Woman in the Dunes (1964)
Suna no onna (original title)Reference View | Change View
- Not Rated
- 2h 27min
- Drama, Thriller
- 25 Oct 1964 (USA)
- Movie
- Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 1 nomination.
- See more »
Photos and Videos
Cast
Eiji Okada | ... |
Entomologist Niki Jumpei
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Kyôko Kishida | ... |
Woman
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Kôji Mitsui | ... |
Village elder
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Hiroko Itô | ... |
Entomologist's wife (in flashbacks)
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Sen Yano |
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Ginzô Sekiguchi |
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Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
Robert Dunham | ... |
? (rumored)
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Kiyohiko Ichihara |
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Hideo Kanze |
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Hiroyuki Nishimoto |
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Tamotsu Tamura |
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Directed by
Hiroshi Teshigahara |
Written by
Kôbô Abe | ... | (novel) |
Kôbô Abe | ... | (screenplay) |
Eiko Yoshida | ... | (scripter) |
Produced by
Kiichi Ichikawa | ... | producer |
Tadashi Ôno | ... | producer |
Music by
Tôru Takemitsu |
Cinematography by
Hiroshi Segawa |
Editing by
Fusako Shuzui |
Production Design by
Tôtetsu Hirakawa | ||
Masao Yamazaki |
Production Management
Iwao Yoshida | ... | production manager |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Masuo Ogawa | ... | assistant director |
Sound Department
Ichirô Katô | ... | sound recordist |
Keiji Mori | ... | sound effects editor |
Shigenosuke Okuyama | ... | sound recordist |
Camera and Electrical Department
Mitsuo Kume | ... | lighting technician |
Yasuhiro Yoshioka | ... | still photographer |
Additional Crew
Kiyoshi Awazu | ... | title designer |
Production Companies
Distributors
- Toho (1964) (Japan) (theatrical)
- Pathé Contemporary Films (1964) (United States) (theatrical) (subtitled)
- Contemporary Films (1965) (United Kingdom) (theatrical) (subtitled)
- Frontier Amusements (1965) (Canada) (theatrical) (subtitled)
- Poli Films Mundiales (1965) (Mexico) (theatrical) (Limited) (premiere)
- Filmagentur Süd (1966) (West Germany) (theatrical)
- Lutecia Films (1966) (Argentina) (theatrical)
- Metropolitan Films (1966) (Belgium) (theatrical)
- Poli Films Mundiales (1966) (Mexico) (theatrical)
- Lady Film (1967) (Italy) (theatrical)
- NHK Sôgô (1985) (Japan) (tv)
- ARTE (1992) (France) (tv)
- NHK-BS2 (1993) (Japan) (tv)
- Asmik (2002) (Japan) (DVD) (with International Version)
- BFI Video (2006) (United Kingdom) (DVD) (subtitled)
- trigon-film (2007) (Austria) (theatrical)
- trigon-film (2007) (Germany) (theatrical)
- trigon-film (2007) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
- The Criterion Collection (2007) (United States) (DVD) (subtitled)
- trigon-film (2007) (Switzerland) (DVD)
- New Star (2008) (Greece) (theatrical) (re-issue)
- Umbrella Entertainment (2009) (Australia) (video) (VOD) (subtitled)
- Umbrella Entertainment (2010) (Australia) (DVD) (subtitled)
- Umbrella Entertainment (2010) (Australia) (tv) (subtitled)
- Nihon Eiga Satellite Broadcasting (2013) (Japan) (tv)
- The Criterion Collection (2016) (United States) (DVD) (subtitled)
- Gloria Film A/S (Denmark) (theatrical)
- Gloria Film A/S (Iceland) (theatrical)
- Milestone Film & Video
Special Effects
Other Companies
Storyline
Plot Summary |
Jumpei Niki, a Tokyo based entomologist and educator, is in a poor seaside village collecting specimens of sand insects. As it is late in the day and as he has missed the last bus back to the city, some of the local villagers suggest that he spend the night there, they offering to find him a place to stay. That place is the home of a young woman, whose house is located at the bottom of a sand pit accessible only by ladder. He later learns that the woman's husband and child died in a sandstorm, their undiscovered bodies buried somewhere near the house. The next morning as he tries to leave, he finds that the ladder is gone - he realizing that the ladder he climbed down was a rope ladder which is anchored above the pit - meaning that he is trapped with the young woman as the walls of the pit are sand with no grip. He also realizes that this entrapment was the villagers and the young woman's plan for him to stay there permanently to be her helper in the never-ending task of digging out the sand, which if not done will swallow them alive. They are dependent upon the villagers to help remove the sand, but also for their rations including water. He learns that the sand is the young woman's life, and that she knows or wants no other life. Thus, it is no use either to blackmail or kill her as she is willing to live and die by this life, and as such he will surely die if she is dead. His life tasks become to figure out a way to escape while co-exist with the woman in what he considers their prison. As time goes on, he also learns that there are other tasks which will consume him. Written by Huggo |
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Taglines | The most provocative picture ever made. See more » |
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Parents Guide | View content advisory » |
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Did You Know?
Trivia | For this film, Hiroshi Teshigahara became the first Japanese director to be nominated for an Oscar for directing. See more » |
Goofs | The beard of teacher Jumpei is not growing, despite him even complaining about no opportunity to shorten it. See more » |
Movie Connections | Featured in Music for the Movies: Tôru Takemitsu (1994). See more » |
Quotes |
Entomologist Niki Jumpei:
The certificates we use to make certain of one another: contracts, licenses, ID cards, permits, deeds, certifications, registrations, carry permits, union cards, testimonials, bills, IOUs, temporary permits, letters of consent, income statements, certificates of custody, even proof of pedigree. Is that all of them? Have I forgotten any? Men and women are slaves to their fear of being cheated. In turn they dream up new certificates to prove their innocence. No one can say where it will end. They seem endless. See more » |