Wed August 7 - Sun August 18, 2019
Against Authority: The Cinema of Masaki Kobayashi
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“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 the Second World War that became a worldwide sensation upon its release in 1959–61. 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 the 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 fifties, he began to direct his own films, and with I Will Buy You (1956), a critique of the cutthroat business behind professional baseball in Japan, Kobayashi 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, Kwaidan, and Samurai Rebellion, all featuring scores by the famed composer Toru Takemitsu. This series, which focuses on the middle part of Kobayashi’s career, offers a rare chance to see 35mm prints (including two from BAMPFA’s stellar collection of Japanese films) of works that established his place in film history.
Susan Oxtoby, Senior Film Curator
show less
—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 the Second World War that became a worldwide sensation upon its release in 1959–61. 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 the 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 fifties, he began to direct his own films, and with I Will Buy You (1956), a critique of the cutthroat business behind professional baseball in Japan, Kobayashi 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, Kwaidan, and Samurai Rebellion, all featuring scores by the famed composer Toru Takemitsu. This series, which focuses on the middle part of Kobayashi’s career, offers a rare chance to see 35mm prints (including two from BAMPFA’s stellar collection of Japanese films) of works that established his place in film history.
Susan Oxtoby, Senior Film Curator
“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 the Second World War that became a worldwide sensation upon its release in 1959–61. 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 the 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 fifties, he began to direct his own films, and with I Will Buy You (1956), a critique of the cutthroat business behind professional baseball in Japan, Kobayashi 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, Kwaidan, and Samurai Rebellion, all featuring scores by the famed composer Toru Takemitsu. This series, which focuses on the middle part of Kobayashi’s career, offers a rare chance to see 35mm prints (including two from BAMPFA’s stellar collection of Japanese films) of works that established his place in film history.
Susan Oxtoby, Senior Film Curator
read more
—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 the Second World War that became a worldwide sensation upon its release in 1959–61. 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 the 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 fifties, he began to direct his own films, and with I Will Buy You (1956), a critique of the cutthroat business behind professional baseball in Japan, Kobayashi 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, Kwaidan, and Samurai Rebellion, all featuring scores by the famed composer Toru Takemitsu. This series, which focuses on the middle part of Kobayashi’s career, offers a rare chance to see 35mm prints (including two from BAMPFA’s stellar collection of Japanese films) of works that established his place in film history.
Susan Oxtoby, Senior Film Curator
show less
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Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA)
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2155 Center Street, Berkeley, CA 94720
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