In the nineties, Japanese horror found a market in the West, presenting a fresh approach to the tired old clichés – some of the more popular titles were even remade with American actors (which sort of defeated the purpose). Something similar happened in the sixties, with films like ONIBABA and KWAIDAN, if on a somewhat smaller scale.

These movies were of course rather different from the teenager-in-peril genre of later years – except for the black hair – the former being almost neorealist, while the latter is drawing heavily on the Noh tradition. It takes more than three hours to tell four of the ghost stories collected by the American author LAFCADIO HEARN, relying heavily on decors, but retaining the distinctive character of their setting, even down to the score, one of the great virtues of the Japanese cinema being its closeness to its roots in a Feudal society, giving a portrayal of it, which is neither overly romantic or condemning.

The first story deals with the unparalleled sorrow of a carelessly lost love, the protagonist failing to understand that a successful romantic relationship requires the abandonment of all other considerations and aspirations. In the following story, the simpleminded lover similarly breaks the trust of his supernatural mistress, with equally disastrous results.

The third and longest is also the best, entertaining the brilliant idea that even dead warriors need to have their virtues extolled in song, and climaxing in a disastrous battle equalling that of the Mahabharata. The whole thing is elegantly finished off with an unfinished tale about ghosts trapped like reflections in water – and tea.

KWAIDAN is a ravishingly beautiful and in its own way extremely entertaining film. It should be seen in its full length, versions of 125, or even 164 minutes not doing it justice.