The Cinema of Masaki Kobayashi: Midcareer Masterworks
October 31–November 21, 2026
Timed with a new 4K restoration of the Director’s Cut of Kwaidan, this series focuses on the middle part of Masaki Kobayashi’s career and offers a rare chance to see 35mm prints of the works that established his place in film history: The Human Condition, Harakiri, Samurai Rebellion, and The Inheritance.
Read full description-
Masaki Kobayashi: Kwaidan, 1964
-
Masaki Kobayashi: The Inheritance, 1962
-
Masaki Kobayashi: Harakiri, 1962
-
Masaki Kobayashi: Samurai Rebellion, 1967
-
Masaki Kobayashi: The Human Condition I: No Greater Love, 1959
-
Masaki Kobayashi: The Human Condition II: The Road to Eternity, 1959
- Upcoming
Films - Past
Films - Past
Events
Upcoming Films
Kwaidan
Masaki Kobayashi
Japan, 19644K Digital Restoration, Director’s Cut
Saturday, October 31, 6:30 PMView DetailsThis is Masaki Kobayashi’s atmospheric and visually captivating adaptation of four haunting stories by Lafcadio Hearn. “Each of the exquisitely crafted tales . . . is, in its own right, one of the great ghost stories brought to the screen. Together, they form an exemplar of the anthology horror film” (Village Voice).
Harakiri
Masaki Kobayashi
Japan, 1962Friday, November 6, 7 PMView DetailsTatsuya Nakadai is a penniless samurai who asks a wealthy clan's permission to commit ritual suicide—though that’s not the only killing on his mind. “Probably the best samurai film ever made” (Washington Post).
Kwaidan
Masaki Kobayashi
Japan, 19644K Digital Restoration, Director’s Cut
Saturday, November 7, 2:30 PMView DetailsThis is Masaki Kobayashi’s atmospheric and visually captivating adaptation of four haunting stories by Lafcadio Hearn. “Each of the exquisitely crafted tales . . . is, in its own right, one of the great ghost stories brought to the screen. Together, they form an exemplar of the anthology horror film” (Village Voice).
The Human Condition I: No Greater Love
Masaki Kobayashi
Japan, 1959Sunday, November 8, 1:30 PMView DetailsMasaki Kobayashi’s three-part antiwar masterpiece follows the awakening—and disillusionment—of a Japanese soldier (the great Tatsuya Nakadai) during World War II. “Amazingly powerful in its emotional sweep and the depth of its historical insight. . . . Kobayashi’s monumental film can clarify and enrich your understanding of what it is to be alive” (New York Times).
Samurai Rebellion
Masaki Kobayashi
Japan, 1967Wednesday, November 11, 7 PMView DetailsJapanese cinema icons Toshiro Mifune and Tatsuya Nakadai team up to slice their way through duty-bound Japan in this tale of a dutiful samurai whose attempts to be a “good servant” are about to end . . . in blood.
The Inheritance
Masaki Kobayashi
Japan, 1962BAMPFA Collection
Friday, November 13, 7:30 PMView DetailsA dying businessman sets off a family scandal by announcing that his fortune will go to his illegitimate children in Masaki Kobayashi’s melodrama, a wry condemnation of Japanese postwar materialism, perfectly chilled by Toru Takemitsu’s jazzy score.
The Human Condition II: The Road to Eternity
Masaki Kobayashi
Japan, 1959Sunday, November 15, 1:30 PMView DetailsIn Part II of Masaki Kobayashi’s nine-hour epic about Japan’s occupation of China during World War II, soldier Tatsuya Nakadai tries to institute more humane procedures in his military unit, but he only succeeds in attracting the ire of his fellow officers.
Harakiri
Masaki Kobayashi
Japan, 1962Friday, November 20, 4 PMView DetailsTatsuya Nakadai is a penniless samurai who asks a wealthy clan's permission to commit ritual suicide—though that’s not the only killing on his mind. “Probably the best samurai film ever made” (Washington Post).
Samurai Rebellion
Masaki Kobayashi
Japan, 1967Saturday, November 21, 3:30 PMView DetailsJapanese cinema icons Toshiro Mifune and Tatsuya Nakadai team up to slice their way through duty-bound Japan in this tale of a dutiful samurai whose attempts to be a “good servant” are about to end . . . in blood.
The Human Condition III: A Soldier’s Prayer
Masaki Kobayashi
Japan, 1961Sunday, November 22, 1:30 PMView DetailsBy Part III of Masaki Kobayashi’s epic, the Japanese army is being routed by superior Russian troops. Protagonist Tatsuya Nakadai is captured by the Soviets and imprisoned, learning the bitter truth about the Red Army as liberators.