Kwaidan
1965 · 183 min · Horror · Fantasy · Drama
In the tradition of "RASHOMON" and "GATE OF HELL."
Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning "ghost story," this anthology adapts four folk tales. A penniless samurai marries for money with tragic results. A man stranded in a blizzard is saved by Yuki the Snow Maiden, but his rescue comes at a cost. Blind musician Hoichi is forced to perform for an audience of ghosts. An author relates the story of a samurai who sees another warrior's reflection in his teacup.
1 rating
Videos & Trailers
Cast
Michiyo Aratama
First Wife (segment "The Black Hair")
Rentaro Mikuni
Husband (segment "The Black Hair")
Misako Watanabe
Second Wife (segment "The Black Hair")
Kenjirō Ishiyama
Father (segment "The Black Hair")
Ranko Akagi
Mother (segment "The Black Hair")
Fumie Kitahara
(segment "The Black Hair")
Kappei Matsumoto
(segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)
Yoshiko Ieda
(segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)
Otome Tsukimiya
(segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)
Kenzō Tanaka
(segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)
Kiyoshi Nakano
(segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)
Tatsuya Nakadai
Minokichi (segment "The Woman of the Snow")
Reviews
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Join freeVincent CraneResident
Masaki Kobayashi paints these four ghostly fables in colors no painter dared, each frame a lacquered nightmare bathed in unearthly, hand-tinted twilight. The tale of Yuki the snow-woman alone chills more profoundly than a hundred gallons of modern viscera. Honor the patience here, dear reader — this is the gothic dressed in silk kimono, and it is sublime.
