NoOneJones
18Aug11
More than you could ever imagine.
Wall
Displaying wall posts 1 - 30 of 31 in total
HwCath
31May12
There's a lot to admire here but there's a lot of un-needed exposition, some of the performances are stilted, and the length is a bit excessive. Still, its nice to see a movie that takes its time to develop it themes and thoroughly pull through with them. The potent imaginary and the scope is what makes this movie worth watching.
Franklinton Underground Cinema
19Jan12
"I'm boarding this run-down truck, but you're trying to catch the train of humanism before it's too late. I won't stop you. You seem willing to pay the fare, no matter how high."
Cbarky99
20Nov11
Essentially watching a man walk off a (metaphorical) cliff in slow-motion, but also a brutal, personal epic at the same time. Shockingly, it never drags despite the lengthy running time, but may not be the best film to watch if you're having one of those weeks where you're convinced the world is not a friendly place. This is going to stay with me for a long time, I think.
Fábio Gomes
17Nov11
epic masterpiece. legendary directing, cinematography and performances. a true odissey through the conditions of being human. should be a must see for every human being.
some kind of a man
23Oct11
One tiny, tiny complaint: all the Chinese characters are played by Japanese actors, all of whom are terrible at Mandarin. So a ton of the Serious Speechmaking ends up sounding ludicrous.
Zachary Curl
17Sep11
after watching this film for what felt like days, i can't imagine not watching this film; almost putting the first disc back in and starting all over again. a masterpiece and an epic in the truest of terms, there is nary an equal to it's scope or magnitude. i wish i could explain my thoughts better but i am still just awed by it's power. hopefully when i sober up from my experience i could write something better.
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JP. Schmidt
29Jul11
One of the greatest cinematic experiences I've had. After the 9+ hours I feel ready to repeat it instantly and wishing there was more. My soul is melted though ... so I feel a need to solidify first.
John Sandwich
17May11
Just ordered the Criterion box for this today, along with Rosselini's War Trilogy, Letters from Fontainhas, 3 by Hiroshi Teshigahara, and Eclipse Series: Larisa Shepitko. So excited, they can't arrive soon enough. Expensive impulse but hopefully well worth it!
trolley freak
27Apr11
According to the late David Shipman, a critic I greatly respect, this is the pinnacle of achievement in movie making. I wouldn't go that far but Kobayashi's mammoth 9 hour plus anti-war epic, originally released in 3 parts, is a tour-de-force on every level. After this, Nakadai was a Japanese superstar to rival Mifune...
Zachary George Najarian-Najafi
15Jan11
Where to begin? One, it doesn't waste a minute of the 9 1/2 hour running time. Two, it's fucking depressing. Three, it floored me. The Human Condition remains one of the most passionate films ever made. It's raw an powerful, taking a firm stance against authoritarianism wherever it may rear it's ugly head. It's an epic on the grandest scope and an intimate human drama. A film that demands to be seen by everyone.
James Montenegro
15Nov10
This is what I learned: idealism is worse than fascism or socialism because it traps you like a whore and gets you to do things against your better judgment. I intended to watch this over the course of a few days; once it was on, I realized I had to watch it all in one sitting. So far, the most truthful and painfully honest film I've seen.
Sean Keeley
10Sep10
Nowhere near the untouchable greatest-movie-ever-made masterpiece that so many people here make it out to be. The first part is a pretty good war movie, the second is more of the same, the third is interminable.
VENIMOS LOS JODIMOS Y NOS FUIMOS
12Aug10
Una buena muestra de la extraordinaria resistencia de la nalga japonesa (verla de un jalòn toma el mismo tiempo que ver la temporada completa de alguna serie televisiva) y, por supuesto, del gran talento del director Masaki Kobayashi, lo constituye este convincente alegato anti-belico, el cual deja ver la solvencia narrativa caracteristica del director. Para sentarse a verla sin temor de perder la raya.
Knut Morte
18Jul10
It's unpredictable, continually intriguing and definitely the greatest trilogy I've ever seen.
Martin Florio
25Jun10
A truly amazing epic film. A masterwork. The shots, "le cadrage", the frame composition, the movements inside the frame, the editing are so cool, so clasic, and so modern at once. One of the things that stroke me the most is the strength of the interior locations thanks to the composition and the lighting. Sometimes it feels like a japanese Bergman, others like a japanese Tarkovski. A very powerfull wonderful film.
Inner Pattern
1Jun10
I give this trilogy a weird rating...4.75/5. On the whole this trilogy is the definition of epic.The main character Kaji is a pacifist and his character really goes through a journey and it's great to see how he changes and in some ways stays the same from being thrown into WWII.It's not your 'traditional' war film.The first one is a prisoner of war type of movie,how the main character is a supervisor there and how he has to fight against the corruption of the other supervisors. The second is about the anticipation of battle and actually fighting.The third is where WWII is winding down til the end of it. The first film of the trilogy is very good but I found it to be the weakest entry. The 2nd and 3rd films make up for it in spades though. From the directing to the cinematography to the acting(for the most part) it's pretty great. The minor issues I had with the films is that some of the acting was a tad melodramatic for my tastes....in particular the actress that played Kaji's wife in the film.Every time she was on screen I kind of cringed. Overall though it's one of the best trilogies out there...period.
Andhika Eka Buana
12Apr10
okay, so now i have just seen the awfully cliche-ridden first part of this, and didn't have the desire to watch the second and the third. Oh please people tell me if i'm wrong about this
Yuki Aditya
9Mar10
while the first part almost falls in the same category with the sucky Schindler's List, the second and third parts define its masterpiece status. Brilliant. Once you watch you'll never want to stop.
Samurai Panda Poetry
25Dec09
A staggering achievement. The Human Condition is easily one of the most important contributions to cinema, and it's easy to see and feel it's reverberations in the film world.
PolarisDiB
22Dec09
Humanist spirals into existential oblivion through the end of WWII Japanese Imperialism in Manchuria. All characters very fleshed out and realistic, especially lead who goes from a privileged position to one of abject survival and compromises every moral on the way while still providing inspiration to others around him. Kaji cannot save Chen (first part), Obara (second part), or Terada (third part), unfortunately.