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Kwaidan (1965)

7.7 | Jan 06, 1965 (JP) | Horror, Fantasy, Drama | 03:03
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In the tradition of "RASHOMON" and "GATE OF HELL."

Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning "ghost story," this anthology adapts four folk tales. A penniless samurai marries for money with tragic results. A man stranded in a blizzard is saved by Yuki the Snow Maiden, but his rescue comes at a cost. Blind musician Hoichi is forced to perform for an audience of ghosts. An author relates the story of a samurai who sees another warrior's reflection in his teacup.

Featured Crew

Director
Screenplay
Title Designer
Original Music Composer, Sound Designer
Set Decoration
Costume Design
Cinematography
Gaffer

Cast

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Michiyo Aratama
First Wife (segment "The Black Hair")
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Rentaro Mikuni
Husband (segment "The Black Hair")
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Misako Watanabe
Second Wife (segment "The Black Hair")
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Kenjirō Ishiyama
Father (segment "The Black Hair")
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Ranko Akagi
Mother (segment "The Black Hair")
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Fumie Kitahara
(segment "The Black Hair")
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Kappei Matsumoto
(segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)
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Yoshiko Ieda
(segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)
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Otome Tsukimiya
(segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)
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Kenzō Tanaka
(segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)

Images

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Reviews

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CinemaSerf
7 | Dec 02, 2024
I'm always a little daunted when I settle down in a cinema seat for a film that is 3 hours long - I fear the last glass of wine may have been one too many - but this simply flew by. It is a compendium of four different Japanese "poems" that deal with just about every emotion in the human panoply - love, hate, greed, joy, fear, envy, betrayal... You name it! Each story has a central theme that, perhaps not terribly sophisticated to anyone with a fairly well-centred moral compass of their own, delivers a salutatory lesson in what is decent and what is flawed about human nature, even amongst the best of us. "In A Cup of Tea" - is a wonderfully intriguing story and my personal favourite is "Hoichi" - featuring a blind priest who can sing such beautiful songs but at such a fearful price. The staging is superb, though the fight scenes - especially on the water - maybe a little too studio-bound to be truly effective. The colours and sounds test every range of your senses; ecstasy and despair, bliss and rage and leave you, at the end, feeling as drained and fulfilled, simultaneously, as any film could hope to possibly engender... This really is a glorious roller-coaster of a ride!