Review of Kwaidan (1965) by Lucy B — 09 May 2008

Technically this collection of four Japanese ghost stories is a masterpiece; the art direction, lighting, editing, photography and the stylised sound design are all extraordinary. Unfortunately, "Kwaidan" treats its occasionally humdrum literary source with too much reverence, and a couple of the tales feel overstretched here. As with a lot of Japanese cinema, there's also the niggling suspicion that significant details are frequently and unintelligibly passing one by, their meaning either lost in translation or confounded by the culture barrier. For instance, why do evil women (and one pretty benign looking man) have blackened teeth? Curiously, "The Woman of the Snow", the second and by far the best segment, was removed prior to the film's original western release. It's a visually stunning variation on that hoary old yarn of the immortal with a yen for a mortal life. "Kwaidan" is often erroneously credited with having been shot entirely on studio sets, but the carefully crafted atmosphere of the third tale, "Hoichi, the Earless", is actually undermined by some frustratingly superfluous location footage. All four episodes are powerfully atmospheric - the second and third are especially beautiful to look at - but you'd need an acutely nervous disposition to be unduly spooked by anything here. Individual ratings:-.

1) The Black Hair - 3.5/5.

2) The Woman of the Snow - 5/5.

3) Hoichi, the Earless - 4/5.

4) In a Cup of Tea - 3.5/5.