Kwaidan (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kwaidan | |
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| Directed by | Masaki Kobayashi |
| Produced by | Shigeru Wakatsuki |
| Written by | Lafcadio Hearn Yôko Mizuki |
| Starring | Rentaro Mikuni Michiyo Aratama Misako Watanabe Tatsuya Nakadai |
| Music by | Tôru Takemitsu |
| Cinematography | Yoshio Miyajima |
| Distributed by | Toho Company Ltd. |
| Release date(s) |  December 29, 1964 November 22, 1965 |
| Running time | 183 min. |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Kwaidan (怪談 Kaidan?) is a 1964 Japanese anthology film directed by Masaki Kobayashi; the title means 'ghost story'. It is based on stories from Lafcadio Hearn's collections of Japanese folk tales. The film consists of four separate and unrelated stories. Kwaidan may only have specialized appeal today but at the time it marked the most expensive production in the history of Japanese cinema.[citation needed]
[edit] The four stories
"The Black Hair" was adapted from "The Reconciliation", which appeared in Hearn's collection Shadowings (1900).
"The Woman of the Snow" is adapted from Hearn's Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things (1903). It depicts the folkloric character of Yuki-onna, a ghostly female figure who inhabits snowy regions.
"Hoichi the Earless" is also adapted from Hearn's Kwaidan (though it incorporates aspects of The Tale of the Heike that are mentioned, but never translated, in Hearn's book). It depicts the folkloric tale of Hoichi the Earless, a blind musician, or biwa hoshi, whose speciality is singing the The Tale of the Heike, about the Battle of Dan-no-ura, a war fought between Emperor Antoku and Minamoto no Yoritomo during the last phase of the Genpei War. Hoichi eventually finds himself singing to the ghosts of the very heroes that are the subject of his song.
"In a Cup of Tea" is adapted from Hearn's Kottō: Being Japanese Curios, with Sundry Cobwebs (1902).
[edit] Style
While Kwaidan is often described as a horror film, it is not gory or sensational, relying instead on slow buildups of tension and on quiet suspense. Kobayashi's visual style is expressionist, using obviously artificial sets and colorful backdrops lit from behind for many of his outdoor scenes, lending them an almost fairy tale-like quality (the graveyard scenes in "Hoichi, the Earless" and the background depicting the giant eye of "The Woman of the Snow" are examples).
[edit] External links
- Kwaidan at the Internet Movie Database
- Trailer for Masters of Cinema release
- 怪談 (Kaidan) (Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
Text of Lafcadio Hearn stories that were adapted for Kwaidan
- The Reconciliation at K.Inadomi's Private Library
- The Story of Mimi-nashi-Hôïchi at K.Inadomi's Private Library
- Yuki-Onna at K.Inadomi's Private Library
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| Preceded by Woman in the Dunes |
Special Jury Prize, Cannes 1965 |
Succeeded by Alfie |
