Masaki Kobayashi's mammoth humanist drama is one of the most staggering achievements of Japanese cinema. Originally filmed and released in three parts, the nine-and-a-half-hour The Human Condition (Ningen no joken, 1959-1961), adapted from Junpei Gomikawa's six-volume novel, tells of the journey of the well-intentioned yet naive Kaji (handsome Japanese superstar Tatsuya Nakadai) from labour camp supervisor to Imperial Army soldier to Soviet POW. Constantly trying to rise above a corrupt system, Kaji time and again finds his morals an impediment rather than an advantage.

The Human Condition is a raw indictment of its nation's wartime mentality as well as a personal existential tragedy, Kobayashi's riveting, gorgeously filmed epic is novelistic cinema at its best.

The Human Condition in its complete form will be released on US DVD by Criterion as a four-disc set on14th July 2009 at the SRP of $79.95. The package features a new, restored high-definition digital transfer and the following extra features:

Excerpt from a rare Directors Guild of Japan video interview with director Masaki Kobayashi, conducted by filmmaker Masahiro Shinoda (Double Suicide);

• New video interview with actor Tatsuya Nakadai;
• Video appreciation of Kobayashi and The Human Condition featuring Shinoda;
• Japanese theatrical trailers;
• New and improved English subtitle translation;
• A booklet featuring an essay by critic Philip Kemp.