#480: KOBAYASHI, Masaki: The Human Condition (1959)

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KOBAYASHI, Masaki (Japan)
The Human Condition [1959]
Spine #480
DVD


Masaki Kobayashi's mammoth humanist drama is one of the most staggering achievements of Japanese cinema. Originally made and released as three films, the nine-and-a-half-hour The Human Condition, adapted from Junpei Gomikawa's six-volume novel, tells of the journey of the well-intentioned but naive Kaji (handsome Japanese superstar Tatsuya Nakadai) from labor camp supervisor to Imperial Army soldier to Soviet POW. Constantly trying to rise above a corrupt system, Kaji time and again finds his morals an impediment rather than an advantage. A raw indictment of its nation's wartime mentality as well as a personal existential tragedy, Kobayashi's riveting, gorgeously filmed epic is novelistic cinema at its best.

574 minutes
Black & White
Monaural/Stereo
in Japanese
2:35:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2009
Director/Writers


Based on the novel by Junpei Gomikawa.

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Twelve-page wraparound featuring an essay by critic Philip Kemp.

Commentary

None.

Excerpt

From a rare Directors Guild of Japan video interview with director Kobayashi, conducted by filmmaker Masahiro Shinoda.
Video interview

With actor Nakadai.
Video appreciation

Of Kobayashi and The Human Condition featuring Shinoda.
Japanese theatrical trailers

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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