The Snow Woman (1968) User Reviews

"Ghost Story of the Snow Witch" - Effective ghost story told with modest means

[ChungMo · 8/10 · 18 December 2009]

This is essentially the same Snow Witch story as told in the well-known Japanese ghost film anthology, "Kwaidan". Here it is extended out into a 75 minute excursion into the supernatural.

A master sculptor and his apprentice are trapped in a bad snow storm after finding a special tree for carving a statue for the local temple. Finding refuge in an abandoned hut they celebrate their luck n finding the tree but soon they are visited by the Snow Witch who freezes the sculptor to death but takes pity on the apprentice. He must promise to never speak of this or she'll return and kill him. Back in town, the apprentice is promoted and given the task of making the statue. A mysterious beautiful woman arrives during a torrential rain storm and quickly falls in love with the apprentice. Soon she comes under the lustful eye of the evil Baliff who controls the town. And so it goes....

While the painterly method this story is told in Kwaidan is well-known and appreciated, here the story is accomplished with very careful lighting effects and lens filters. In some ways this is a much more beautiful telling of the story. Akira Ikufube provides a familiar yet unique score. Aside from a couple of clumsy spots in the script and the actor playing the apprentice underplays his part, this is an excellent film.

Worth a look for fans of Japanese folk horror

[yourmotheratemydog715 · 7/10 · 22 April 2019]

Three years after an adaptation in 1965's KWAIDAN, the classic Japanese ghost story of the yuki-onna (snow woman) gets a feature-length telling. While Tokuzo Tanaka's film might feel a little redundant after the wonderful adaptation of the story in KWAIDAN, KAIDAN YUKI JOROU is still well worth a look for fans of Japanese folk horror.

Extending the tale to eighty minutes doesn't feel like stretching it too thin; the feature-length story gets to focus more time on character development and crafting emotional connections, which helps the climax reach surprisingly emotive heights. You almost forget it's a horror flick in the middle, with the vibe lying somewhere between fantasy and family drama, but these portions don't drag like they could have.

The film is beautifully shot and has some wonderfully memorable visual moments, especially near the end. These '60s Japanese horrors do such a wonderful job creating a spooky atmosphere, which is amplified by the setting and time period. It's like you're seven years old, telling ghost stories around the fire, except you're in rural Japan and wearing a kimono for some reason.

It is rather predictable and features a lot of the missteps of Japanese cinema from this time period (overacting, a tendency towards ham-fisted asides and monologues, etc.), but if you enjoyed the likes of KWAIDAN and ONIBABA, this should tickle your fancy.

An Artistic Touch

[Uriah43 · 7/10 · 16 August 2013]

In a certain area of Japan there was a legend of a powerful ghost living in the mountains known as the "Snow Woman" who would kill those she happened to come upon. One particularly snowy day a master carpenter and his apprentice were traveling in the forest looking for a tree to make into a statue for their local shrine. They found the tree but that night the Snow Woman appeared and killed the master as he slept. His apprentice, "Yosaku" (Akira Ishiham) witnessed the whole thing as he lay there completely horrified. She then uncharacteristically tells him that she will spare him as long as he never mentions her or what happened that night. He swears and she leaves. Not long afterward, a beautiful woman named, "Yuki" (Shiho Fujimura) shows up in his village. Yosaku falls in love with her and they get married. Anyway, rather than spoil the story for those who haven't seen it, I will just say that this was a pretty good ghost story which is very Japanese. As such, those who are able to enjoy films from another culture (with English subtitles) will probably find this movie quite interesting. Others may not. Personally, I thought it was a very good film. I especially liked the makeup and the snowy sets the director (Tokuzô Tanaka) used which enhanced the spooky ambiance and gave the film an artistic touch. An above average movie.

The Snow Woman

[BandSAboutMovies · 7/10 · 24 December 2023]

An expanded adaptation of the Yuki-onna short story from the 1904 collection Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things by Lafcadio Hearn, The Snow Woman was released in the U. S. - with subtitles - in 1969 under the title Snow Ghost. A similar story also is in the movie Kwaidan.

Director Tokuzo Tanaka directed many of Zatochi movies for Daiei, as well as the films Bad Reputation, The Haunted Castle and the incredible Killer Whale. The script was by Fuji Yahiro.

An old sculptor and his student Yosaku (Akira Ishihama) are carving a statue of a goddess and looking for the perfect tree. As they shelter themselves from the snow, they meet a woman in white who freezes the master but allows his apprentice to live, as long as he never reveals that he saw her. If he does tell anyone about her, she will return to kill him.

Later, Yuki (Shiho Fujimura) comes to live near the apprentice, who waits five years for the tree to dry so that he may sculpt it. He's dealing with a bailiff who kills the wife of the master sculptor, who reveals that her dying wish is that Yuki marries the young sculptor. The bailiff tries to make Yuki his concubine but she freezes him and all of his men, revealing herself, as the sculptor speaks of the night he met her. She leaves, rather than fulfill her oath to kill him, as she can't leave their son an orphan.

This story had to have inspired the final story in Tales from the Darkside: The Movie. My favorite part of this movie is how any time the snow woman appears, the movie make an obvious removal from reality in color and brightness. What a gorgeous story.

Enchanting and sad

[paul-ayres-60784 · 10/10 · 4 May 2022]

A wonderful story told so well in this adaptation. It is so much more than a horror story. It is a story of love and compassion but with great sadness. It captures the imagination in a way that the Japanese are true masters at.

I want more of these kind of movies!

ACAB Snow Witch Revenge.

[meddlecore · 6/10 · 3 October 2022]

A sculptor and his apprentice embark on a journey up the mountain between Mino and Hida, in Japan, during the dead of winter, in search of a mythical tree, which they seek to fell, in order to carve it into a statue of the Goddess of Mercy, Kannon, for their local temple.

However, before they are able to acquire the tree, they are confronted by the entity of a beautiful woman...who is actually the spirit of the mountain, in the form of the snow witch.

Legend has it that any man who gazes upon her, becomes possessed by her (though cursed is probably a more appropriate term).

So, when she enters the cabin in which the men are staying, she kills the would be sculptor- by freezing him to death- leaving his apprentice to bear the burden of her secret, on penalty of death.

However, she happens to fall in love with the apprentice, so she takes on the form of a regular woman- though one whose beauty is unsurpassed- and makes her way to his village.

Eventually the two are married and have a child, while the apprentice is tasked with carving the statue in absence of his mentor.

Things take a turn for the worse, when the local bailiff (the equivalent of a sheriff, in a western sense) becomes infatuated with the woman, and seeks to possess her by any means necessary...even if that means raping her.

Considering such, he is jealous of the apprentice, and thus constantly harasses him, in an attempt to prevent him from finishing his task.

But he definitely chose to mess with the wrong family...

The whole thing is rather short (at approx 1hour and 15 mins), and is rather simply constructed.

But it's nicely shot, and rather entertaining, despite the fact that the special effects are achieved with rather meager means (some fancy make-up and a few camera tricks).

Despite it's simplicity, however, it's a rather effective ghost story.

As it's both bothersome, and reassuring, to know that no matter what the culture and time frame is,...cops will always be considered bastards.

Long live the snow witch...and FTP.

6 out of 10...

The Snow Queen.

[morrison-dylan-fan · 9/10 · 4 October 2018]

Five years ago I picked up a disc from a DVD seller of a interesting-sounding J-Horror. Whilst having seen a number of films with poor prints, the print for this title was the first one that I found to be unwatchable, due to the picture being half the size of the average ruler (yes,really!) Believing this to be the only version around, I was thrilled to recently find a pristine print online,which allowed me to at last meet the snow woman.

View on the film:

Freezing up the screen in Snow Woman's (SW) introduction, director Tokuzô Tanaka & cinematographer Chikashi Makiura crack open an incredibly icy Gothic Horror/dark Fantasy atmosphere, whipped up by startling close-ups on SW's eyes,that unleash (still very effective) special effects killing those who catch her gaze, against a snowy wilderness. Bringing compassion to SW ("Yuki's") eyes, Tanaka gives her family life lush, water colour stylisation, freeing the camera to elegant panning shots against the closed fist threats Yuki and her family get from the locals. Tanaka also displays a real subtle quality, by framing Yuki's eyes as out of view or looking downwards.

Expanding the short story in Lafcadio Hearn's novel, (which also featured in Kwaidan (1964)- a film I've not yet seen)the adaptation by Fuji Yahiro expands on the origins with incredible ease that brings a soulfulness to the struggles Yuki and her husband Shigetomo face from the locals. Haunting the couple with a statue whose face Shigetomo is unable to prefect, Yahiro brilliantly keeps the poetic Gothic Horror chills woven to the outbursts of death the Snow Woman makes to those threaten what she most holds dears. Giving her face the appearance of eyes without a face when being Yuki, Shiho Fujimura gives a magnificent, expressive performance, capturing the fragility Yuki holds her family in, and the icy screams of fear that are heard across the village from the appearance of The Snow Woman.

A good movie, but would i call this one horror?

[Gravendal · 8/10 · 27 December 2022]

Actually, no. I wouldn't call this a horror movie, but a good drama movie with a paranormal twist in it. Why?

The story is about a Snow woman, a ghost who falls in love with a living man, and this movie is the story about her and the man who are a sculpture-maker.

The story itself is a catching one, i myself ain't intro drama movies but the acting and dialogs, building of the story keeps me interested in what is happening in the movie.

It's good filmed, special effects are also very good and its in its whole a very good movie. But like said, i wouldn't call this a horror movie but a drama movie as first genre, then perhaps some horror elements but i wouldn't place this one under horror.

Sad and Touching

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 14 December 2022]

On the Mino Mountains, the master sculptor Shigetomo (Tatsuo Hananuno) and his apprentice Yosaku (Akira Ishihama) find the ideal tree to carve the sculpture of the goddess Kannon for the temple of their village. There is a snow storm and they seek shelter in an abandoned cabin. During the night, the evil Snow Woman freezes Shigetomo and tells to Yosaku that she would not kill him since he is young and handsome. However, she makes him promise that he will keep absolute secret about her, never disclosing to anyone the events of that night. Yosaku was raised by Shigetomo and his wife Soyo (Sachiko Murase) and he is assigned by the village leader to carve the sculpture of Kannon. One rainy day, Yosaku and Soyo meet the gorgeous Yuki (Shiho Fujimura) and she stays with them. When the vile Intendant badly hits Soyo for protecting the local kids, she makes Yuki promise to marry Yosaku before she dies. Five years later, Yosaku and Yuki are happily married with the boy Tarô. However, the couple is harassed by the Intendant and his samurais until one day Yosaku discloses his secret to Yuki and the Snow Woman appears.

"Kaidan yukijorô", a.k.a. "The Snow Woman", is a sad and touching Japanese film based on the horror folklore of an evil female spirit. The film is beautifully shot, with magnificent cinematography and make-up. The special effects are also excellent for a 1968 movie. Shiho Fujimura is extremely beautiful and perfect in the role of a spirit that falls in love with a mortal and learns the meaning of love and compassion. "The Snow Woman" is a must-see heartbreaking film only released in Brazil this year on DVD. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Mulher da Neve" ("The Snow Woman")

Ice ice baby.

[BA_Harrison · 5/10 · 27 December 2023]

Having found the perfect tree for their statue of goddess Kannon, master sculptor Shigetomo (Tatsuo Hananuno) and his young apprentice Yosaku (Akira Ishihama) shelter from a snowstorm in an abandoned shack. During the night, the evil snow woman enters the shack and freezes Shigetomo, but takes a fancy to to Yosaku, sparing his life on the condition that he never speaks of their encounter.

With his master dead, Yosaku is assigned the task of carving the statue of Kannon, but must first wait five years for the wood to be ready; during this time, he meets and falls for pretty Yuki (Shiho Fujimura). At the behest of Shigetomo's dying widow, Yuki agrees to marry Yosaku and the couple are blessed with a son, Tarô (Shin'ya Saitô). However, a jealous bailiff wants Yuki for himself, and threatens to have Yosaku arrested on a trumped up charge unless he can pay a fine. When Yuki is able to raise the money, the bailiff tries to rape the woman instead, unaware that she is, in reality, the snow woman.

Sound familiar? That could be because The Woman of the Snow's traditional ghost story was also used for the second tale in the classic 1964 Japanese horror anthology Kwaidan (although it was cut from the American version to reduce the film's 183 minute runtime to a more manageable 125 minutes). This feature length version of the same tale is very similar to the one in Kwaidan... a tragic, poetic, slow-burner with superb cinematography, excellent performances and decent special effects; however, even at just 80 minutes, it feels like it is stretched awfully thin.

If you have your heart set on watching just one film version of the story, I would fast-forward to the second tale in Kwaidan: it does the same job, and you'll save yourself twenty minutes or so.

Ghost Story of the Snow Witch offers a unique and engaging witch narrative well worth your time

[kevin_robbins · 8/10 · 26 November 2023]

I recently watched the Japanese film Ghost Story of the Snow Witch (1968) on a streaming service. The plot follows a wood craftsman caught in a snowstorm while searching for the perfect tree. Seeking refuge in an abandoned home, they encounter a witch who kills the craftsman and strikes a deadly deal with the apprentice, promising a return if the pact is ever broken.

Directed by Tokuzô Tanaka (Zatoichi the Fugitive) and featuring performances from Shiho Fujimura (Zatoichi's Cane Sword), Akira Ishihama (Harakiri), Mizuho Suzuki (Akira), and Taketoshi Naitô (Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance).

The portrayal of the witch is remarkably impressive for its time, with intense and well-crafted eyes giving her an almost owl-like appearance at times. 🦉 The witch's allure is gorgeous, even surpassing human form flashback scenes, adds to the film's appeal. The unfolding backstory captivates, and the cinematography, particularly during the era, stands out. The depiction of the snowstorm and landscape shots left a lasting impression. The storyline weaves several intriguing twists until a satisfying conclusion.

In summary, Ghost Story of the Snow Witch offers a unique and engaging witch narrative well worth your time. I'd score this a 7.5-8/10 and strongly recommend it.