The Cinema of Masaki Kobayashi: Midcareer Masterworks at BAMPFA

Join us at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive for a screening series of The Cinema of Masaki Kobayashi: Midcareer Masterworks.

“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

Screenings:
*Please see the BAMPFA website for the most up-to-date listings and screentimes

Saturday, October 31st @ 6:30 PM | Kwaidan
Friday, November 6th @ 7:00 PM | Harakiri
Saturday, November 7th @ 2:30 PM | Kwaidan
Sunday, November 8th @ 1:30 PM | The Human Condition I: No Greater Love
Wednesday, November 11th @ 7:00 PM | Samurai Rebellion
Friday, November 13th @ 7:30 PM | The Inheritance
Sunday, November 15th @ 1:30 PM | The Human Condition II: The Road to Eternity
Friday, November 20th @ 4:00 PM | Harakiri
Saturday, November 21st @ 3:30 PM | Samurai Rebellion
Sunday, November 22nd @ 1:30 PM | The Human Condition III: The Road to Eternity