CRITERION COLL: KWAIDAN

The majority of Akira Kurosawa's cast performed in "Kwaidan," also known as "Ghost Stories." Among the tales, my favorite was "Hoichi the Earless," starring Takashi Shimura (known for his role as the head of the temple). Although I didn't fully grasp the last story, I found it intriguing that filmmaker Mr. Masaki Kobayashi placed it at the end of the film. It's surprising how a Japanese film from 1964 could still captivate audiences in 2024, but there's a reason both Mr. Kobayashi and Mr. Kurosawa are considered great filmmakers in the history of world cinema. I watched this film twice: once as a child, finding it frightening at the time, and accidentally again when we had Japanese guests at home. My dad rented the film to impress them. Since then, I've delved into many films. While Mr. Kobayashi delved into horror and mystical stories, Mr. Kurosawa often addressed themes of poverty in his movies. I have a deep admiration for old Japanese filmmakers; their films often carried moral messages. Award-winning films from that era were particularly poignant, unlike many contemporary productions. It was refreshing to watch a classic film today on Amazon! I could not believe it when i saw this film on Amazon prime. It was amazing! Thanks to Amazon prime and the company who added this film on Prime. A+++++++

This film will by no means be for everyone as it is very slow paced, and not a Horror film in the traditional Western sense, especially as it was made in Japan in the 60's. But the slow pacing, and length of the stories doesn't take away from them, as this is obviously the intention, and as such each story is filled with atmosphere and tension, and frankly I found each story quite gripping as a result.

As well as being stunning to look a the film delivers subtle chills that remain long after the film is over. This is not a film for fans of body-horror or slash fests.

There are not enough superlatives to describe how lucky we are having Criterion. Who else would come to think to release a two hour version of this originally three hour film. Nobody in these busy days has the strength to watch a movie that long. Besides these Japanese films have often so slow pace, they are too unconventional to us living in more civilized and sophisticated western culture. Remember also the accuracy of details Criterion is so superior. For instance as you can see this film is made in 1965 , not 1964 although many other sources in their unreliability claim so. So we devoted movielovers are happy to have Criterion to put our trust on and that's why we are gladly ready to pay a double price for these products tailored to fit our predilections. I warmly recommend Criterion and hope that they keep this good thing going by making shorter versions of movies from countries of strange cultures and having too little action. I want to express my deepest admiration and gratitude and I take my hat off and humbly bow my head in front of the supreme wisdom of Criterion. Your always loyal discible.

This is quite simply one of the most exquisite films ever made, a marvel of aesthetic refinement in every way, and a unique work of art. There are not enough superlatives to describe the manifold wonders of Kwaidan: the fine acting, gorgeous sets, subtle direction, and especially the extraordinary musique concrete score by Takemitsu, all combined by the obsessive artistry of Kobayashi to realize a rare and beautiful cinematic vision. This film is beyond praise.

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Creí que tendría más extras, además solo viene un triptico genérico, costó mucho para lo que vale, para rematar no lo lee todos los blurays, pero el servicio de Amazon excelente

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Kwaidan (1964) Japanese folk/ghost tales /fairy-tales with supernatural and theatrical like cinematography. That is right this film is very artsy and the settings, camera work, light is very nostalgic and Gone With the Wind-like. Actually, the cinematography of story # 2 is the equivalent of Scarlet O'Hara's Tara plantation set. The film is 183 minutes long. It is composed of four stories, approximately each one 40-45 minutes long. The budget of the film was estimated at the time for 350,000,000 Japanese Yen. Tremendous amount of money. I would not classify this entirely into a horror. Only the first two stories have something to do with horror. The last two stories are weakest and make this film lose its interest after the first two. Be there as it may, I still gave this film 5 stars. It is a feast for eyes...cinematographicly dazzling ! *Favorite stories out the four: 1) "The Black Hair" [husband leaves wife for a wealthier woman...the new marriage is unhappy...years go by...husband leaves the second wife and heads back to the previous wife...upon his return... 2) "The Woman of the Snow" [young lumberjack together with his master gets trapped in a snow storm in the middle of a forest...the two find a hut to wait-out the blizzard...a young woman dressed in white appears and kills the master...she lets the young man live, but asks him to keep a secret about what has occurred or else he too will be killed, to-which he agrees...the young man gets back to his home where quickly recovers from sickness and soon meets a young and pretty lady he marries...the couple have children...years go by... Worth mentioning is also the music...it is creepy at times and very oriental. If you like the literature by Edgar Allan Poe, The Grim Brothers, and Christian Andersen this film should blow you away. The film very much reminded of such cult films as: Gone With the Wind (1939), The Saragossa Manuscript (1965) and Ran (1985).

Ah, che meraviglia Kwaidan Un viaggio nel puro fantasy, così fiammeggiante, così pittorico, così visivamente avvolgente (che gioia per gli occhi quei fondali dipinti con gli occhi che si stampano nel cielo disegnato e fissano i protagonisti ne La donna della neve, che bellezza la natura morta e la casa diroccata nella foresta nei pressi di Kyoto ne I capelli neri, che sbalorditiva e visionaria che e la battaglia navale ne Hoichi senza orecchie, con il mare che si fà rosso sangue, che mi ha ricordato certo cinema di Kurosawa, che rigore formale e che inquietudine che ha Una tazza di tè, con quel finale terrifico-il vaso-quasi metacinematografico e così avanti con i tempi) In certi passaggi pare girato ieri e non ha perso smalto in tutti questi 50 anni, che sembrava così fuori dal tempo e dallo spazio, senza un epoca precisa, ancora emozionante e avvolgente, stilisticamente dalle parti del capolavoro. Le ragazzine maledette lungocrinite vengono tutte da I capelli neri, spudoratamente e scelleratamente Michael McDowell copierà da La donna della neve il segmento del gargoyle nell'omnibus I Delitti del Gatto Nero (che fù il mio episodio preferito di quel film), facendone un vile (non credo citi la fonte di Kwaidan) remake, anche se con finale più crudele di quello di Kobayashi, Peter Greenaway studierà a memoria Hoichi senza orecchie, mentre Una tazza di tè segnerà quasi tutto l'horror a venire sul tema "finzione/realtà" e certi temi cari a Stephen King Forse agli occhi dello spettatore di oggi può sembrare un pò ingenuo e datato, ma Kwaidan e pura gioia per lo spirito, gli occhi e l'encefalo. Una dimensione fiabesca e fantastica ormai perduta nel tempo Come sempre di grande qualità il dvd edito dalla Raro: Audio originale giapponese in formato dual mono 2.0 con sottotitoli in italiano, video 2.35:1 (16:9) e due extra: - Trailer originale - Presentazione/intervista a Daniela Raddi, studiosa di Cinema Giapponese. Durata effettiva: 2h,55m e 42s