Kobayashi Masaki

Masaki Kobayashi, 小林 正樹 (born February 14, 1916) is a Japanese director who is probably best known for Kwaidan (怪談), a collection of four ghost stories, each of which has a surprise ending. (Some versions of the film in the U.S. have had the second story removed--look for the 164 minute version if you wish to see all four). Kobayashi also directed The Human Condition, a trilogy on war clocking in at nine and a half hours; the film is nearly impossible to find except in metropolitan areas.