Skip to content
MovieCove
Masaki Kobayashi

Masaki Kobayashi

Director, writer and producer · Died October 4, 1996, aged 80 · Otaru, Hokkaido, Japan

Masaki Kobayashi (小林 正樹, Kobayashi Masaki; February 14, 1916 – October 4, 1996) was a Japanese filmmaker. He is best remembered for directing the epic war trilogy The Human Condition (1959–1961), the samurai films Harakiri (1962) and Samurai Rebellion (1967), and the horror anthology epic Kwaidan (1964). Senses of Cinema described him as "one of the finest depicters of Japanese society in the 1950s and 1960s." Although overshadowed by other Japanese filmmakers like Akira Kurosawa and Yasujirō Ozu in his lifetime, his work has gained wider traction in the 21st century with several of his films being ranked as some of the greatest films ever made. Description above from the Wikipedia article Masaki Kobayashi, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Read more

Biography from TMDB.

Born
February 14, 1916
Died
October 4, 1996 (aged 80)
From
Otaru, Hokkaido, Japan
Works as
Director, writer and producer
Titles
8 on MovieCove · 34 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 38 days to Oct 27Up 23% in 30 days

What are Masaki Kobayashi's films like?

Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Power.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
37%
Power
23%
Survival
19%
Society
8%
Bonds
5%
Self
5%
Ideas
3%
Oppression4 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice4 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival3 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 7 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Dark: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their dark movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 0 · Serious 2 · Dark 5

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 4 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 2

Intense: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their intense movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 2 · Intense 5

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 5 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 1

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0

Full focus: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their full focus movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 0 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 5

Heavy: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their heavy movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

Easy watch 0 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 6

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 5 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
5
Melancholic
4
Contemplative
4
Elegiac
3
Dread
2
Other
3

How their films linger

Devastating4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Bittersweet2
  • Tragic5

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Masaki Kobayashi's films?

As of October 24, 2026, all 8 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on The Criterion Channel (8).

Subscription and free streaming for Masaki Kobayashi's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

34 credits, 8 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • Unification of Japan 62 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Actor

  • Final Approach (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Show 13 episodes · Executive Producer

  • Dora-heita (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Screenplay

  • The Empty Table (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)

    Director · Screenplay

  • Tokyo Trial (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)

    Director · Writer

  • Glowing Autumn (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)

    Director

  • The Fossil (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)

    Director

  • Fossil (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)

    Show 8 episodes · Director · Creator

  • Inn of Evil (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)

    Director

  • Dodes'ka-den(1970)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Hymn to a Tired Man (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)

    Director

  • Samurai Rebellion(1967)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • Tokyo Olympiad(1965)

    Thanks

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • Kwaidan(1964)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Harakiri(1962)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • The Inheritance (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)

    Director · Producer

  • The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer(1961)

    Director · Producer · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity(1959)

    Director · Producer · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • The Human Condition I: No Greater Love(1959)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • Black River (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)

    Director

  • I Will Buy You (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)

    Director

  • The Thick-Walled Room (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)

    Director

  • Fountainhead (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)

    Director

  • Beautiful Days (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)

    Director

  • Three Loves (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)

    Director · Writer

  • Somewhere Beneath the Wide Sky (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)

    Director

  • Sincere Heart (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)

    Director

  • Youth of the Son (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1952)

    Director

  • Carmen Comes Home (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)

    Assistant Director

  • Broken Drum (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)

    Assistant Director · Screenplay

  • Yotsuya Ghost Story Part 1 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)

    Assistant Director

  • Apostasy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1948)

    Assistant Director

  • The Portrait (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1948)

    Assistant Director

  • The Revenge Champion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    Screenplay

Career shape

A full career of 34 titles from 1931 to 2024.

Biggest box office

Harakiri (1962)

$15K worldwide

Highest rated

The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (1959)

Midcredits 99th

Most popular right now

Harakiri (1962)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 34: 1 only acting, 0 with another roleDirecting23 of 34: 15 only directing, 8 with another role · typical Midcredits score99thWriting9 of 34: 2 only writing, 7 with another roleProducing5 of 34: 2 only producing, 3 with another roleOther crew7 of 34: 5 only other crew, 2 with another role

34 titles, 9 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 6 of them.

By decade

1930s1 · crew1940s4 · crew1950s12 · crew1960s7 · crew1970s5 · crew1980s2 · crew2000s2 · crew2020s1 · acting

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Masaki Kobayashi's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 99th percentile, the median of all 8; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 99th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

99thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Approval · how many liked their films

98thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Reach · how many have seen their films

89thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Midcredits score across 8 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up8

Shape of the crowd

None of their 8 titles divides audiences: 7 are Universally Loved.

  • Universally Loved7
  • Crowd Pleaser1

Most loved · director, writer

The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (1959)

Midcredits 99th · 92% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 87/100 and the pacing 48/100 in their films, across 7 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Masaki Kobayashi's work okay for kids?

Across up to 6 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore5 titles57–83 · median 72 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity6 titles12–41 · median 32 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity4 titlesmedian 18 · mildMedian of all films: 36
Frightening / Intense5 titles65–87 · median 77 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Masaki Kobayashi work with?

People who share at least 2 of Masaki Kobayashi's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Tatsuya Nakadai shares the most, 5.

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers