A transparent base plate supports a first compensating layer, which is
adapted to compensate for a phase difference due to liquid crystal
molecules having undergone normal orientation in a liquid crystal layer
of a TN liquid crystal display device, and second compensating layers,
which are adapted to compensate for the phase difference due to the
liquid crystal molecules having undergone hybrid orientation in the
liquid crystal layer. Each of the second compensating layers is
constituted of one of oblique incidence vacuum deposited films, which are
formed on opposite surfaces of the base plate with oblique incidence
vacuum evaporation of an inorganic material. An azimuthal angle and/or a
polar angle of a direction of vacuum evaporation with respect to a plane
of vacuum evaporation is set to be different between the second
compensating layers.