Kwaidan

This film of four ghost stories, based on Lafcadio Hearn’s retelling of Japanese folktales (though only one seems to be specifically from the book called Kwaidan), is a visual treat. It is more meditative than scary, having the ceremonial dignity of traditional Japanese theater. Indeed, with its live actors placed in artificial, sometimes even painted, sets and backdrops, it has very much the air of expanded stage plays. (Even the comic servants in the longest story, “Hoichi the Earless,” bear more resemblance to Shakespeare’s clown characters than to real people.) Its beauty lies not so much in the tales themselves as in the brilliant colors and dancelike movements with which they are told. Every shot is as carefully composed as a Japanese painting. The strange (at least to Western ears) music and sound effects add to the striking yet distancing mood.As Geoffrey O’Brien points out in the thoughtful essay included with the DVD, the four stories feature promises broken, deliberately or otherwise, and the dangers of interaction between the natural and supernatural worlds. In the first story, “The Black Hair,” a selfish samurai deserts his painfully patient first wife, then finds, after a long absence, that going home again is not as easy as he had hoped. The young woodcutter in the second story, “The Woman of the Snow,” more understandably forgets a promise he made long ago in what seemed like a dream—but with equally disastrous results. In “Hoichi the Earless,” the blind young musician-monk Hoichi does not willingly stop entertaining a court of long-dead nobles with his bardic account of the battle in which they all perished; he is more or less forced to do so by the older monks who are trying to protect him, but he is nonetheless the one who suffers when their protection proves not quite good enough. The final tale, “In a Cup of Tea,” is a suitably mystifying story-within-a-story that, in a sense, breaks a promise to its viewers in that it has no ending.This Criterion recording, a 2015 Blu-Ray reissue of Masaki Kobayashi’s 1965 film, is beautiful throughout, as they usually are, though it is a little grainy at times on a large TV screen. Its dialogue is in Japanese, with English subtitles. I recommend it highly to all lovers of the beautiful, the magical, and the surreal, portrayed with grace and style.

Kwaidan (1964) Japanese folk/ghost tales /fairy-tales with supernatural and theatrical like cinematography. That is right this film is very artsy and the settings, camera work, light is very nostalgic and Gone With the Wind-like. Actually, the cinematography of story # 2 is the equivalent of Scarlet O'Hara's Tara plantation set. The film is 183 minutes long. It is composed of four stories, approximately each one 40-45 minutes long. The budget of the film was estimated at the time for 350,000,000 Japanese Yen. Tremendous amount of money. I would not classify this entirely into a horror. Only the first two stories have something to do with horror. The last two stories are weakest and make this film lose its interest after the first two. Be there as it may, I still gave this film 5 stars. It is a feast for eyes...cinematographicly dazzling !*Favorite stories out the four:1) "The Black Hair" [husband leaves wife for a wealthier woman...the new marriage is unhappy...years go by...husband leaves the second wife and heads back to the previous wife...upon his return...2) "The Woman of the Snow" [young lumberjack together with his master gets trapped in a snow storm in the middle of a forest...the two find a hut to wait-out the blizzard...a young woman dressed in white appears and kills the master...she lets the young man live, but asks him to keep a secret about what has occurred or else he too will be killed, to-which he agrees...the young man gets back to his home where quickly recovers from sickness and soon meets a young and pretty lady he marries...the couple have children...years go by...Worth mentioning is also the music...it is creepy at times and very oriental.If you like the literature by Edgar Allan Poe, The Grim Brothers, and Christian Andersen this film should blow you away.The film very much reminded of such cult films as: Gone With the Wind (1939), The Saragossa Manuscript (1965) and Ran (1985).

The media could not be loaded.  Kobayashi's KWAIDEN is an anthology horror film comprising of four very different stories. All of them are compelling and jaw-droppingly stunning. The tales come across as fairytales and that feeds into the whole atmosphere of the film.What really grabbed me was the meticulous nature of the film. The set design is odd and otherworldly. These indoor sets are grand and haunting. The sparse score is unusual, yet incredibly fitting. The use of light is wonderful and the change of a colour can completely alter the scene.Kwaiden is an utter masterpiece that deserves this lavish limited edition packaging. If you are unsure about getting this, don't be. Buy it now and get ready for 3 hours of pure cinematic joy.

This film doesn't need reviewing yet again - it's a classic - so I'll just stick to the presentation. It comes in a strong, hardback slipcase, has a reversible cover and comes with a stunning accompanying book. Four short source folklore stories by Lafcadio Hearn, a conversation with director Kobayashi from 1993 and a 2020 appraisal by film scholar Craig Ian Mann and some lovely production stills/promo shots.Beautiful 2k restoration and a bunch of other extras on the disc. Well worth an upgrade to Blu-ray.

So glad I ordered 'Kwaidan' blu ray. The four short films are so refreshing compared to some releases in recent times.The hand painted sets and physical effects are absolutely gorgeous and compliment the stories and acting seemlessly.Best to watch the films in complete peace and quiet and darkness to appreciate the exquisite lighting, ghostly sound-effects, music, dialogue and whispers.A true classic for collectors and general audience alike.

Gorgeous, atmospheric, and unique. Kobayashi is a master director, and he's firing on all artistic cylinders here. The second story segment is my favourite, but they're all singular and haunting tales of the supernatural. Cinematography is stunning. Editing is superb. Acting is strong. The film plays like a waking dream (or nightmare), combining aesthetic beauty with otherworldly visions of the macabre. In other words, pure cinema.It looks fantastic on blu-ray.

Well it's an awesome upgrade from dvd of an understated classic! All the fans should have it as the bluray picture and audio quality is second to none!