Death by Hanging

The botched execution of a Korean citizen convicted of rape and murder brings the judiciary system to a halt, as wardens, prosecutors, medics, and even the clergy discuss whether a man who survived execution can be executed a second time. They fail to see that the convict has a will of his own, even though the accident seems to have wiped away any memory of the crime he committed. Oshima’s assault on the institutionalised racism against Japan’s Korean population, the absurdities of its judicial system and the cruelty of the death penalty takes the form of a black comedy set almost entirely within the execution chamber. Combining his usual stable of actors with novice performers, the result is an irreverent satire where the laughs never undermine the seriousness of the subject matter

SPECIAL FEATURES

• New 4K restoration from the original negative
• Uncompressed mono PCM audio
• Audio commentary by author Samm Deighan (2025)
• Appreciation of Death by Hanging by f ilmmaker Yang Yonghi (2025, 21 mins)
• Yunbogi’s Diary - Oshima’s documentary about a young boy based on his research trip to South Korea  (1965, 25 mins)
• Newly improved English subtitle translation

Year: 1965
Country: Japan
Cert: 15
Format:Blu-ray
Region: ABC
RAD145BD
EAN: 5060974682881
Release date: 17/08/26