The Human Condition (Criterion Collection, 4 DVDs)

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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 corrupt 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.