Kwaidan
October 31 - November 2, 2026
A rapturously stylized quartet of ghost stories, featuring colorfully surreal sets and luminous cinematography. These haunting tales of demonic comeuppance and spiritual trials, adapted from writer Lafcadio Hearn’s collections of Japanese folklore, are existentially frightening and meticulously crafted. 4K restoration of the original three-hour cut. Every showtime has a 10-minute intermission.
This visually and aurally ravishing widescreen film, perhaps the greatest of Masaki Kobayashi, is adapted from the ghostly tales of Lafcadio Hearn, the Greek-Irish writer who made Japan his home in the 1890s. The level of stylization – in color, composition, music, sound, speech and movement – of these four tales is never less than breathtaking. Kwaidan bankrupted Kobayashi’s production company, but the effort was well worth it: there’s nothing else like it in all of cinema. Made in close collaboration with the great composer Toru Takemitsu.
- Director: Masaki Kobayashi
- Principal Cast: Michiyo Aratama, Misako Watanabe, Tatsuya Nakadai, Keiko Kishi, Kanemon Nakamura
- Country: Japan
- Year: 1965
- Running Time: 183 min.
- Producer: Shigeru Wakatsuki
- Screenplay: Yoko Mizuki
- Cinematographers: Yoshio Miyajima
- Editors: Hisashi Sagara
- Music: Toru Takemitsu
- Language: Japanese