Masaki Kobayashi

I Will Buy You

I Will Buy You

Masaki Kobayashi’s pitiless take on Japan’s professional baseball industry is unlike any other sports film ever made. A condemnation of the inhumanity bred by a mercenary, bribery-fueled business, it follows the sharklike maneuvers of a scout dead set on signing a promising player to the team the Toyo Flowers.

Film Info

  • Japan
  • 1956
  • 112 minutes
  • Black & White
  • 1.33:1
  • Japanese

Available In

Collector's Set

Eclipse Series 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System

Kobayashi Against the System

DVD Box Set

4 Discs

$47.96

I Will Buy You
Cast
Keiji Sada
Daisuke Kishimoto
Keiko Kishi
Fueko Taniguchi
Minoru Ooki
Goro Kurita
Yunosuke Ito
Ippei Kyuki
Mitsuko Mito
Ryoko Taniguchi
Credits
Director
Masaki Kobayashi
Produced by
Masaharu Kokaji
Based on the novel by
Minoru Ono
Screenplay
Zenzo Matsuyama
Cinematography
Yuharu Atsuta
Production design
Shukei Hirataka
Editor
Yoshiyasu Hamamura
Music
Chuji Kinoshita

Current

Eclipse Series 38: Kobayashi Against the System
Eclipse Series 38: Kobayashi Against the System

Four of the great Japanese director’s lesser-known, early films show the coming into being of a political artist.

By Michael Koresky

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Deep Dives

Masaki Kobayashi Plays Hardball

A noirish tale of closed-door dealings and systemic corruption, I Will Buy You is the anti-sports movie that feels most like baseball in 2020.

By Mark Asch