A very good example of this director at his best (Masaki Kobayashi). Other works worth checking out are his other Criterion titles: Harakiri and Samurai Rebellion; and also his Human Condition trilogy (if you can get your hands on it).
There are so many great Japanese films/directors often overshadowed by Kurosawa and Ozu. The latter are great places to start and revisit throughout a lifetime (they are giants among giants for a reason), but to dig deeper, Kobayashi reaches the same level of intensity, along with Mizoguchi, Naruse and Oshima.
Yep, Kobayashi was one of the greatest. Kaidan is a thirty out of ten.
Kwaidan is a brilliant film – thanks for giving it special recognition. It is one of the most beautiful films ever made, as striking in its use of colour as say, Black Narcissus. I would love to see more of Kobayashi’s films, if Kwaidan is any indication. Another Japanese direcotr who deserves our attention from this same period is Teshigahara. I have just seen (again) Face of Another and always have admired his Woman in the Dunes. These are black and white films, but he also uses the camera very well. But, Kwaidan is truly in a class of its own!
Fabulous film, but purchase the Masters of Cinema version from Amazon.co.uk; it has the complete version and much better transfer in all regards. I own the Criterion and would not part with it, but after reading http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews8/kwaidan.htm, decided to upgrade since it’s one of my favorite films.
I like how the Masters of Cinema edition looks so far and that 72 page booklet is very attractive to me, as is the general packaging, full run time and all that. But I do enjoy the Criterion edition’s altered colours sometimes as well. Not always, but sometimes I think it looks better. That being said, I’ll probably still get the Masters of Cinema edition when I get around to buying it.
Such a beautiful movie. We just watched it in class two weeks ago.
Agree with DCDreams about HARA KIRI; another masterpiece; incredible film.
I have a chance to watch the criterion version. But should I? I’ve been waiting for such a long time to finally watch this film but I barely found out here that it is severely cut and altered in color. I live in the U.S. so I wouldn’t be able to get my hands on the region 2 Masters of Cinema. Anyways should I watch it either way? :/
well if its a matter of watching the Criterion or nothing, then I say go for it
I can’t figure out how to burn this onto a DL dvd, which is about 8GB. Very frustrating.
I first saw Kwaidan on the big screen (1965) in Iwakuni,Japan with a young Nihonjin female companion. I have the DVD and it brings back many very fond and cherished memories. I was a 22 year old Marine Sergeant at the time.
The outstanding sections are Snow Woman and Hoichi the Earless. I could perhaps have done without the final one; it’s very hard to maintain such excellence over 4 different tales. What sets (very expensive), what fresh gorgeous colour, superb lighting. Kobayashi deserves a lot more attention, a good guy who went against his country’s militarism, and other films like The Human Condition (great epic indictment of that same militarism) and Seppuku/Hara-kiri (undercuts the rewriting of history by the establishment with comfortable myths) are masterpieces.
Brilliant film, outstanding use of color and lighting, especially on Snow Woman. The first story Black Hair was actually pretty creepy the first time I saw it, and more so on the big screen. Kobayashi is a great filmmaker – Harakiri, Samurai Rebellion and The Human Condition are all masterpieces of cinema. I hope his lesser known films will soon get an Eclipse treatment.
I felt the same way… It was beautiful and Eerie and so interesting to watch.
They need to update the Dvd!!!!! Oh and If you loved Kwaidan you will love Onibaba, which has that same creepy camera.
haha i still feel that the opening scene of this film is the best part. this isn’t saying that I didnt like the film…….just that I really liked the microphotography of the color swirls….
……and i need to sleep.
I really wanted to like this film but it just took too much for me to get into the beginning and middle, that by the time they were in hell, i was spent and could not really enjoy that part of the film, as i know i normally would have.
Can someone with the Masters Of Cinema version of KWAIDAN supply some information as to the differences from the Criterion version? I’d love to know.
I’m a big fan of the Woman In The Snow and Hoichi The Earless sequences of the film. The first and final sequences don’t do as much for me.
@STEWARTSFAADAMS – Agree! If you like Kwaidan, I highly recommend ONIBABA- a masterpiece of Japanese horror (and war, famine, smuggling, sex … ). The Criterion release also includes a nice behind the scene documentary.
Thank you, I gat the chance to see it before I saw your comment. I need to get the DVD. It has that same creepy feel. And the same strange effect with the motion.
Sorry accidently sent three blank posts!!
Thank you, I gat the chance to see it before I saw your comment. I need to get the DVD. It has that same creepy feel. And the same strange effect with the motion.
Thank you, I gat the chance to see it before I saw your comment. I need to get the DVD. It has that same creepy feel. And the same strange effect with the motion.
I picked up this DVD at the library last week and I was blown away. I specially enjoyed the Hoichi the Earless segment. Has anyone here seen this film recently? And for those who have what was your favorite segment? I also enjoyed the segment about the man who drinks the soul.
What facinated me about Hoichi the Earless what the music, the soundtrack, and the many layers that the story has: the story as told by the filmmaker, the story told by Hoichi, and the story of Hoichi.
It’s funny that you should revive this thread, Berjuan. I did a blind buy of this during my lunch break today. There are some films that I just know I will love and this is one of those films. I’m beyond excited to watch this later tonight after my softball game.
Cogratulations dude, where did you find this? I hope we didn’t spoil anything for you. I’m thinking about buying this film during the Criterion sale, but I will probablly get Harakiri, they’re both by the same director. I hope you like it as much as I did, but let me know what you think.
I really can’t say where I was during my lunch break for risk of being terminated. Ah, maybe that wouldn’t be all that bad, to be terminated. I’ll just say it was somewhere in the state of Connecticut. I’ll check back with you about the film.
lol, got you, I was just wondering what store has Kwaidan in stock just like that. Ejoy the movie.
Borders had it. I bought it. Yeeeha!
Nate the Movie Mate
So I watched this film last night and was blown away.
Very beautiful and haunting. It’s always nice to find a little gem like this once in a while.
What did you guys think who have seen it?