Kwaidan

"In the tradition of "RASHOMON" and "GATE OF HELL.""

1965 3h 3m JA

🙌

7.7

BANGER

🔥

91%

CERTIFIED FRESH

⭐

7.9

IMDB

★7.7TMDB · 482🍅91%Rotten Tomatoes★7.9IMDB · 21,660

HorrorFantasyDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“In the tradition of "RASHOMON" and "GATE OF HELL."”

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Cast

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

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Masaki Kobayashi
Writers: Yōko Mizuki
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

At 183 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

61 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Masaki Kobayashi, shot by Yoshio Miyajima. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Tōru Takemitsu. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Hisashi Sagara shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Michiyo Aratama and Rentaro Mikuni and Misako Watanabe carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "In the tradition of "RASHOMON" and "GATE OF HELL."".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0058279 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Masaki Kobayashi directs. Yoshio Miyajima behind the camera. Tōru Takemitsu scores. Hisashi Sagara cuts. A long sit — settle in. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1At 183 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.
261 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Masaki Kobayashi, shot by Yoshio Miyajima. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Tōru Takemitsu. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Hisashi Sagara shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Michiyo Aratama and Rentaro Mikuni and Misako Watanabe carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "In the tradition of "RASHOMON" and "GATE OF HELL."".
8IMDB entry: tt0058279 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 17 themes, including "samurai", "based on novel or book", "story teller", "snowstorm".
10Released under 15 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Yoshio Miyajima
Original score: Tōru Takemitsu
Editing: Hisashi Sagara
Costume design: Masahiro Katō
Makeup / hair: Ayako Sakurai
Sound: Kuniharu Akiyama
Runtime: 183 min · 3h 3m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: JA
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Kwaidan (1965)
Rotten Tomatoes: 91% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 7.9/10 · 21,660 votes
MPAA: Not Rated

Awards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. 5 wins & 3 nominations total

Also by

Masaki Kobayashi

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-12-02
★ 7/10
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!

Production companies