Masaki Kobayashi`s mammoth humanist drama is one of the most staggering achievements of Japanese cinema. Originally filmed and released in three parts, the nine-and-a-half-hour The Human Condition (Ningen no joken), adapted from Junpei Gomikawa`s six-volume novel, tells of the journey of the well-intentioned yet naive Kaji (handsome Japanese superstar Tatsuya Nakadai) from labor camp supervisor to Imperial Army soldier to Soviet POW. Constantly trying to rise above a … mehrcorrupt 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.
Extras:
Excerpt from a rare Directors Guild of Japan video interview with director Masaki Kobayashi, conducted by filmmaker Masahiro Shinoda (13:42)
Video interview with actor Tatsuya Nakadai (17:40)
Video appreciation of Kobayashi and The Human Condition featuring Shinoda (24:39)
The Human Condition I Original Theatrical Trailer (4:33)
The Human Condition II Original Theatrical Trailer (2:42)
The Human Condition III Original Theatrical Trailer (2:56) weniger