Masaki Kobayashi

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Masaki Kobayashi
Born	February 14, 1916(1916-02-14) Otaru, Hokkaidō, Japan
Died	October 4, 1996 (aged 80) Tokyo, Japan
Occupation	Film director

Masaki Kobayashi (小林正樹, Kobayashi Masaki^?, February 14, 1916–October 4, 1996) was a Japanese director.

Among his films is Kwaidan (1965), a collection of four ghost stories drawn from the book by Lafcadio Hearn, each of which has a surprise ending.

Kobayashi also directed The Human Condition, a trilogy on the effects of World War II on a Japanese pacifist and socialist. The total length of the films is over 9 hours. Other notable films include Harakiri (1962) and Samurai Rebellion (1967). Harakiri won him an award at the 1963 Cannes Film Festival, solidifying his place in the history of cinema.

He was also a candidate for directing the Japanese sequences for Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) but instead Kinji Fukasaku and Toshio Masuda were chosen.

Kobayashi, himself a pacifist, was drafted into the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, but refused to fight or be promoted to rank higher than private.

[edit] Partial filmography

1953: The Thick-Walled Room
1957: Black River
1959–1961: The Human Condition trilogy
1962: The Inheritance
1962: Seppuku, a.k.a. Harakiri
1964: Kaidan (Ghost Stories), a.k.a. Kwaidan
1967: Jôi-uchi: Hairyô-tsuma shimatsu (An Order to Kill: Over a Wife Bestowed, as It Were), a.k.a. Samurai Rebellion
1968: Hymn To A Tired Man
1971: Inn Of Evil
1975: The Fossil
1983: Tokyo Trial

[edit] Film availability

Seppuku, a.k.a. Harakiri (1962)
- DVD: Region 0 NTSC: The Criterion Collection (USA)
Kaidan (Ghost Stories), a.k.a. Kwaidan (1964)
- DVD: Region 2 NTSC: The Masters of Cinema Series (UK) (Complete Version)
- DVD: Region 0 NTSC: The Criterion Collection (USA) (Incomplete Version)
Jôi-uchi: Hairyô-tsuma shimatsu (An Order to Kill: Over a Wife Bestowed, as It Were), a.k.a. Samurai Rebellion (1964)
- DVD: Region 0 NTSC: The Criterion Collection (USA)