A collection of four Japanese folk tales with supernatural themes.A collection of four Japanese folk tales with supernatural themes.A collection of four Japanese folk tales with supernatural themes.
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
19K
YOUR RATING
- Director
- Writers
- Yôko Mizuki(screenplay)
- Lafcadio Hearn(novel)
- Stars
- Director
- Writers
- Yôko Mizuki(screenplay)
- Lafcadio Hearn(novel)
- Stars
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 5 wins & 2 nominations total
- Director
- Writers
- Yôko Mizuki(screenplay)
- Lafcadio Hearn(novel)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe four vignettes were chosen to represent the four seasons of the year.
- GoofsIn the segment "Miminashi Hôichi no hanashi", Donkai says he covered all of Hôichi's body with the sacred writing, but when Hôichi is writhing on the floor after the ghost's attack, his thighs (which in the shots were supposed to be covered by his robe) are visible for a couple of seconds and are clearly unmarked.
- Quotes
Minokichi's mother (segment "Yuki-Onna"): Traveling alone. I'm a bit worried about you. People are not always kind. Especially to young girls. You must be careful, not to be deceived by bad men.
- Alternate versionsOriginally a four-episode anthology released in Japan at 183 minutes. The USA version removes the second episode, starring Keiko Kishi and Tatsuya Nakadai, in order to shorten the running time to 125 minutes.
- ConnectionsEdited into Catalogue of Ships (2008)
Featured review
Beautiful supernatural Japanese film
Four supernatural tales--all gorgeously filmed. "The Black Hair" is about a man who foolishly leaves his loving wife for a rich wife. He tries to return to her years later--but is it too late? "Woman of the Snow" (easily the scariest) involves a beautiful "vampire" woman who sucks the blood out of men caught in the snow. "Hoichi, the Earless" is the longest, most elaborate and dullest tale. Neat bloody ending though. "In a Cup of Tea" is very short and OK. The film is too long (165 min) and it is very slow at times (especially the "Hoichi" tale), and isn't really scary (except for the "Woman" one)...but it looks absolutely stunning. There's very little dialogue...the visuals tell the story. Quite simply, this contains the most incredible, beautiful wide-screen photography I've ever seen. That's the reason to see it. As for horror...well, there's very little blood, no gore, minimal violence, no sex, no nudity and predictable endings...this is an example of "quiet" horror. Still, worth watching--see it letter-boxed...DO NOT see it pan and scan!
helpful•219
- preppy-3
- Mar 14, 2001
Details
Box office
- Budget
- ¥350,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime3 hours 3 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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