Death by Hanging (#798)

Genius provocateur Nagisa Oshima, an influential figure in the Japanese New Wave of the 1960s, made one of his most startling political statements with the compelling pitch-black satireDeath by Hanging.In this macabre farce, a Korean man is sentenced to death in Japan but survives his execution, sending the authorities into a panic about what to do next. At once disturbing and oddly amusing, Oshimas constantly surprising film is a subversive and surreal indictment of both capital punishment and the treatment of Korean immigrants in his country.

FILM INFO

• Japan
• 1968
• 118 minutes
• Black & White
• 1.85:1
• Japanese
• Spine #798

SPECIAL FEATURES

• New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• New interview with critic Tony Rayns
• New high-definition digital transfer of director Nagisa Oshimas 1965 experimental short documentaryDiary of Yunbogi
• Trailer
• New English subtitle translation
• PLUS: An essay by critic Howard Hampton and a 1968 director’s statement by Oshima

  New cover by Adam Maida