Adapted from an epic 6-volume novel over 3 films, Masaki Kobayashi's The Human Condition is considered one of the great achievements in Japanese film history. Criterion has successfully restored the entire picture with astounding clarity.

Disc 1 is currently sitting inside my Blu-ray player (a better DVD upconverter than my SD-DVD player). Each disc is composed of two volumes separated by an intermission, with the total running time exceeding nine and a half hours. I'm part of the way through Chapter 1 and wish I'd had a solid morning & afternoon to spend with the whole thing today.

The included booklet folds out origami-style and includes the chapter listings, credits, notes on the restoration, and a critical essay by Phillip Kemp, a freelance critic and film historian who teaches film journalism at the University of Leicester.

The Human Condition streets this coming Tuesday from Criterion.