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Summary: .
Review: Fine, fine movie; sometimes I like Kobayashi even better than Akira Kurosawa. This movie reminded me of Kurosawa's "Dreams," only it is 4 ghost stories rather than 8 (was it 8?) vignettes. The visual style is coloful, surreal, and deliciously imaginative, and the emotional and aesthetic atmospheres could be described exactly the same way. An incredible and bizarre soundtrack aids the film further yet. The only weakness is that it's a bit slow on the start-up; the first tale is good, but a bit simplistic to serve as a kick-off, and the second tale, despite some amazing visual imagery, is the least satisfying of the four. The third is excellent (although you have to change tapes halfway through it, grr), and the fourth is wonderful as well -- if it were a little longer, and more complete, it would be my favorite. All in all a fine, unusual, and rewarding atmospheric Japanese film.
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Summary: Superb introduction to Japanese mythology
Review: Four traditional tales of the supernatural from Japan are the subject of this superb film. I'll be honest; I'd never heard of these stories nor though much about Japanese mythology before my girlfriend brought this DVD home to watch for her Japanese history class. She watched, and invited me to join in. I didn't think I be at all interested, but they are well-photographed and acted, and I found I really enjoyed them.The first tale "The Black Hair" was a very touching story about love and loss, and was my favorite. Highly Recommended.
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Summary: Handsome and affecting
Review: Handsomely-mounted production of four Lafcadio Hearn retellings of tales from ancient Japan: "Black Hair" has a samurai returning to his estranged wife after marrying to elevate his station; "Yukionna" features a woodcutter and a female snow spirit in a secret pact; "Hoichi the Earless", the longest and best segment, has a blind monk who is commanded to play the biwa for the restless spirits of the dead Heike; "In A Cup Of Tea", which was originally an aborted manuscript, gets a creative treatment here. Breathtaking to look at if a little long and un-unified, and only the most tenuous connection between any of the stories (barring perhaps the consistent thread of the dead being jealous of the living!). Still essential for any Japanese film lover, though.
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Summary: Fantastic piece of artwork
Review: I became a fan of the more artistic genre of Japanese film with Kurosawa's Throne of Blood and Hidden Fortress, both black and white classics of the style. After I happened to see this collection of stories on TV, I ordered the video. Still impressed after several viewings, I've decided to purchase the DVD version when it comes out this fall so I can see the film in it's most perfect form for home viewing. The collection is based on a series of short stories by a Louisiannan writer, Lafacado Hearn. Kwaidan is Japanese for ghost stories, a type of fiction I've enjoyed since childhood introduction to MacBeth and The Christmas Carole, and these are some very well written examples. My favorites of this collection were the Woman in the Snow and Earless, the former for director Kobayashi's incredible sense of color, sound and setting, and the latter for his sense of historical pagentry and drama and its surprise ending. An incredible piece of artwork. I will probably give my video version to a friend who is also fond of the genra and an afficionado of all things Japanese.
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Summary: Pretty film, nice sets, boring movie
Review: I first saw this film in college in 1970. I had remembered only the first of the 4 stories, and the third, "Hoichi the Earless", which my freshman roommate and I thought was a hilarious title. I had no idea what the collection was called, and had not seen the film since it finally came out on DVD. I rediscovered in a roundabout way: I had visited Matsue and became very interested in the life and works of Lafcadio Hearn after visiting his home there. The movie is somewhat reminiscent of a kabuki performance in that is slow and boring, with a beautiful visuals. It is interesting to me that after thirty years, I had absolutely no recollection of the second and fourth parts stories in this film. This time, I liked the fourth story the most, because the sets reminded me of places I had visited in Western Honshu (Matsue, Himeji, Hagi for example). The DVD reproduces the original color of the film beautifully but adds absolutely nothing to the film in terms of bonus material except the original Japanese trailer and the fact that you can turn subtitles off. The subtitles are somewhat distracting and since the stories have practically no plot whatsoever I might have enjoyed Kwaidan more without them. If you are the sort of person who enjoys watching 8 hours of Noh drama sitting on your knees, you should buy this DVD.
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Summary: Haunting classic
Review: I first saw this film many years ago in a theater, and I have not forgotten its many memorable scenes and images. This is the kind of movie that will often baffle people used to traditional dramas. Some will criticize the fact that many of the scenes don't look real. Well, that may have been the whole point. I think the director, Masaki Kobayashi was trying to transport the moviegoer to another world, one that is both supernatural and surreal. There is a dreamlike quality to this movie, much like the films of Jean Cocteau. This is also a movie about the art of telling a story. As is often the case with storytelling, it's not the story itself that is important, but rather the WAY the story is told that captures our fancy. Take, for instance, one the film's best stories, "Hoichi the Earless." In the old Japan, the story of the Heike clan's demise was often recited by biwa hoshi, blind musician/singers who performed the work before audiences. It's this oral tradition that we encounter in the Hoichi story. The combination of the storyteller's dramatic recitation of the Heike clan's last stand and Kobayashi's hauntingly beautiful images is simply mesmerizing. You may not come away liking this movie as much as I do. But you should see it at least once in your lifetime. If you are like me, this film will stay with you for a very long time.
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Summary: Fascinating!
Review: I just loved this movie after I finished watching it. That old-japanese-movie-style was perfect, showing and reiterating over and over again the great devotion that the Japaneses have to their culture. This movie was mainly based by two things: 1- The typical Asain superstition
and 2- The more than enthyusiastic and amazing stories of the samurais. From this movie, my favorite story was the last one, which was about a blind man who was offering his services to the temple, since he knew how to play excellently the japanese instrument, which I completely forgot its name. A ghost, an antique warrior from one of the first battles between two important clans, came to visit Oichi (who was the blind man) by being so that he could tell the history of that battle to warrior's queen, who was ghost as well... For many nights, Oichi went to sing the battle to the queen. Until one night, that the priest, that Oishi was working for, discovers that Oichi was singing for the ghosts... Finally, a helper from the priest writes the sacred text all over Oichi's body. Alas, the helper forgets to write it on Oichi's ears, so when the warrior came to visit Oishi one last time, he was able to see his ears, so he decided to cut them off...and Oichi finally becomes, Oichi the Earless. The great screenplay for each of the stories was just sublime! Very well-done, full of details... A must-see even if you aren't a lover of Asian movies!
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Summary: If only all horror films could be this beautiful.
Review: I know I'm selling this film short by labeling it as a "horror" film, because it's really much better than that. I was fortunate enough to see Kwaidan early one morning during one of IFC's "Samurai Saturdays" (that was actually the first "Samurai Saturday" I had the pleasure of viewing). From the very beginning, despite still being very weary and tired, I was drawn into the picture. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before. The worlds portrayed in the film were so colorful and alive, they almost felt as if they'd been ripped out of a comic book. The mood and atmosphere set by the film was also incredible. The way sounds were used makes everything chilling and very unsettling. Admittedly, this film is less about shocking the viewer. There are a few that are meant to shock, but they're all very obvious well beforehand. But really, the tone of this film is what's most incredible about it. All of the set designs are works of art on their own, but the actors are the ones who make it all work. Everyone's acting is top-notch, particularly the boy who plays Hoichi in one of the stories. I must say that despite the fine acting and atmosphere set by the film, the stories on their own aren't nearly as excellent. On a scale of 1 to 5, I'd give the first story a 3 out of 5, the second a 4 out of 5, the third a 4 out of 5, and the fourth a 2 out of 5 (mainly because it doesn't serve well as the finale). But that said, none of the stories are bad. Those without any knowledge of Japanese culture may feel left out in some instances though.
Criterion did an excellent job bringing this to DVD. Though there aren't any extras (aside from the original theatrical trailer), the transfer of the film print looks fantastic. It honestly looks like a film of only ten years ago, instead of forty years ago. The colors are sharp and vibrant. I really think everyone should see this film. In my opinion, it's one of the best, most unacknowledged Japanese films out there (right up their with Onibaba, Sword of Doom, and Samurai Assassin). I know many won't like it's incredibly slow moving pace and equally long running time, but it's best to give the film a chance and try to enjoy it for what it's worth, because it's worth plenty.
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Summary: The most beautiful film i ever saw
Review: I remember seeing this movie on halloween night of 2002 on IFC when they were playing the most beautiful and bizarre films ever made, after watching a lot of classic american horror films, i was already bored of watching them, because i already knew what was going to happen. I remember it was around 8 pm, noone home i was on the computer typing something and figure it wouldnt be worth sitting down watching these movie, until this movie the first of the six movies they were playing. The credits alone at the beginning of the film and the music made me want to watch it and discover what this fascinating piece of art was, i wouldnt even consider it a film, its more of 4 storys of art. So beautiful, i read somewhere that it was the first color japanese film in Japan and thats the reason why there is so much color. Something this beautiful can only be watch on a good dvd at night to see this dazzling piece. If you like this movie, check out the movie others the director did, i seen them all and they are very good.
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Summary: Short and Sweet
Review: I'll make this short and sweet. I enjoyed this movie very much, however, they made the mistake of putting the least accesible and uninteresting story first. But once that is over it picks up and becomes quite worthy of praise. I particularly enjoyed Hoichi The Earless, which is pictured on the front cover. I will say that this movie is likely an acquired taste and you should rent before buying.
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