Slideshow
KWAIDAN
怪談
Japan, 1964
Directed by Masaki Kobayashi
Starring Rentarô Mikuni, Michiyo Aratama, Misako Watanabe
Based on a collection of folktales by Lafcadio Hearn
Approx. 160 min. 35mm print courtesy Japan Foundation.
Rentarô Mikuni finds a skeleton at the feast when he adds a second wife; woodcutter Tatsuya Nakadai meets a strange woman in the snow; a blind biwa player gives a command performance for a spirit; an apparition appears in a cup of tea: four ghost stories by expat Lafcadio Hearn (1850 – 1904). Kobayashi’s first color film, with an eerie score.
Reviews
“An assembly of ghost stories that is among the most beautiful films I’ve seen.”
– RogerEbert.com
“A horror picture with an extraordinarily delicate and sensuous quality.”
– Bosley Crowther, The New York Times