AKA-YATSU HAKA-MURA, VILLAGE OF THE EIGHT TOMBS
(1977/JAPAN)
REVIEWED BY-STEVE GENIER DIRECTED BY- NOMURA YOSHITARO CAST- KENICHI HAGIWARA, MAYUMI OGAWA, TSUTOMU YAMAZAKI, ISAO NATSUYAGI and KIYOSHI ATSUMI. SOURCE-PANORAMA NTSC REGION 3 (2 DISC) DVD.
Air traffic operator Tatsuya is about to have a life altering moment when his grandfather summons him to return home. In doing so, Tatsuya’s grandfather mysteriously dies before their departure. Deciding that he wants to tie up some loose ends, by finding out his true past, what exactly is "The Dragon’s Jaw" meant and for his grandfather’s funeral. Upon arrival home, family friend Miyako shows him around, introduces him to his family that he had last seen as a boy. She also tells Tatsuya, the history of his family and the curse that has been put upon the village. That curse, first installed nearly 500 years before when a band of samurai came to settle in the village. Eight of those samurai were lured into being poisoned for past actions, and the leader of those samurai curses those involved, especially the man in charge, a decedent of Tatsuya. That same villager had gone mad, and went on a murderous rampage killing 32 of the villagers and wiping out some whole families in the process.
As the day comes for his grandfather’s service, another mysterious death occurs afterwards. The villagers and the surrounding community whisper that upon Tatsuya’s return, he has also brought the curse with him. As the deaths start to mount up, it’s apparent that they will only stop once it has reached eight in total. The villagers grow angry and decide to storm the Tajimi family house where Tatsuya is staying. Word of this gets to him and he goes into hiding in a series of underground caverns that hold the secrets that unlock the mystery.
Breath taking is the first thing that comes to mind after watching this 1977 masterpiece from director Nomura Yoshitaro. VILLAGE OF EIGHT GRAVESTONES displays some of the most complete cinematography ever displayed in a Japanese production that I have ever witnessed. Of course there are many more that I have yet to witness, but this Yoshitaro film surely takes that titles as of now. Shot in cinemascope, VILLAGE brings us right in the heart of Japan, giving us lush mountainsides, deep green valleys and traditional village stops that have you booking your next vacation in a split second. Also, the journey into the massive cavernous underground in the second half of the film is something that director Yoshitaro displays with complete mastery. Everything from the lighting, down to it’s shading, VILLAGE certainly seems quite complete. Not only does the cinematography stand out, but many other important aspects do as well, especially that of the storyline and it’s characters.
Pretty much playing out like a supernatural murder mystery, VILLAGE evokes the senses causing you to really dive into it’s heavy plot. Like many classic Italian gialli, this story based on the novel of the same name by Yokomizo Seishi lays down many red herrings. One does never really suspect the true culprit until they are unveiled, something that is very rare, as in many cases the cat is let out of the bag quite early on in the film. Yoshitaro’s also helms the actors into forging very strong character build-ups. As you immediately being to identify each of the majors roles and eventually develop the proper feelings for each one of them. You root for Tatsuya’s cause to learn the truth and feel despair when he is briefly side tracked upon doing so.
The one major aspect of VILLAGE’S storytelling, is Yoshitaro’s use of non-linear editing and story. Weaving a haunting clash between the story’s turbulent past with it’s torrent present day. Building up not only each character’s background, but ultimately constructing it’s untimely outcome. This is the heart of the whole film as it give it a very complete direction, both with it’s explanation and overall feel. I must not forget to mention the score provided by Japanese legend Yasushi Akutagawa, who has brought us some of the most important film score to come out of Japan. He is the Japanese equivalent to Ennio Morricone. With his work on VILLAGE, his score is grand in every aspect, much like that of a big budget Hollywood affair, it soars just about in every direction possible. Most importantly, it’s for the most part hauntingly beautiful in a big way. Fitting Yoshitaro’s vision like a glove, highlighting each scene to it’s fullest.
Sadly, this Japanese cinematic classic is marred with a very incomplete DVD release. Even though this is presented in a two disc form, one would expect that one disc carry the feature, the other disc the extras. Not so here, as the feature is stretched onto both discs. The film itself runs about 151 minutes in total, still that is no reason to fill both discs with the feature. The is little in the way of extras offered up as well, only given us the director’sbiography/filmography. The feature’s picture itself isn’t too bad, presented in letterbox. Audio wise the disc is quite good offering the film in it’s original Japanese audio upgrading it with a 5.1 track along with English and Chinese subtitles. Fans who really enjoyed Masato Harada’s INUGAMI will truly enjoy what VILLAGE OF EIGHT GRAVESTONES has to offer!
STORY/FILM-4.5 BITCH SLAPS PICTURE-3 BITCH SLAPS AUDIO-3.5 BITCH SLAPS EXTRAS-1.5 BITCH SLAPS OVERALL DVD-3 BITCH SLAPS
