's style can best be described as avant-garde, especially compared to the previous generation of Japanese filmmakers who focused far more on narrative structure and emotional consistency - Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, Ozu. As judged by these works, Teshigahara seems far interested more in challenging a viewer's sensibilities with movies that confound as much as they resonate. The results were not always successful, but they are well worth experiencing.

The first film of the set, 1962's "Pitfall" (****), represents Teshigahara's debut as a feature filmmaker and is both an expressionistic ghost story and a scathing social critique of Japan's post-WWII labor conditions within the mining industry. The mystery-laden plot focuses on a poor coal miner, who is murdered in front of his young son after moving to a ghost town where the local mine becomes a battleground between the two unions that run it. The miner's ghost attempts to solve the crime and figure out the motive, all the while as mistrust permeates the community with more deaths occurring. The filmmaker's social agenda sometimes gets in the way of a corking detective story, but he also presents a haunting, often surreal allegory of social alienation and moral bankruptcy. Hisashi Igawa lends a palpable desperation to the doomed miner, while Kunie Tanaka cuts an appropriately austere figure as the unavoidable stranger in the white suit.

An international art house hit that even garnered Oscar nominations, 1964's "Woman in the Dunes" (*****) is the set's centerpiece and a deserving masterpiece. The highly symbolic story focuses on an amateur entomologist on what he thinks is a day trip from Tokyo to a seaside area with vast sand dunes. As he looks for a particular beetle that he thinks will bring him fame within scientific circles, he loses track of time, and local villagers come upon him. For overnight lodging, they take him to a woman who lives in the bottom of a sand pit reachable only by a rope ladder. With the ladder gone the next morning, it dawns on him that he is being held captive by the villagers. From this revelation, Teshigahara and Abe focus on how the man deals with the situation and his evolving feelings toward the woman. Eiji Okada (Hiroshima Mon Amour, The Ugly American) dominates every scene as the emotionally volatile entomologist evolving from sexist entitlement to humiliating desperation to serene resignation. As the woman, the offbeat-looking Kyôko Kishida initially seems to be playing Friday to Okada's Robinson Crusoe, but her character starts to reveal layers that startle and fill in necessary plot details. The film's overall unnerving tone makes it feel often like an extended episode of a Twilight Zone.

The third film presented is 1967's "The Face of Another" (***1/2), which provides some unsettling sci-fi elements in its piercing exploration of identity, personal freedom and social acceptance. It's probably the most audacious of the three films, but Teshigahara's overly stylized approach makes it arguably the least satisfying on an emotional level. That's because the primary characters feel somewhat removed from reality starting with an embittered burn victim named Okuyama, his face completely bandaged. He has an oddly co-dependent relationship with his psychiatrist, who gives him a prosthetic mask that allows him to start his life anew. However, Okuyama's emotionally isolated wife returns into his life, and the inevitable complications occur. Meanwhile, there is a parallel story centered on a young woman who bears a large radiation burn on her face, a victim of the atomic bomb dropped in Nagasaki. Her wish is to conform wither surroundings and be accepted, which makes for an intriguing counterpoint to Okuyama's plight. Tatsuya Nakadai (Harakiri, Ran, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs) plays the challenging role of Okuyama with effective menace and melancholy, and as his wife, the legendary Machiko Kyô (Rashomon, Ugetsu, Floating Weeds) lends an elegant but tangible sense of concealment to her relatively few scenes.

Each film benefits greatly from Tôru Takemitsu's mood-setting music impressive for the versatility he displays with each score. Although extras are modest, each DVD has the original trailer and a generally illuminating if sometimes overly verbose video essay by James Quandt, who heads the Ontario Cinematheque. The fourth disc contains "Teshigahara and Abe", an intriguing documentary that covers the filmmaker's eclectic life, including his years being groomed to take over his father's world-renowned ikebana (flower arrangement) school. The four relatively modest shorts provide variable interest to aficionados - 1953's "Hokusai" spotlights the famous block artist; 1956's "Ikebana", a color film which shows the hard-earned artistry found in his father's school; 1958's "Tokyo 1958", an odd curio designed to show the vibrancy of the city at the time; and 1965's "Ako", a simple short about a girl's night on the town. Finally, there is a fifty-page booklet that provides further insight into a filmmaker more than worthy of rediscovery.

This box set by Criterion contains three films on four discs.

The first film Pitfall, released in Japan as, Otoshiana, is about a man who dies and becomes a ghost.

The second film Woman in the Dunes, released in Japan as, Suna no onna, is about an entomologist who misses his bus back to town. He is offered a place to stay for the night which is in a sand pit accessible only by ladder. The widow who lives there then holds him captive.

The third film, The Face of Another, released in Japan as, Tanin no kao, is about a man whose face is disfigured in a fire who is given a realistic mask by a doctor.

Each of these films, especially Woman in the Dunes is excellent. I have been waiting for Criterion to release Woman in the Dunes for several years.

The release contains an entire disc of special features too. There are video essays on each film by movie critic, James Quandt. Also there is a documentary about Teshigahara and his colleague Kobo Abe. Finally Four short films Hiroshi Teshigahara directed are included. They are Hokusai, Ikebana, Tokyo 1958, and Ako/White Morning (1963)

Great job Criterion in releasing the work of a brilliant director. Have seen Woman in the Dunes and Face of Another; both are based on novels by surreal Japanese writer Kobe Abe. Both are Kafkaesque stories of identity
and loss of identity as well as modern man's function in a society where
the self is disappearing. They are both clinical in their dissection of their characters but at the same time dream-like, moody, paranoid, and nightmarish with a touch of the macabre. Face of Another may be a bit less
accessible but both are very deep psychological meditations, brilliant in their simplicity and style. Teshigahara was a true original, at once a part of the japanese New Wave yet somehow distinct from it. He reminds me a bit of Czech director Jan Nemec. This collection is a welcome addition to Criterion's impressive releases. Hopefully "The Ruined Map" which is a slightly later Teshigahara film again based on a Kobe Abe novel will be released at some point, but these three films are more than adequate to familiarize people with an extremely important Director.

Pitfall (1962)

Pitfall opens with a miner along with his young son and a friend fleeing a miner camp at night. With their fear of being caught and great caution when near lights, the trio seem to be more a group of prisoners instead of a couple of poor laborers and a child. However, their being prisoners are not too far from the truth because if they are caught they would be dragged back to the mines because of the nature of their contracts which they most likely were unable to read. The trio makes their way to work for a farmer, but leave soon to avoid deserter hunters and eventually arrive at another dilapidated mining camp. It is a vicious circle from which the miners are surely unable to escape because of their poverty and lack of education.

At the new mining camp, the miner is told that someone is interested in giving him a job, so he and his son make their way to a mining village; however, upon arrival they discover the mining village to be abandoned with the only resident being the candy shop owner. After his son attempts to steal a piece of candy, the miner chases him only to find himself pursued by a man dressed in a white suit. Without uttering a word, the man in white draws a knife and violently stabs the miner three times and kills him. Noticing that the candy store owner saw the murder, the man in white pays her off and instructs her how to lie to the police. It would seem this would be the end of the miner's story, but his restless soul rises and he is determined to find out why he was murdered, but what can a soul who cannot be heard, seen, or move matter really do?

Pitfall can be read as a critique of rising capitalism in Japan during the 1960s when the haves gained more and more while the dirt poor were becoming poorer and unable to match the rapid escalation of Japan's economy. The miner, poor and destitute and only looking for work, gets caught up in a scheme which unbeknownst to him will cost him his life. Is his death mourned? Is he even thought of after he dies? No, because he is completely expendable and his death furthers big business. However, big business is not the only thing that falls under the canopy of critique in Teshigahara's film because the pettiness and internal fighting of worker unions also come to the fore. Another masterpiece for the Teshigahara Hiroshi and Japanese novelist Abe Kobo, Pitfall is not to be missed by fans of 1960s Japanese cinema.

Woman of the Dunes (1964)

I was first exposed to the literary works of Abe Kobo back in 2002 when I picked up and read a tattered copy of his novel Woman of the Dunes. I enjoyed the novel, but at the time my brain was so pickled in the works of Murakami Haruki and Yoshimoto Banana that I did fully appreciate Abe's words. During the spring semester of 2003 I took a class called Visual Culture in Modern Japan and Woman of the Dunes was the final novel that we read. After discussing the book, our teacher had us watch the film adaptation of Abe's novel, and by seeing what the character Junpei experiences, I was able to sympathize with him greater than I had when I read the novel.

In order to escape his mundane life in Tokyo, the salaryman Niki Junpei travels to a small seaside village to collect insects. Engrossed in his hobby Niki accidentally misses the last bus. In order to aid their visitor, the villagers suggest that Niki stay the night in one of their homes. Liking the idea of staying in a local's home and tasting the local cuisine, Junpei readily agrees to the proposal. Junpei is taken to house situated in a sandpit and there he meets a woman who dutifully prepares him dinner. Her home lacks not only electricity and water, but it is also quite ramshackle as well. The woman informs Junpei that the sand causes the wood to rot because of its moisture. Junpei scoffs at the woman, stating that sand is dry not moist. To Junpei's befuddlement, the woman goes outside to shovel sand which is then taken away by the villagers. After asking her how often she performs this work, she informs him that she does it every night.

When Junpei awakens in the morning, he is startled to see the slumbering naked figure of the woman nearby. The woman is completely naked with only some cloth covering her face. Sand clings to the rest of her body. Not wanting to wake her, Junpei tries to leave quietly, but the rope ladder is gone. He is stuck there with the woman inside that sandy hole.

Woman of the Dunes is a fascinating film and is considered to be Teshigahara Hiroshi's finest work. One can feel Junpei's desperation when he struggles to find a way to escape the sandpit's crumbling sides. Also, Woman of the Dunes is a good example of a film that can be very erotic without showing naughty bits. There are a couple of scenes within the film that are quite stirring. One depicting Junpei washing sand from the woman's back and another in which the woman bathes Junpei.

The Face of Another (1966)

We all wear masks. In or day to day interactions we all put on different masks as we come in contact with others and along with these masks, our personalities can change as well. However, these masks are beneath the skin and our fleshy visages are what others see and often judge. Yet, what if the flesh was disfigured in some way? How would the personality change? This is the situation that Mr. Okuyama faces in Teshigahara Hiroshi's 1966 film The Face of Another which is based on the Abe Kobo novel of the same name.

A businessman who is quite confident in his abilities, Okuyama had his face horribly burned and disfigured in a lab accident. Now without a face, Okuyama's venom and hatred come to the surface when he becomes the object of people's stares. Hating his situation, he goes to a psychiatrist who specializes in the creation of artificial but incredibly lifelike body parts. As the psychiatrist explains, he is there to fill in the gaps of people's inferiority complexes. The psychiatrist is reluctant at first to create a mask for Okuyama because he is worried that Okuyama will use it for more than just reentering the social world, but the disfigured man is able to convince him, and a mask is made, a handsome, lifelike mask that will allow Okuyama not only to reenter society, but to make himself into a completely new being, one who can seek revenge on those who scorned him because of his disfigurement.

Of the Teshigahara films that I have viewed, Woman in the Dunes, The Pitfall, Summer Soldiers, and Rikyu, The Face of Another has the darkest tone and it is quite an interesting take on identity and how in some ways identity in some ways is based upon outer appearances than what is in the heart and the mind. It also asks the question about what one would do if given the opportunity like Okuyama, and one wonders how society and human personalities themselves would be changed by such a situation.

I should first say that what a person sees in a film is greatly dependent on how much the person knows and their experiences. If you hate learning and thinking this is not the film for you. The target audience is not your regular Joe that cannot get enough Hollywood films like 300. There exists a heaven beyond Hollywood death and the garbage they put out, and a big part of it is the Criterion Collection.

This is the first time i have watched Teshigahara. I have seen Bergman, Felini, Kurosawa, Kieslowki, Tarkovsky, etc., and Teshigahara is no doubt just as good. It is hard for his later works to compete with Woman in the dunes, and it is visible why; but i like The face of another just as much, and it gets better each time you watch it again. I love Tatsuya Nakadai in anything he does - Sword of Doom, Harkiri to mention a few. Eiji Okada does a great job, and if you liked Hiroshima Mon Amour watch this as well. Finally, it is nice to see more Japaneses actresses. Machiko Kyô, from Rashamon, and Kyôko Kishida is the Woman in Dunes.

If you like good films this is for you.

I have just seen woman in the dunes for the first time and i was really impressed with it.. I can't get it out of my head in fact.. it is packed with amazing visuals that compliment the plot of the film in a very direct and striking way.. I feel that this is one of the best films i have seen and would highly recommend it.. This movie, i feel, is full of metaphors and is very interesting on that level but it is also so interesting just in the way it looks - it is a thing of beauty..

The only film here I've seen is Woman in the Dunes, which is Teshigahara's most famous work. It's a great film, but Criterion is releasing the 147 minute version, which is the full length, director's cut. The original Image DVD was only 127 minutes long, and it's the only version I've seen. So kudos to Criterion for releasing the long version, and the other 2 films as well.

Teshigahara arrived, under the radar, in the 60's.... overshadowed by other world cinema srtists like Bergman, Fellini, Antonioni. The difference, is that Teshigahara was a real artist..that is in "fine arts"...a sculptor who balanced the two worlds. His films are extremely visual, and in partnership with his Japanese existential-surrealist author Kobe Abe handling the story lines (many of his films were adapted from Kobe's novels)--created a unque body of ART-FILM.....AND STORY. Outstanding, memorable, and never-to-be duplicated in our bottom-line driven world of film financing. Masterpieces, pure and simple.

The first film, Woman in the Dunes, is a beautiful example of cinematography. Just in the opening scenes with the entomologist walking on the beach was like seeing a painting brought to life. You quickly forget that's its filmed in black and white and you get lost in how the shots are set up and cut. It looked to me like a painting hanging in a modern musuem with a button on the side. After pushing the button the painting starts to move and breath.
Woman in the Dunes is truly stunning with a pleasing aesthetic style brought in by Teshigahara to a deep cerebral quality in the story from Abe's influence. When you blend these two qualities together, you get a film for your artistic sensbilities and your mind. I haven't seen such a even mix until seeing this movie. I can't think of too many films, Japanese or otherwise, that can create it.
Not a lot of time or money went into it. Each actor had to work hard to make it work. Usually in films you have a director who ignores the writer during the filming. Not so here. Teshigahara and Abe worked as close together as a married couple. That gives the viewer something that transcends budgets and clockwatching and takes your own a journey into the writer's and director's mind to create a single vision.
Pitfall is about a miner who is murdered and roams the earth. He can see and understand the living but can't interact. He can only talk with the other dead people walking around. Its not as powerful as Woman in the Dunes, but it has similar themes.
The next film is The Face of Another about a man with a badly burned face. His wife refuses to sleep with him so he decides to buy a mask, in order to seduce her. This movie continues Abe's question of the loss of identity.
This is a great set for a low price from Criterion. You get 4 discs. You get 3 movies, Pitfall, Woman in the Dunes, and The Face of Another. The 4th disc contains an interesting documentary on how director Teshigahara worked with novelist Abe Kobo to bring Abe's unique vision to life. There are thoughtful interviews with John Nathan (author of the Mishima Yukio biography), Sato Tadao (revered Japanese film critc), and Donald Richie, as well as others.
Also on the 4th disc is Tokyo 1958 which I watched first. After reading The Donald Richie Reader and reading in the back that Richie plays a G.I. in that short film, I had to see it. At the very beginning you see Richie looking at Ukiyo-e to buy on a Tokyo sidewalk. Its a rare comedic performance from Richie. The rest of the short shows marriages, camera production, an amature singing contest, and go-go dancers at some night club back in the swinging sixties.
Buy this for Woman in the Dunes and all the extras, even if you don't like the other two films, its worth it for that one film alone, even for $50 to $60.

These three films were made in the tradition of the surrealists at the beginning of the century with a Japanese aesthetic. I originally bought the set because I have had such a hard time finding "The Woman in the Dunes". I was equally stunned by the other two films in the set. Anyone studying the history of film would enjoy this collection. They also seem to be the progenitors of many modern films and television (Twilight Zone)dealing with the themes of identity and isolation or media having a strong visual impact. These films "Pitfall" and "The Face of Another" are not typically Japanese. They are a hybrid, being highly influenced by French and Italian cinema of the 30's - 60's. Even if one finds the surrealistic and dark themes a bit tedious, one can still sit back and enjoy the exquisite cinematography and perfect compositions throughout all three films. Anime fans will also derive pleasure and inspiration. "Woman in the Dunes" is still my favorite and belongs next to other Japanese classics such as "Ugetsu" and "Rashomon" and "The Seven Samurai" among others. The extra features includes good commentaries and additional shorts by Teshigahara, as well as a companion book. Worth the bucks.