Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
- Jeff
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 9:49 pm
- Location: Denver, CO
Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
One of the most important filmmakers to emerge from Japan’s cinematic golden age, Masaki Kobayashi is best remembered today for his 1959 epic The Human Condition, but that is just one of the blistering films he made in a career dedicated to criticizing his country’s rigid social and political orders. He first found his voice—rebellious, angry, engaged—in the fifties, following his life-altering experiences as a soldier in World War II; the four films collected here, made in the same period as The Human Condition, reflect Kobayashi’s coming into his own as an artist. He fought to get these powerful dramas made at a studio more oriented at the time toward quiet family melodramas; they are unforgettable pictures of a postwar Japan troubled by identity crises and moral corruption on scales both intimate and institutional.
The Thick-Walled Room
Even early on in his directing career, Kobayashi didn’t shy away from controversy. Among the first Japanese films to deal directly with the scars of World War II, this drama about a group of rank-and-file Japanese soldiers jailed for crimes against humanity was adapted from the diaries of real prisoners. Because of its potentially inflammatory content, the film was shelved for three years before being released.
I Will Buy You
Kobayashi’s pitiless take on Japan’s professional baseball industry is unlike any other sports film ever made. An excoriation of the inhumanity bred by a mercenary, bribery-fueled business, it follows the sharklike maneuvers of a scout dead set on signing a promising athlete to the team the Toyo Flowers.
Black River
Perhaps Kobayashi’s most sordid film, Black River is an exposé of the rampant corruption on and around U.S. military bases following World War II. Kobayashi spirals out from the story of a love triangle that develops between a good-natured student, his innocent girlfriend, and a coldhearted petty criminal (Tatsuya Nakadai, in his first major role) to diagnose a social disease that had Japan slowly succumbing to lawlessness, devolving into gangsterism, violence, and prostitution.
The Inheritance
On his deathbed, a wealthy businessman announces that his fortune is to be split equally among his three illegitimate children, whose whereabouts are unknown to his family and colleagues. A bevy of lawyers and associates then begin machinations to procure the money for themselves, enlisting the aid of impostors and blackmail. Yet all are outwitted by the cunning of the man’s secretary (Keiko Kishi), in this entertaining condemnation of unchecked greed.
One of the most important filmmakers to emerge from Japan’s cinematic golden age, Masaki Kobayashi is best remembered today for his 1959 epic The Human Condition, but that is just one of the blistering films he made in a career dedicated to criticizing his country’s rigid social and political orders. He first found his voice—rebellious, angry, engaged—in the fifties, following his life-altering experiences as a soldier in World War II; the four films collected here, made in the same period as The Human Condition, reflect Kobayashi’s coming into his own as an artist. He fought to get these powerful dramas made at a studio more oriented at the time toward quiet family melodramas; they are unforgettable pictures of a postwar Japan troubled by identity crises and moral corruption on scales both intimate and institutional.
The Thick-Walled Room
Even early on in his directing career, Kobayashi didn’t shy away from controversy. Among the first Japanese films to deal directly with the scars of World War II, this drama about a group of rank-and-file Japanese soldiers jailed for crimes against humanity was adapted from the diaries of real prisoners. Because of its potentially inflammatory content, the film was shelved for three years before being released.
I Will Buy You
Kobayashi’s pitiless take on Japan’s professional baseball industry is unlike any other sports film ever made. An excoriation of the inhumanity bred by a mercenary, bribery-fueled business, it follows the sharklike maneuvers of a scout dead set on signing a promising athlete to the team the Toyo Flowers.
Black River
Perhaps Kobayashi’s most sordid film, Black River is an exposé of the rampant corruption on and around U.S. military bases following World War II. Kobayashi spirals out from the story of a love triangle that develops between a good-natured student, his innocent girlfriend, and a coldhearted petty criminal (Tatsuya Nakadai, in his first major role) to diagnose a social disease that had Japan slowly succumbing to lawlessness, devolving into gangsterism, violence, and prostitution.
The Inheritance
On his deathbed, a wealthy businessman announces that his fortune is to be split equally among his three illegitimate children, whose whereabouts are unknown to his family and colleagues. A bevy of lawyers and associates then begin machinations to procure the money for themselves, enlisting the aid of impostors and blackmail. Yet all are outwitted by the cunning of the man’s secretary (Keiko Kishi), in this entertaining condemnation of unchecked greed.
- domino harvey
- Dot Com Dom
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm
Re: Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
I know nothing about I Will Buy You, but what a great title! Reminds me of my favorite pulp novel title:
- Michael Kerpan
- Spelling Bee Champeen
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Re: Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
Me -- to Eclipse Set 38: I WILL buy you!
- Tommaso
- Joined: Fri May 19, 2006 10:09 am
Re: Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
Me too, even if I have to wait for the July BN sale ....
- NABOB OF NOWHERE
- Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2005 12:30 pm
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Re: Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
Hope you get it before XmasTommaso wrote:Me too, even if I have to wait for the July BN sale ....
- Tommaso
- Joined: Fri May 19, 2006 10:09 am
Re: Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
I even got my orders from the last November sale before Christmas But then, I'm probably the only person here who never had any problems with BN.
- Black Hat
- Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2011 5:34 pm
- Location: NYC
Re: Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
This is superb news! Also, fwiw B & N has been doing 40% off new Criterion releases lately, throw in the membership 10 and you're pretty close.
- triodelover
- Joined: Sat Jan 27, 2007 2:11 pm
- Location: The hills of East Tennessee
Re: Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
For those interested, I Will Buy You and Black River are available on Hulu.
- manicsounds
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 10:58 pm
- Location: Tokyo, Japan
Re: Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
That's a surprise considering how I thought you didn't like Kobayashi's films.Michael Kerpan wrote:Me -- to Eclipse Set 38: I WILL buy you!
- Drucker
- Your Future our Drucker
- Joined: Wed May 18, 2011 9:37 am
Re: Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
I noticed this at the end of 2012, but it doesn't seem to be the case anymore. A look online reveals no discount on The Man Who Knew Too Much and in the store the other day, I had a cashier check to ensure that Two-Lane Blacktop was regular price.Black Hat wrote:This is superb news! Also, fwiw B & N has been doing 40% off new Criterion releases lately, throw in the membership 10 and you're pretty close.
- sidehacker
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Re: Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
I was just about to say the same. I've only seen Black River of these films. Better than Kobayashi's more praised (but simplistic and manipulative to me) efforts, but nothing really special.manicsounds wrote:That's a surprise considering how I thought you didn't like Kobayashi's films.Michael Kerpan wrote:Me -- to Eclipse Set 38: I WILL buy you!
- Michael Kerpan
- Spelling Bee Champeen
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Re: Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
These (perhaps because they were unattainable) have always held more interest for me than the films that _were_ see-able. ;~}manicsounds wrote:That's a surprise considering how I thought you didn't like Kobayashi's films.Michael Kerpan wrote:Me -- to Eclipse Set 38: I WILL buy you!
The subject matter of these is also a bit more to my taste.
- manicsounds
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 10:58 pm
- Location: Tokyo, Japan
Re: Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
About the year discrepancy of "The Thick Walled Room", which Criterion lists as 1953 but Japan lists as 1956, the movie was made in 1953 but finally released in 1956.
- Black Hat
- Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2011 5:34 pm
- Location: NYC
Re: Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
They giveth and they taketh. Hopefully there will be a few sale/coupon opportunities before July.Drucker wrote:I noticed this at the end of 2012, but it doesn't seem to be the case anymore. A look online reveals no discount on The Man Who Knew Too Much and in the store the other day, I had a cashier check to ensure that Two-Lane Blacktop was regular price.Black Hat wrote:This is superb news! Also, fwiw B & N has been doing 40% off new Criterion releases lately, throw in the membership 10 and you're pretty close.
- perkizitore
- Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:29 pm
- Location: OOP is the only answer
Re: Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
Which films from the Criterion Hulu channel are not included in this set?
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- Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2010 6:42 pm
Re: Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
If by that you mean Masaki films on Hulu that are not on DVD:perkizitore wrote:Which films from the Criterion Hulu channel are not included in this set?
Youth of the Son (1952)
Sincere Heart (1953)
Somewhere Beneath the Wide Sky (1954)
Fountainhead (1956)
- ryannichols7
- Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2012 2:26 pm
Re: Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
I'm thinking they'll start doing this in February. January, very little is on sale due to the buy 2 get the third free sale, and list price only applies to that sale. don't think they'd do a double sale whatsoeverBlack Hat wrote:They giveth and they taketh. Hopefully there will be a few sale/coupon opportunities before July.Drucker wrote:I noticed this at the end of 2012, but it doesn't seem to be the case anymore. A look online reveals no discount on The Man Who Knew Too Much and in the store the other day, I had a cashier check to ensure that Two-Lane Blacktop was regular price.Black Hat wrote:This is superb news! Also, fwiw B & N has been doing 40% off new Criterion releases lately, throw in the membership 10 and you're pretty close.
we'll see when Narayama comes out.
-
- Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 12:09 am
Re: Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
I'm trying to stop collecting DVDs as much as possible, but at the same time I worry that these online films will eventually disappear into the ether. Are the hulu presentations of the Masaki Kobayashi films all in SD, or are some of them HD presentations?Thomas Dukenfield wrote:If by that you mean Masaki films on Hulu that are not on DVD:perkizitore wrote:Which films from the Criterion Hulu channel are not included in this set?
Youth of the Son (1952)
Sincere Heart (1953)
Somewhere Beneath the Wide Sky (1954)
Fountainhead (1956)
- FerdinandGriffon
- Joined: Wed Nov 26, 2008 11:16 am
Re: Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
The Thick-Walled Room was one of the first screenplay efforts of Kobo Abe, the great modernist novelist whose adaptations of his own works for Teshigahara are already in the collection. Now if only Criterion (or, perhaps more likely, MoC) will get around to releasing Kon Ichikawa's A Billionaire, his complete filmography will be available on DVD.
- Yojimbo
- Joined: Fri Jul 04, 2008 10:06 am
- Location: Ireland
Re: Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
Great cover!domino harvey wrote:I know nothing about I Will Buy You, but what a great title! Reminds me of my favorite pulp novel title:
- colinr0380
- Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 4:30 pm
- Location: Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, UK
Re: Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
domino's cover reminds me of the climax of the Roland Emmerich Godzilla film, just with the monster replaced with a 50ft Woman!
Back on topic, are Criterion teasing American baseball lovers by inducting yet another non-American made baseball film into the collection?
Back on topic, are Criterion teasing American baseball lovers by inducting yet another non-American made baseball film into the collection?
- Michael Kerpan
- Spelling Bee Champeen
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Re: Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
But still no subbed release (by Criterion or anyone else) of Shinoda's once relatively well-known MacArthur's Children (in which high school baseball is quite important).colinr0380 wrote:Back on topic, are Criterion teasing American baseball lovers by inducting yet another non-American made baseball film into the collection?
-
- Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2010 6:42 pm
Re: Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
Technically, Somewhere Beneath the Wide Sky is listed as HD, but it looks like a SD source to me. So, those 4 are basically SD.Zot! wrote:I'm trying to stop collecting DVDs as much as possible, but at the same time I worry that these online films will eventually disappear into the ether. Are the hulu presentations of the Masaki Kobayashi films all in SD, or are some of them HD presentations?
Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice will be coming at some point, I'm sure.colinr0380 wrote:Back on topic, are Criterion teasing American baseball lovers by inducting yet another non-American made baseball film into the collection?
- triodelover
- Joined: Sat Jan 27, 2007 2:11 pm
- Location: The hills of East Tennessee
Re: Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
I'm probably slow-witted this afternoon, but what other film in the collection is a baseball (i.e. about baseball) film (as opposed to having some representation of the game of baseball somewhere in the course of the film)?colinr0380 wrote:Back on topic, are Criterion teasing American baseball lovers by inducting yet another non-American made baseball film into the collection?
- triodelover
- Joined: Sat Jan 27, 2007 2:11 pm
- Location: The hills of East Tennessee
Re: Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
Well, if Flavor of Green Tea over Rice is a baseball film, it's also a cycling film since several scenes take place at an outdoor track. I think we're playing fast and loos with the definition of a baseball film here.Thomas Dukenfield wrote:Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice will be coming at some point, I'm sure.