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Masaki Kobayashi delves into the horror genre with Kwaidan, a collection of four ghost stories based on traditional Japanese folk tales. Kobayashi's flair for large-scale aesthetic storytelling translates here into a resplendent colour palate, dramatic sets drenched in mist and sumptuously hyperreal painted backdrops, setting the eerie stage for these four haunting tales. In 'The Black Hair' a samurai returns to his former wife to find her changed, 'The Woman of the Snow' tells of the connection between a woodcutter and a spirit; a blind musician performs for the dead in 'Hoichi the Earless' and 'In a Cup of Tea' a writer is haunted by reflections in his teacup.

A note on the runtime — there are three different versions of Kwaidan: the original 183 minute Japanese release, the 125 minute American release (that omits the 'Woman of the Snow' chapter), and the 161 minute 'International Cut'. The 'International Cut' retains all four chapters but features small edits to three of them that reduce the runtime; this is the version that will screen as part of this program.