Rating: 
Summary: Ok
Review: This movie was far from what I've expected. First and last stories are barely interesting at all. It was a very theatrical experience, with overdone performances and stage-like lighting. Most interesting piece to me was the story of the earless.
Rating: 
Summary: The best Japansese film written by a westerner!
Review: This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD of the film.When seeing this film, one will be shocked that is based on the book written by an Irish/Greek man who lived in Japan for only the last 15 years of his life. The film has 4 seperate stories. Black Hair is about a man who divorces his wife for a richer woman. Woman of the Snow is about 2 woodcutters who get stranded during a blizzard. A snow vampire later finds them and kills the older man and spares the life of the other on a condition that he tells no one about what happened. Hoichi the Earless is about a blind young man who has a talent for reciting songs about a real life 12th century battle between the Heike and Genji clans. The ghosts of those killed in the battle summon him to their place of rest to perform for them. In a Cup of Tea is about a man who sees another man's reflection in his tea. The DVD only has the theatrical trailer for a special feature. The second episode is my favorite.
Rating:
Summary: LISTEN to this movie!!!
Review: With his "Kwaidan" score, Toru Takemitsu created the most remarkable work of art by using sound as music and music as sound. The line between the two is as blurred as the film form would allow it, in 1964 or nowadays. True to the Japanese tradition, his sound is minimal and well measured. It is executed with great taste and utmost precision but retains all of its natural qualities. It is probably the most effective score that I've ever heard. The only question for me is whether this can even be called 'a score': it certainly deserves a new word to be coined for it. In fact, I do remember noticing unusual opening credit for it but I can't remember the exact words that were used. If you were moved by the flow of his notes in "Woman in the Dunes" or were intrigued with Masaru Sato's amazing score for "Yojimbo", this will take you to a completely new level of listening. It's an absolute aural masterpiece from this high master of film music! Of course, this is only my opinion but I usually listen to movies more carefully than I watch them. You'll just have to trust my ears and their taste on this one.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible
Review: Without a doubt one of the most, if not THE most visually stunning film ever made. Jaw-dropping in its formal elegance and use of color and scope photography. Coppola's Dracula and Kurosawa's Dreams were obviously influenced by this masterpiece of unease and dread. Kudos to director Masaki Kobayashi whose little-seen "Harakiri" is nearly as monumental--which means it too is a must-see. Criterion had better do the DVD right!
Rating:
Summary: The greatest Japanese horror film ever made
Review: Wow! What a gorgeous film this is! Kwaidan is quite possibly the most beautiful scary movie you will ever see. The cinematography in Kwaidan is superb, and the film has an epic feel to it, rather unusual for a horror film. In fact, I would even call this film the "2001" of horror movies, and I imagine that if Stanley Kubrick had gotten around to directing a Japanese-style horror movie, it would look a lot like this film. Kwaidan was made in the mid-1960s, and at the time, it was the most expensive Japanese film ever made. It was a big success at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Special Jury Prize. The film is a collection of four ghost stories, told with a decidedly Japanese flair. The first story is about a man who abandons his wife only to return years later. The second story is about a man's encounter with a snow vampiress. The third story, my favorite, is about a monk who gives nocturnal recitals for mysterious and ghostly hosts. The last story is about a man who drinks down a ghost. That's all you really need to know, as the stories are quite straight-forward. It is the manner in which they are told and photographed that makes them so powerful. The pacing is very deliberate and slow but gives you plenty of time to appreciate the numerous beautiful images that appear on-screen. The director, Kobayashi, filmed Kwaidan in a very surrealistic fashion, and the entire soundtrack was post-dubbed. As such, the sound effects come and go in very unexpected ways, like nervous twitches. This lends a further eerie atmosphere to the film. The DVD is by Criterion, so you can expect a great transfer. And the transfer is absolutely stunning! Just look at the trailer (included on the DVD) and compare with the quality of the film itself, and you will be amazed. The picture is crystal clear with bright colors and deep black (the many night scenes look great, not muddy at all). There are no pixelations or artifacts and barely a trace here or there of scratch marks that belie the film's age. Sound is monophonic. Too bad Criterion didn't include a commentary track, but I suppose with an almost 3-hour film, there wasn't much room left on the DVD for anything else. Still, if you like eerie ghost movies like The Innocents or The Haunting (original B/W version) or The Changeling, you will really appreciate this film. Kwaidan is not horrifying or scary in a "Halloween" or "Scream" manner; rather it creates an uneasy sensation of dread and despair. Highly highly recommended!
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