Violence at Noon

Violence at Noon
Theatrical release poster
Japanese name
Kanji白昼の通り魔
Directed byNagisa Ōshima
Written by
Produced byMasayuki Nakajima
Starring
CinematographyAkira Takada
Edited byKeiichi Uraoka
Music byHayashi Hikaru
Distributed byShochiku
Release date
  • 15 July 1966 (1966-07-15) (Japan)[1][2]
Running time
99 minutes[1]
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Violence at Noon (白昼の通り魔, Hakuchū no tōrima), also titled Violence at High Noon, is a 1966 Japanese crime drama film directed by Nagisa Ōshima.[1][2][3]

Plot

After housemaid Shino is attacked and tied up and her employer raped and murdered, it turns out that Shino and the intruder, serial killer Eisuke, are from the same rural village. Shino pretends not to be sure about Eisuke's identity and, with the police on her track, travels to Osaka to meet Mrs. Kura, Eisuke's wife. In a series of flashbacks it is revealed that Shino, the sole survivor of a shinjū with her lover Genji, was raped afterwards by Eisuke while being unconscious. Village teacher Kura, Genji's former lover, married Eisuke despite her knowledge of his deed, and kept his identity a secret although she knew of his crimes. Back in the present, Shino convinces Kura to turn Eisuke over to the police. After his death sentence, Kura talks Shino into committing suicide with her, which she regards as the last logical act. Kura dies, and Shino is again the sole survivor of a double suicide attempt.

Cast

Production

Consisting of over 2,000 single shots, Violence at Noon was once considered the most highly edited work in Japanese film history.[4]

Legacy

Violence at Noon was presented at retrospectives on Ōshima at the Museum of Modern Art,[5] the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive,[6] the Harvard Film Archive[7] and the Toronto International Film Festival.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c "白昼の通り魔 (Violence at Noon)". Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese). Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  2. ^ a b "白昼の通り魔 (Violence at Noon)". Kinenote (in Japanese). Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  3. ^ Jacoby, Alexander (2008). Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors: From the Silent Era to the Present Day. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 978-1-933330-53-2.
  4. ^ a b "Violence at Noon". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Controversial Japanese Filmmaker Nagisa Oshima to Inaugurate his Retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art" (PDF). MOMA. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  6. ^ "Violence at Noon". BAMPFA. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  7. ^ "Violence at Noon (Hakuchu No Torima)". Harvard Film Archive. Retrieved 16 July 2023.