The Human Condition
This mammoth humanist drama by Masaki Kobayashi is one of the most staggering achievements of Japanese cinema. Originally filmed and released in three installments of two parts each, 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 yet naive Kaji—played by the Japanese superstar Tatsuya Nakadai—from labor camp supervisor to Imperial Army soldier to Soviet prisoner of war. Constantly trying to rise above a corrupt system, Kaji time and again finds his morals to be an impediment rather than an advantage. A raw indictment of Japan’s wartime mentality as well as a personal existential tragedy, Kobayashi’s riveting, gorgeously filmed epic is novelistic cinema at its best.
Special Features
- On the Blu-ray: High-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural (Parts 1–4) and 4.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio (Parts 5 and 6) soundtracks
- On the DVD: Restored high-definition digital transfer
- Excerpt from a 1993 Directors Guild of Japan interview with director Masaki Kobayashi, conducted by filmmaker Masahiro Shinoda
- Interview from 2009 with actor Tatsuya Nakadai
- Appreciation of Kobayashi and The Human Condition from 2009 featuring Shinoda
- Trailers
- PLUS: An essay by critic Philip Kemp
Cover design by Sarah Habibi, calligraphy by Akiko Crowther
Special Features
- On the Blu-ray: High-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural (Parts 1–4) and 4.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio (Parts 5 and 6) soundtracks
- On the DVD: Restored high-definition digital transfer
- Excerpt from a 1993 Directors Guild of Japan interview with director Masaki Kobayashi, conducted by filmmaker Masahiro Shinoda
- Interview from 2009 with actor Tatsuya Nakadai
- Appreciation of Kobayashi and The Human Condition from 2009 featuring Shinoda
- Trailers
- PLUS: An essay by critic Philip Kemp
Cover design by Sarah Habibi, calligraphy by Akiko Crowther
Cast
- Tatsuya Nakadai
- Kaji
- Michiyo Aratama
- Michiko (Parts 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6)
- Chikage Awashima
- Jin Tung Fu (Parts 1 and 2)
- Ineko Arima
- Yang Chun Lan (Parts 1 and 2)
- Keiji Sada
- Kageyama (Parts 1 and 4)
- So Yamamura
- Okishima (Parts 1 and 2)
- Akira Ishihama
- Chen (Parts 1 and 2)
- Shinji Nambara
- Kao (Parts 1 and 2)
- Seiji Miyaguchi
- Wang Heng Li (Parts 1 and 2)
- Toru Abe
- Sergeant Watai (Parts 1 and 2)
- Masao Mishima
- Manager Kuroki (Parts 1 and 2)
- Eitaro Ozawa
- Okazaki (Parts 1 and 2)
- Koji Mitsui
- Furuya (Parts 1 and 2)
- Akitake Kono
- Captain Kono (Parts 1 and 2)
- Nobuo Nakamura
- Head Office Chief (Parts 1 and 2)
- Kyu Sazanka
- Cho Meisan (Parts 1 and 2)
- Kokinji Katsura
- Sasa (Part 3)
- Jun Tatara
- Hino (Part 3)
- Michio Minami
- Yoshida (Part 3)
- Kei Sato
- Shinjo (Part 3)
- Kunie Tanaka
- Obara (Part 3)
- Taketoshi Naito
- Tange (Part 3, 5, and 6)
- Yusuke Kawazu
- Terada (Parts 4, 5, and 6)
- Susumu Fujita
- Naruto (Part 4)
- Minoru Chiaki
- Onodera (Part 4)
- Shoji Yasui
- Officer aspirant (Part 4)
- Fumio Watanabe
- Staff officer (Part 4)
- Tamao Nakamura
- Refugee (Part 5)
- Chishu Ryu
- Old man in refugee camp (Part 6)
- Hideko Takamine
- Old woman in refugee camp (Part 6)
- Kyoko Kishida
- Tatsuko (Part 5)
- Reiko Hitomi
- Umeko (Part 5)
- Keijiro Morozumi
- Hironaka (Part 5)
- Koji Kiyomura
- Hikida (Part 5)
- Nobuo Kaneko
- Kirihara (Part 5 and 6)
- Ed Keene
- Russian officer (Part 6)
- Ronald Self
- Chabayev (Part 6)
Credits
- Director
- Masaki Kobayashi
- Producer
- Shigeru Wakatsuki
- Screenplay
- Zenzo Matsuyama
- Screenplay
- Masaki Kobayashi
- Based on the novel by
- Jumpei Gomikawa
- Production managers
- Tatsuo Osawa
- Production managers
- Zempei Moriyama
- Cinematography
- Yoshio Miyajima
- Lighting
- Takashi Kato
- Lighting
- Akira Aomatsu
- Editing
- Keiichi Uraoka
- Music
- Chuji Kinoshita
- Sound
- Hideo Nishizaki
- Art direction
- Kazue Hirataka
A scene from The Human Condition
