Product Description

Writer/director Masaki Kobayashi's powerful trilogy continues as the newly drafted, idealistic Kaji (Tatsuya Nakadai) is ordered to Manchuria, the site of Japan's longest and most savage atrocities during World War II. When he sees the rampant mistreatment of the soldiers, Kaji makes a protest. In response, he is threatened and tortured, eventually escaping only to see his entire unit destroyed as the Allied victory becomes inevitable.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #131808 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-07-06
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 2.20:1
• Formats: Black & White, DVD, Letterboxed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: Japanese
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 181 minutes

Customer Reviews

part 2 of one of the greatest anti-war films
The acting is inspiring, the script gut-wrenchingly convincing and the cinematography on a par with that of other Japanese classics. This three-part series tells it like it was without cliches and the impact is restrained enough to last for three hours in each episode. Kaji, an idealistic Japanese man with socialist inclinations is embroiled in the fascist culture of WWII Japan. His struggle as a conscientious objector has universal overtones: the conflicts between mass mania and personal integrity, between nationalistic tribalism and humanistic sensitivity, between the pack mentality of bullying and the vulnerability of someone who stands up for what is right.