Kaidan is the kind of film that washes over you without much worry for whether or not you're following its story. And considering the movie is based on four simplistic short stories/fairy tales (of Japanese origin -- I do not know how "classic" the stories are in Japanese culture), you probably won't care one whit whether the samurai returns to his true love after divorcing her to marry a rich woman, or whether a woodcutter breaks his promise not to tell other people about a snow spirit.

Watching Masaki Kobayashi's grandiose and elaborate set pieces (and it's obvious this is all shot in a studio, adding to the grandeur of this production) is the focus of the show -- his hand-panted skies are surreal and fascinating. Unfortunately, the storyline doesn't intrigue nearly enough to keep you rapt for three hours, leaving you with a similar experience to Legend, all show and nobody home.