Series Site
October 31–November 21, 2026
“All of my pictures . . . are concerned with resisting entrenched power. . . . I suppose I’ve always challenged authority. This has been true of my own life, including my life in the military.” —Masaki Kobayashi
The Japanese director Masaki Kobayashi (1916–1996) is best known for his antiwar masterpiece The Human Condition, an engrossing three-part epic about Japan’s brutal exploitation of Manchuria during World War II, which became a worldwide sensation upon its release in 1959–61. However, Kobayashi had begun his rise to prominence as a young filmmaker decades before: after studying philosophy and art history at Waseda University, he landed work right out of school as an assistant director at Shochiku Studios in 1941. His trajectory was interrupted by the escalation of war, but following his service in the armed forces between 1942 and 1945, Kobayashi returned to filmmaking and was mentored by Keisuke Kinoshita. By the early 1950s, he began to direct his own films and soon gained recognition for his sensitive portrayal of social issues. About a decade later, his approach shifted from realism to an interest in exploring the stylized beauty of traditional Japanese aesthetics in several of his most acclaimed works—Harakiri (1962), Kwaidan (1964), and Samurai Rebellion (1967), all featuring scores by the famed composer Toru Takemitsu. Timed with a new 4K restoration of the Director’s Cut of Kwaidan, this series focuses on the middle part of Kobayashi’s career and offers a rare chance to see 35mm prints of the works that established his place in film history.
—Susan Oxtoby, Director of Film and Senior Film Curator