Death by Hanging (1968) on Netflix
A Korean man identified as R survives his hanging in a Japanese death chamber, and the officials must decide what to do, since he does not recognize his crime or its punishment.
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- Netflix4.0/5
- IMDb7.5/103,954 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes86%
Trailer
Plot summary
The man hanged in the chamber is an ethnic Korean called R, and the hanging leaves him alive. His memory is gone when he comes round. The officials who watched the execution argue over what to do with him, because the law can be read as barring the execution of a person who will not acknowledge his crime and its punishment. They decide that R must be persuaded to accept his guilt, and that reminding him of his crimes is the way to do it.
Cast
- Masao Matsudaas Secretary of the D.A.
- Takashi Uenoas Guard
- Shizuo Satôas Guard
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Death by Hanging (1968)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The character R in Death by Hanging was based on Ri Chin'u, an ethnic Korean who murdered two Japanese school girls in 1958. Ri wrote about his crimes in great detail, and his writings, collected as Crime, Death, and Love, became nearly as famous as his crimes and persona.
- Death by Hanging's "sister" character was developed from Ri Chin'u's correspondence with Park Soo-nam, a Korean-Japanese journalist and later documentary filmmaker, alluding to the journalist's interpretation of Ri's life and experiences.
- Ōshima first wrote a script about Ri Chin'u in 1963, but that was not the version that was filmed. Before 1968 the idea was reworked, negating Ri Chin'u as the hero and replacing him with R, a Korean subject more open to experimental treatment and analysis.
