Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

Kwaidan Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 2, 2020

Masaki Kobayashi's "Kwaidan" (1964) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage trailers for the film; new program with critic Kim Newman; and new video essay by critic David Cairns. The release also arrives with a 100-page illustrated collector's book. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

All of the films Masaki Kobayashi directed prior to Kwaidan are firmly grounded in reality. Some are set in the years immediately after the end of WWII and focus on Japan’s struggle to rebuild itself. Some are period pieces that question and condemn traditional values and beliefs as well as the past social orders they defined. The majority of these films are dark and uncompromising, oozing angst and seeking to engage the mind and provoke reactions. (Kobayashi was an outspoken pacifist whose dissatisfaction with the socio-political status quo in Japan after the war is felt throughout his entire body of work).

Kwaidan is an odd entry in Kobayashi’s filmography. It is based on four stories from a novel by Lafcadio Hearn, each of which is set in a very unusual place. The best way to describe it is to say that it is the flip side of conventional reality. It is sort of a surreal place where ghosts coexist with ordinary people and time routinely slows down. This is the natural order of things there.

In each story, however, the order is disturbed. When this happens, the ghosts become angry and attempt to restore balance according to their liking. It isn’t pretty, but in a way they seem much more human as their actions and emotions are typically the logical ones. If there is a pure horror element in the film it is precisely this unusual switch, as it suggests that people are in fact weak and deeply flawed creatures that can easily slip and fall into the abyss of madness.

Though it could have been quite easy to do, the conflicts in the four stories are not used to produce any specific observations about Japan’s past leaders and their legacy. This is arguably the key reason why the film’s allure has not faded. It forces one to think about right and wrong, the logical and the illogical, but without ever crossing into conventional reality. The film looks and feels like a very long dream with memorable and through-provoking moments for everyone -- regardless of their age, political orientation, cultural background, and, most importantly, expectations.

There are very few other Japanese films in which music and sound effects are as crucial for the desired atmosphere as they are in Kwaidan. The great composer Tôru Takemitsu used traditional Japanese instruments and unique devices to produce a very distinctive modern soundtrack whose key themes remind of John Cage’s experimental work. Takemitsu also carefully managed silence and the sound effects to adjust the tone and rhythm of the film. (In most films this is done during the editing process, but in Kwaidan the shifts are actually introduced via the complex sound design).

Kwaidan was Kobayashi’s first color film. It was shot almost entirely on indoor sets, which is why select sequences look as if they were extracted from an elaborate theater play.

Kobayashi always considered the 183-minute version of Kwaidan to be its definitive version, but for years distributors around the world screened the shorter 161-minute version of the film. Kobayashi was forced to cut the film when he submitted it for consideration at the Cannes Film Festival in 1965.

This release of Kwaidan uses Criterion's 2K restoration and reconstruction of the 183-version of the film with the original four stories: “The Black Hair”, “The Woman of the Snow”, “Hoichi the Earless”, and “In a Cup of Tea”. When the film was initially cut for the Cannes screening, the entire second story, “The Woman of the Snow”, was removed.

Kwaidan Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Kwaidan arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

The release uses the 2K restoration and reconstruction of the film that Criterion introduced on Blu-ray in 2015. (You can see our review of the North American release here). It is a very fine presentation with strong organic qualities. To be honest, aside from density, which could be slightly better, all other areas of the presentation appear optimal. Clarity, delineation, and fluidity are all very good and on a larger screen the visuals hold up very nicely. Some minor fluctuations remain but there are stylistic choices that are responsible for them. The color grading is convincing, though this is the only other area where I personally feel that saturation could be improved a bit. So, this is an all-around solid presentation of the film that will likely remain its definitive presentation on the home video market. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Kwaidan Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Japanese LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The lossless track is healthy and handles the original sound mix very well. Earlier today, while viewing the film again, I was actually quit impressed with the clarity and stability of the minimalistic score, which is where any potential age-related issued would have been most obvious. (A good spot to test is around the 38.00.00 - 40.00.00 right before The Woman in the Snow begins). The dialog is stable, clean, and easy to follow.

Kwaidan Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Japanese Trailer - a vintage trailer for Kwaidan. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (4 min).

• Japanese Teaser One - a vintage teaser trailer for Kwaidan. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (2 min).

• Japanese Teaser Two - a vintage black-and-white teaser trailer for Kwaidan. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (2 min).

• Kim Newman - in this new video program, critic Kim Newman discusses some of the unique qualities of Kwaidan as well as international appeal and success. There are good comments about Masaki Kobayashi's style and legacy as well. In English, not subtitled. (25 min).

• Shadowings - new video essay by critic David Cairns. In English, not subtitled. (36 min).

• Book - a 100-page illustrated collector's book featuring reprints of Lafcadio Hearn's original ghost stories; a survey of the life and career of Masaki Kobayashi by Linda Hoaglund; and a wide-ranging interview with the film maker the last he'd ever give.

Kwaidan Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is extremely difficult to profile Masaki Kobayashi's Kwaidan. It looks like a period surrealist films, but it feels strikingly modern. Eureka Entertainment's upcoming release uses Criterion's 2K restoration and reconstruction of the longer version of the film with the original four ghost stories. If you don't yet have the film in your collection, now is a good time to pick it up. If you only have it on DVD, this is also the right time to consider an upgrade. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.