Kwaidan [Blu-ray]

After more than a decade of sober political dramas and social-minded period pieces, the great Japanese director Masaki Kobayashi (The Human Condition) shifted gears dramatically for this 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. This version of Kwaidan is the original three-hour cut, never before released in the United States. BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES • New 2K digital restoration of director Masaki Kobayashi’s original cut, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack • Audio commentary by film historian Stephen Prince • Interview from 1993 with Kobayashi, conducted by filmmaker Masahiro Shinoda • New interview with assistant director Kiyoshi Ogasawara • New piece about author Lafcadio Hearn, on whose versions of Japanese folk tales Kwaidan is based • Trailers • New English subtitle translation • PLUS: An essay by critic Geoffrey O’Brien