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Lee Bullitt
31Oct12
definitely enjoyed 'Hiochi the Earless' and 'The Woman in the Snow' most, of the 4 vignettes. All in all, it was a stunning compilation. ☽ ☾ Read my full review here: http://liveforfilm.tumblr.com/post/34687211570/kwaidan-1965
BleepyBloop
7Sep12
I first caught this on tv in the mid 90's and it completely fried my brain. Then in Japan I bought an amazing lavish laserdisc at Tower Records in Shibuya, which I have kept because it's so beautiful. I bought an LD player just to play it. The grade on the Jap version is more flat than the Criterion one which is frankly a fuck up. Go for the Masters of Cinema version, it matches my LD as far as artistic intent.
Pierluigi Puccini
31Oct11
It takes real talent in an artist to make a ghost story scary and poetic, and here are four of them. Before, only in the Powell/Pressburger films I had seen such pictorial beauty.
Nemsitsveridze
28Sep11
Just seen a trailer! Wow!! a new kind of visual art to me and Surrealism... Can't wait to see film!!
Zachary Curl
15Sep11
i can't imagine what people don't see in this movie. Kwaiden includes some of my favorite scenes ever put to film.
Dionisius Amendola
12Sep11
Ok...its nota scary movie, folks...four tales of supernatural and beautiful images (the skies are pure Hiroshige).
Graveyard Poet
19Mar11
This hypnotic, spellbinding, and otherworldly Japanese ghost story anthology is the most beautifully composed and artistic horror film you will ever see. Colors, sets, and wide screen create a uniquely meditative mood in this subtle and reflective masterpiece with textures out of a painting.
Zachary George Najarian-Najafi
31Aug10
This lavish production is certainly a feast for the eyes, words cannot describe how visually ravishing these four ghost stories are. And boy are there some incredible sequences. However the actual stories themselves range from mediocre to great, and it feels like the film lacks edge, it really doesn't suck the viewer in all too well, but it's still entertaining and well worth watching for the visuals alone.
Paul
12Jul10
Opening credit sequence alone is worth the watch. Haunting (surprise) and beautiful ghost stories!
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Addiena of Mubi land
11Jun10
well @ comment below, obviously not a fan of classic horror, eh?? Not even close as boring I say. One hell of a beautiful & stunning visuals. eerie, atmospheric and although it didn't count on special effects and long black haired women with white dress or pale kids running around popping on and off throughout with blasting music as they appear, this quite a unique experience, dreamy but lively. Way ahead of other classic horror of its time.
McNulty
7Jun10
Scary?? Ehhh not really. But if you want to watch an anthology of 3 Japanese Folklore ghost stories you'll definitely enjoy this. Just remember sometimes it's very slow......but the VISUALS....the paintings....the sounds is what makes this movie. The story with the blind monk has some very MEMORABLE scenes....I won't ruin it but it involves ghosts and floating fireballs in a cemetary. I honestly thought this shit would be a masterpiece...because I am a horror fan...and I want shit to scare me!! But it was still a good experience....and I didn't have to pay for shit!
MostlyDead
7Dec09
I was confused by the ending of the last story, but then, that's what you get for making a film version of something that's unfinished.
Daniel S.
4Dec09
Going past the pure fantastic genre, KWAIDAN is a masterpiece. The ghost stories chosen by Kobayashi handle universal themes one could find for instance in Guy de Maupassant’s or Nicolas Gogol’s short stories. Snowy landscapes, forests and cemeteries are also settings conducive to the soul’s rovings. In short, the viewer is not confused in front of these stories, he recognizes them because he already heard them during his childhood but told differently. The stylized sets chosen by Kobayashi to present these stories are unique and reveal a true artist. Indispensable.
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Joriah Goad
12Jun09
Without question one of cinema's finest artistic achievements. Masaki Kobayashi’s Kwaidan is perhaps the ultimate Japanese film for me; the sets and camera work are breathtaking, the stories get inside you like a disease; as unforgettable and incurable as a roadside wreck. A masterpiece that must be seen to be believed; as flawless as they come.
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Crap Monster
3Feb09
As strange as it seems to mention, as much as I liked the anthology itself, I loved the title sequence to this film...
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Phil Worfel
4Dec08
Had the pleasure of showing this twice during a festival and audiences loved it as much as I did. The Criterion transfer is of course stunning and the visuals in the film are unique and terrifying! Well worth a Halloween rental or any other day of the year.