mdblist.com logo The Best Masaki Kobayashi Directed Movies


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poster
Criterion Channel
91
8.6
/87753/
85
/1829/
84
/1133/
4.7
/191892/
100
/10/
97
/415/
85
/9/

Harakiri (1962)
Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual. The senior counselor for the Iyi clan questions the ronin’s resolve and integrity, suspecting Hanshirō of seeking charity rather than an honorable end. What follows is a pair of interlocking stories which lay bare the difference between honor and respect, and promises to examine the legendary foundations of the Samurai code.
poster
Criterion Channel
86
8.3
/15331/
81
/263/
82
/254/
4.3
/20243/
100
/9/
93
/171/
90
/9/

Samurai Rebellion (1967)
The mother of a feudal lord's only heir is kidnapped away from her husband by the lord. The husband and his samurai father must decide whether to accept the unjust decision, or risk death to get her back.
poster
Criterion Channel
82
7.9
/22335/
76
/514/
77
/430/
4.2
/50771/
91
/46/
89
/336/

Kwaidan (1965)
Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning "ghost story," this anthology adapts four folk tales. A penniless samurai marries for money with tragic results. A man stranded in a blizzard is saved by Yuki the Snow Maiden, but his rescue comes at a cost. Blind musician Hoichi is forced to perform for an audience of ghosts. An author relates the story of a samurai who sees another warrior's reflection in his teacup.
poster
Criterion Channel
89
81
8.8
/8394/
86
/207/
84
/199/
4.6
/22211/
97
/861/

The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer (1961)
After the Japanese defeat to the Russians, Kaji leads the last remaining men through Manchuria. Intent on returning to his dear wife and his old life, Kaji faces great odds in a variety of different harrowing circumstances as he and his fellow men sneak behind enemy lines.
poster
Criterion Channel
84
81
8.5
/10706/
82
/303/
81
/268/
4.5
/32508/
73
/15/
95
/56/

The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (1959)
After handing in a report on the treatment of Chinese colonial labor, Kaji is offered the post of labor chief at a large mining operation in Manchuria, which also grants him exemption from military service. He accepts, and moves to Manchuria with his newly-wed wife Michiko, but when he tries to put his ideas of more humane treatment into practice, he finds himself at odds with scheming officials, cruel foremen, and the military police.
poster
Criterion Channel
86
80
8.5
/8584/
82
/223/
82
/210/
4.5
/23248/
94
/897/

The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity (1959)
Kaji is sent to the Japanese army labeled Red and is mistreated by the vets. Along his assignment, Kaji witnesses cruelties in the army and revolts against the abusive treatment against the recruit Obara. He also sees his friend Shinjô Ittôhei defecting to the Russian border, and he ends in the front to fight a lost battle against the Russian tanks division.
poster
Criterion Channel
71
39
7.4
/1235/
65
/20/
72
/25/
3.8
/2693/

The Inheritance (1962)
A dying businessman intends to will his fortune to his three illegitimate children, whose whereabouts are unknown, so a bevy of lawyers and associates scheme to take advantage of the situation.
poster
Criterion Channel
70
35
7.2
/1331/
63
/28/
68
/31/
3.6
/2596/
79
/5/

Black River (1957)
A university student moves into an apartment building and becomes involved with a waitress. The landlord then attempts to evict the tenants and sell the building through illicit means.
poster
67
27
7.2
/2146/
65
/17/
60
/19/
3.6
/696/

Inn of Evil (1971)
The story takes place in feudal Japan, when any commerce with the rest of the world was strictly prohibited. An idealist suddenly appears in an isolated inn (the one that the title refers to), the head-quarters of a group of smugglers, with stolen money intended to ransom his loved one who is forced to work in a brothel.
poster
Criterion Channel
68
26
6.9
/632/
61
/11/
70
/15/
3.6
/1487/

I Will Buy You (1956)
A talent scout moves sharply, dead-set on signing a promising athlete to the baseball team the Toyko Flowers.
poster
Criterion Channel
67
22
7.1
/721/
62
/13/
71
/19/
3.6
/1324/
60
/1/

The Thick-Walled Room (1956)
A group of rank-and-file Japanese soldiers are jailed for crimes against humanity, themselves victims of a nation refusing to bear its burdens as a whole.
poster
66
13
7.4
/283/
48
/6/
68
/11/
3.7
/501/

The Fossil (1975)
An industrialist is diagnosed with terminal cancer. He is on a trip to Europe at the time, and a glimpse of a Japanese woman in that setting causes him to fantasize about her as the personification of his impending death. As his dialogue with his imagined mortality continues, he actually meets the living woman who is the template for his fantasy, and together they tour rural churches. Gradually he comes to some kind of peace about the diagnosis. When he returns to Japan, he is met with a series of challenges which profoundly test the lessons he has learned.
poster
Criterion Channel
63
12
7.0
/276/
52
/7/
63
/9/
3.5
/629/

Sincere Heart (1953)
A young student falls into a hopeless romantic attraction to a sick girl, whom he can only see from afar.
poster
60
10
6.2
/255/
46
/6/
66
/8/
3.4
/561/

Youth of the Son (1952)
The story of a father and two teenaged sons, and the rivalry between the two siblings as they begin to discover the attraction of girls.
poster
?
6.3
/84/
30
/2/
60
/1/

Three Loves (1954)
In a mountain village, Heita, a translator's son, is a gifted boy but is shunned by the villagers. He can imitate birds' cry and befriends another boy who works in a brewery. Heita also finds solace in the village pastor Yasugi and his teacher Michiko, but they too have problems of their own.
poster
64
?
7.0
/252/
58
/6/
60
/5/
3.5
/298/

Somewhere Beneath the Wide Sky (1954)
This drama of middle-class life in postwar Japan tells the story lower-middle-class workers in the city of Kawasaki, and their troubles and travails.
poster
Criterion Channel
59
?
6.6
/194/
50
/5/
58
/8/
3.3
/316/

Fountainhead (1956)
A botanist woos the secretary of an industrialist whose company threatens the local water supply.
poster
70
?
7.5
/180/
58
/5/
78
/4/
3.6
/217/

Hymn to a Tired Man (1968)
Zensaku, middle-aged and deaf in one ear, learns that his son's fallen for the daughter of a war officer responsible for the maiming.
poster
44
?
7.2
/109/
10
/1/
53
/3/

The Empty Table (1985)
One year has passed since the Kidojis' eldest son Otohiko was arrested for his part in a terrorist kidnapping, which resulted in multiple deaths. Although the parents of all the other perpetrators have either resigned from their professional positions or taken their own lives, Nobuyuki Kidoji tries to remain adamant that he was not responsible for his son's actions.
poster
65
?
7.6
/284/
52
/4/
68
/8/

Tokyo Trial (1983)
One of the major documentaries on a specific chapter in modern Japanese history, this look at the trial of Japanese militarists accused of war crimes is excellently handled by director Masaki Kobayashi. Kobayashi and his assistants had to plough through 30,000 reels from the proceedings of the International Military Tribunal which took place between May, 1946 and November, 1948. It took two days to read the charges against the 100 alleged war criminals in the docket (only 28 top officials are actually in the courtroom, which was limited in space), and the final judgment took one week to read.
poster
?
7.1
/40/

Glowing Autumn (1978)
A very beautiful Japanese woman is in love with Persian carpets. She is being chased by lecherous Saburi Shin and a handsome young photographer. Lecherous Saburi Shin knows what she wants, and is able to produce it for her.
poster
Criterion Channel
61
?
6.8
/230/
52
/4/
67
/6/
3.5
/391/

Beautiful Days (1955)
Masaki Kobayashi directs this romantic drama concerning a family of florists.
poster
?

The Human Condition (1961)
The Human Condition follows the journey of the well-intentioned, yet naïve Kaji who transitions from being a labor camp supervisor to an Imperial Army soldier and eventually Soviet POW. Constantly trying to rise above a corrupt system, Kaji time and time again finds his morals an impediment rather than an advantage.
poster
?

The Human Condition (1961)
The Human Condition is a Japanese epic film trilogy made between 1959 and 1961 The trilogy follows the life of Kaji, a Japanese pacifist and socialist, as he tries to survive in the totalitarian and oppressive world of World War II-era Japan. Taken altogether as a single film, it is 9 hours and 47 minutes long, which includes intermissions, making it one of the longest narrative films ever made. While the films earned considerable controversy at the time of their release in Japan, The Human Condition was critically acclaimed, won many international awards, and has since established Masaki Kobayashi as one of the most important Japanese directors of his generation.


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