A liquid crystal device includes a first substrate having an alignment film; a second substrate disposed opposite the first substrate and having first and second electrodes and an alignment film; a liquid crystal layer disposed between the alignment films of the first and second substrates; a retardation film disposed on a side of the first substrate facing away from the liquid crystal layer; a first polarizer disposed on the side of the first substrate facing away from the liquid crystal layer; and a second polarizer disposed on a side of the second substrate facing away from the liquid crystal layer. The liquid crystal layer is aligned in a direction parallel to the first and second substrates by the alignment films and is driven by an electric field generated between the first and second electrodes. The slow axis of the retardation film is parallel to the transmission axis of the first or second polarizer and is parallel to the alignment direction of the liquid crystal layer. The Nz coefficient and the phase shift Δnd (nm) of the retardation film fall within a range defined on a graph showing Nz coefficients and phase shifts Δnd as points (Nz, Δnd) by linking point A1 (0.3, 68), point A2 (0.5, 175), point A3 (0.7, 215), point A4 (0.7, 332), point A5 (0.5, 365), and point A6 (0.3, 230). The Nz coefficient is defined by the following formula (1): Nz=(nx−nz)/|nx−ny|  (1).