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This film was proposed by our members Jeremy Sharp and Miguel Zapata who write:
'Kwaidan is an astonishing film, once seen never forgotten. It’s labeled horror, but while the four stories within deal with ghosts and the supernatural, I doubt that anyone would be actually frightened watching it. Haunted, yes, scared, no. It’s a beautiful movie, very stylized with a very imaginative use of colour. I can’t think of anything else I’ve seen that comes close. Mario Bava, maybe. The movie consists of four stories. I think it’s best watched as a whole to let each story blend in to the other, but if forced to choose I would say my favourite segment is the second one ("The Woman in the Snow") which I believe was left out of the version of the movie originally shown outside Japan. Kwaidan is one of those rare movies that leaves you stunned the first time you see it. For me it’s equal to Rashomon, Woman in the Dunes and Branded to Kill as the most amazing Japanese movies I’ve ever seen. They are all masterpieces'.
After more than a decade of sober political dramas and socially minded period pieces, the great Japanese director Masaki Kobayashi shifted gears dramatically for this rapturously stylized quartet of ghost stories. Featuring colorfully surreal sets and luminous cinematography, these haunting tales of demonic comeuppance and spiritual trials, adapted from writer Lafcadio Hearn’s collections of Japanese folklore, are existentially frightening and meticulously crafted.
*Please note, the screening on Tuesday October 24 is our Free Members' Screening, and the screening on Wednesday November 1 is a regular screening.
Cast:
Michiyo Aratama, Tatsuya Nakadai, Katsuo Nakamura, Kan'emon Nakamura, Haruko Sugimura