harakiri ( 1962 film )
scene from the 1962 film harakiri of motome chijiwa being coerced into commiting seppuku with his bamboo dagger. english subtitles. urltoken
[ 4 ] harakiri (seppuku), dir. kobayashi masaki, shochiku co. , ltd. , 1962 .
harakiri is a 1962 jidai geki film directed by masaki kobayashi and starring tatsuya nakadai. it was made as a deconstruction of the glorified samurai code of honor usually associated with that genre .
ride the high country (1962): sam peckinpah arises and randolph scott and joel mccrea ride off into the sunset .
the 1962 single masterpiece uses ploys of the written word in picturing the past and / or far away to criticize the present .
february 3 (monday) film: harakiri (seppuku) director: masaki kobayashi (1962, b / w, 134 min .) altschul auditorium (417 international affairs building), columbia university (118th st. and amsterdam ave .) 7: 45 pm
in harakiri (seppuku, 1962), nakadai plays a masterless samurai who requests permission from a lord to commit ritual suicide on his property. showcasing one of nakadai’s most famous performances, the film is a masterful critique of the struggles of the individual within an overpowering system. it was the winner of cannes jury prize in 1962 and was directed by the great kobayashi masaki, whom nakadai worked with numerous times including on the epic series the human condition .
used repeatedly on motome during his involuntary harakiri ceremony to convey a sense of stomach - sickening horror .
beautifully written, wonderfully directed and amazingly acted. harakiri is a creative, inteligent and awesome film. one of the few movies you can call it perfect .
“this thing we call samurai honour is ultimately nothing but a facade”. so says hanshiro tsugumo in the mansion of the iyi clan one afternoon in the year 1630. and it’s this facade that forms the groundwork of masaki kobayashi’s “harakiri” (1962), based on the novel by yasuhiko takiguchi .
the three men most responsible for forcing motome to commit harakiri out of their contempt for his dishonorable ways are ultimately dishonored themselves, yet like motome two of them have to be forced at swordpoint to commit harakiri in atonement .
the film deals heavily in appearances, namely issue regarding honor or lack thereof. the film in my opinion seems to invite…
i finally had an excuse to watch this monumental film this morning. and i can say without a doubt that harakiri is a classic in every sense of the word. a truly perfect film that earns its prestige humbly. like a samurai bowing in…
so which one is hara - kiri: death of a samurai? the film is miike’s second period samurai remake in recent years, following his truly excellent 13 assassins. the latter movie is one of miike’s best, so there were pretty heavy expectations on this remake of masaki kobayashi’s 1962 film harakiri. but reviews out of the film’s first appearance on the festival circuit weren’t great. was the chilly reception thanks to over - inflated expectations in the wake of 13 assassins, or is hara - kiri just one of miike’s middling efforts ?
harakiri belongs to one of the best mini genres in film: post - war anti - samurai films. it' s up there with sword of doom and onibaba as far as i' m concerned .
a remake of masaki kobayashi' s harakiri (1962), takashi miike' s new film hara - kiri: death of a samurai retains much of the original' s plot, imagery, and production design; even the sets and props appear to be near - replicas of ones in the 1962 film. and yet miike' s movie is completely its own thing, nothing like kobayashi' s—﻿﻿owing in part to the directors' radically different attitudes toward the subject matter, and to the two films' diametrically - opposed conceptions of space and movement. a big pontificator with an arty style, kobayashi favored complex sequence shots, dolly - ins from behind, smash zooms, and extremely wide angle lenses that warp the space around the edges of the frame, making it appear as though rooms and bodies are constantly expanding and contracting; his harakiri is an angry, slow - burn anti - chanbara flick—dramatically heightened, spatially wonky, accusatory. ﻿
harakiri was remade recently as harakiri: death of a samurai by the infuriatingly inconsistent takeshi miike (thirteen assassins by him is well worth checking out if you like more action in your samurai movies). i have yet to see it, but i cannot imagine it will compare well to the original .
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samurai rebellion, without a doubt, is very much on par with harakiri. two films that are, for me, the complete picture of what timeless filmmaking is .
film 14 of 50 on my list of highly regarded films i haven' t seen .
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space and movement are at the center of the anything - goes auteur' s new film .
a masterful, heartbreaking mystery drama that unfolds slowly until its final act. harakiri acts as a critique to the period it takes place in and what it truly means to be a samurai. the film itself as a whole is flawless, from direction to even fight choreography, however its driven by dialogue for the most part, which is remarkably engaging throughout the film’s entirety .
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when harakiri premiered on september 16, 1962, japanese audiences saw the familiar cinematic landscape of feudal japan portrayed in expressive, allegorical terms. later described as shakespearean by kobayashi’s admirers, the film communicates its themes in graceful cinematic rhetoric, visually conveying intolerable class regimentation through calculated movements of the frame and theatrical lighting. a limited number of sets, used repeatedly to create a sense of space and sameness to reflect patterns of ritualistic behavior, might become claustrophobic to another filmmaker. kobayashi’s frequent cinematographer yoshio miyajima utilizes fluid tracking shots interspersed with contrasted diagonals throughout to make the position, movement, and subtle contorting of the frame become an essential and telling narrative tool .
which is the most befitting way for a person to die? is it to die of honour or to die of love. harakiri answers this and many other moral questions in a gut wrenching manner .
as mentioned above, the story abounds with idiosyncratic japanese behaviour. the titular harakiri (the cruder, though more well - known to the west term for seppuku) is ritual self - disembowelment that the samurai performed either in acts of contrition, in devout loyalty to their lords, or in protest. it was and is regarded as an incredibly noble act of purity. the film harakiri, however, takes precisely the opposite view, seeing it as the cruel and wasteful symbol of a perverted form of honour .
can screenwriters change the course of film history? the work of key kurosawa collaborator shinobu hashimoto proves they can .
[ 16 ] eisenstein, “the unexpected, ” (1928), in leyda, film form, 21 .
i could not help but think of shakespeare who died in 1616, only 14 years before this period film .
are eternal so long as our specie exists. this is a very good film, with sharp contrasts to maximize
harakiri, thus, is not a happy or a heroic film. i would describe it almost as feverous; the camera angles are intensely close at times and at skewed angles others, the soundtrack hums with the rolling, frantic, never quite subsiding thrashing of what i believe to be a biwa lute, punctuated with sudden violent stabs of percussion. it is quite unique amongst the jidaigeki films i have seen. yojimbo is prepared to satirize the samurai but no more. harakiri is filled with a cold and humane loathing for them .
writing of the composition of architectural space in harakiri, contreras does not ignore the question of time. she writes that “ [ u ] ltimately [ harakiri ] is about the interaction of time and space. ” [ 27 ] however, when she writes of the interplay between the visual parameters and the action and figures, contreras describes this dynamic as two axes in the film: static space and moving time. she sees space and time as two poles articulated against each other in a dichotomy between composition and choreography and between stillness and motion. this conception of time and space and how they function in mise en scène cannot grasp the dynamic energies of the film .
harakiri
was released in 1962, the work of masaki kobayashi (1916 - 1996), best known for
kwaidan
( 1965), an assembly of ghost stories that is among the most beautiful films i' ve seen. he also made the nine - hour epic
the human condition
( 1959 - 1961) which was critical of the way the bushido code permeated japanese life and helped create the state of mind which led to world war ii. and he made
samurai rebellion
( 1967), about a man who refuses to offer his wife to a superior .
harakiri (or seppuku as it is known in japan) is my personal favourite film about samurai, and i would argue that from a certain perspective it might be the greatest example of the jidaigeki genre: the issues it raises are universal, and yet because of the social conventions the plot is arrayed around it is simultaneously uniquely japanese .
the op' s argument is essentially that harikari was biting social criticism at the time it was made. but unlike the rules of the game, the social criticism doesn' t go over as well today. society has changed too much. saying it was a social criticism explains why it was a good film in its time, not why it should be adored today. there' s a difference between appreciating a film of a train pulling into a station, for its part of film history, and enjoying it. (of course, i did enjoy harakiri. )
i greatly enjoy this film as well. i hate to sound like a broken record, but kobayashi doesn' t get nearly as much credit as he deserves. i hold him up there with kurosawa. i know it isn' t about harakiri, but you should really watch his magnum opus, the human condition it is a masterpiece .
[ 30 ] it is pertinent here that film scholar donald richie makes a distinction between the history of western cinema, in which, he argues, painting and photography have been central, and a pivotal focus on the heritage of theatre in classical japanese film, suggesting that we should turn to dramaturgy rather than the pictorial arts in our study of japanese film .
this is not a film for everyone. if you' re expecting blood and guts spilled - forget it! it' s about destitute samurai pretending to commit seppuku in the hope of blackmailing someone. very psychological film, and a vehicle for nakadai to show off his acting skills (which are immense - way ahead of mifune toshiro) the film is very annoyingly dubbed into czech, with english sub - titles, an absurd way to present a japanese film. altogether a great disappointment .
hanshiro dishonours the samurai who killed motome, and they all end up committing harakiri offscreen. however, the other ii retainers shoot him as he, cornered, tries to commit honorable suicide, and the deaths of the disgraced retainers are covered up as
illness .
the clan' s handling of motome and hanshiro' s harakiri requests—or rather, the version they tell others—increases the reputation of their house throughout the land and earns bennosuke words of praise from lord doi .
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans. it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
[ 9 ] sergei eisenstein, “the cinematographic principle and the idiogram” (1930), in film form: essays in film theory, ed. and trans. jay leyda (new york: harcourt, brace & world, 1949), 43 .
i love samurai films. they were among the first foreign films which i have watched, but namely i would focus on those of akira kurosawa, particularly seven samurai, which was an influential part of my own life for it brought onto myself a new means of appreciating cinema in all regard. as i were to venture into more samurai cinema, i decided to look into more that were not from kurosawa and that was how i stumbled across masaki kobayashi' s harakiri for a change. when i finished up, something hit me about harakiri in a way that i wouldn' t have expected from samurai films. in some strange manner, harakiri was almost a rather philosophical experience. as it continues to reside…
my awards are the same as yours, except for adapted screenplay and foreign film, which i give to jules et jim .
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i think mankind' s callousness to the arbitrary nature of life is the true villain of this film. i love the ending, where a cruel, proud man is shown how easily his clan' s honor is undermined, how close he is to the chopping block. the only improvement i can imagine is an official edict to the clan leaders, asking them to commit harakiri .
though it was common at that time for ronin to request permission to commit harakiri in the courtyards of clan residences, saito is somewhat suspicious of hanshiro’s request. there have been recent cases where ronin used their harakiri requests to swindle the clan leaders into giving them money. in an attempt to test hanshiro’s resolve, saito tells him a story of a young ronin named chijiwa motome (akira ishihama), another former fukushima clan retainer who came to the iyi mansion a few months earlier with the same request. already aware of the “harakiri scam”, saito grants chijiwa his request, provided that he performs harakiri immediately. problem was, motome had recently pawned the blades of his swords and had them replaced with bamboo. the iyi clan is angered that a samurai would do this, since a sword is considered to be a “samurai’s soul”. with no chance of escape, and no choice but to uphold his honour as a samurai, motome slowly and painfully disembowels himself with his bamboo blade before having his head lopped off by the kaishakunin .
mcdonald, keiko i. reading a japanese film: cinema in context. honolulu: university of hawaii press; annotated edition, 2006 .
despite the early modern - era setting, the film contains many of the same tropes of earlier samurai films (albeit with a lot more bloodletting), most notably another koike adaptation that preceded it, the seven - film lone wolf and cub (1972 - 74) series .
the thing is, i didn' t have insight into japanese authoritarianism during the edo period before watching this movie. i don' t think it' s fair to judge a film based on your own knowledge or insight into certain topics. harakiri shows an example or the result of extreme authoritarianism on a singular family (sort of similar in that sense to grave of the fireflies). it also shows the futility of trying to change it, as shown by the brilliant ending. but this is not what makes a film. what makes a film is it' s power to move, or entertain. harakiri is beautifully choreographed, has an intense story that is often touching and tragic, and is a powerful indictment of japanese politics. weather you already on the side of the movies themes or not is mostly irrelevant imo, as it presents it' s case with an emotional narrative that does indeed tell a story you can' t find anywhere else .
[ 36 ] michael ondaatje, the conversations: walter murch and the art of editing film (london: bloomsbury, 2002), 50 .
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film at granada hills branch library: film buff cliff o’connell, a professor at los angeles mission college, hosts a screening and discusses “some like it hot” (1959), 1: 30 p. m. june 10. 10640 petit ave. 818 - 368 - 5687. urltoken
i think you bring up good points about the armor and what it symbolizes. i think it would be a good idea to use what you think the armor symbolizes and tie it into the greater themes of the film, such as ritual suicide and the honor it represents. the ritual suicide portrayed in the film is part of the samurai code and it is committed as a way to die with honor. the time period in japan that the film takes place was a relatively peaceful time that left many samurai wandering the land in poverty. samurais go to the house estates and ask to commit harakiri on the land as a way to die honorably, but many of them are just looking for handouts .
[ 34 ] this also gives us a way to understand the extraordinary variability of film reception and experience, and even our fluctuating experience of a film at different viewings: that we are made up of a multitude of affective / mimetic interfaces that are constantly evoked and remade with each new experience .
i definitely agree that the opening sequence is significant in this film, and would make for a great place to start in your analysis. you did a good job of finding the
texture
of the film, and you were wise to focus on the mood and music of the scene. i think by doing this, you' ll give yourself an interesting window into the film that otherwise may be quick to ignore. i' d make sure to tie all aspects of the film to the beginning, at some point, to further indicate why the opening is significant enough to write about .
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice, telling a story of startling cruelty. what a space it opens…
to remake or not to remake, that is the question “ ichimei ” or “hara - kiri: death of a samurai” is takashi miike ‘s 2012 remake of the extraordinary 1962 classic “ seppuku ” (or “ harakiri “), that one directed by masaki kobayashi. if you feel like this might be a little too ambitious of a project for someone like miike, fear not. his last project was “13 assassins” (which was reviewed right here on amp), a similar type of film with parallel themes and a striking resemblance in terms of visuals. the story goes as follows: a ronin requests an audience with the regent of a powerful samurai clan. once he is permitted to enter the grounds, the wandering warrior makes a startling demand: he requests the use of the clan’s courtyard in order to perform hara - kiri (suicide by disembowelment). now, this is where the story gets even stranger… as the conversation continues, the regent reveals an
bookends: the film begins and ends with a shot of the red armor on display, and narration from the ii clan' s official chronicle of events .
baby jane came in 31st for the year. i think it’s a good film, but not great – a mid range * * * film. the problem for me, is that it is a little hard to take it too seriously on the pure film level, and i’m not a fan of camp, so i don’t really find very enjoyable on that level either. i do think davis is good, but she also misses out on a best actress nom from me .
even though i had read about ride the high country on and off for years i had never actually viewed the film until last night on dvd. i came away with a deep admiration for what was accomplished both by actors joel mccrea and randolph scott but also by director sam pekinpah. many film critics consider this to be their best work in their respective fields. given the careers of these individuals that is saying a lot! beautifully photographed this motion picture had been overlooked by many in the years immediately after its initial release in 1962 but also, i suspect, by many filmgoers today. that is a shame. i encourage all to take the time to watch this motion picture which represents the ending of a certain noble form of the western genre as well as the careers of scott and mccrea. in this regard the final death scene is both touching and poignant .
the film has a steady, hypnotic momentum; the director, masaki kobayashi, wrings as much drama out of facial twitches as he does out of sword fights .
but it is still relevant, and it is still powerful, making it an even more resonating film than it could ever possibly be if it weren' t .
harakiri is one of the greatest films ever made, imo. absolutely everything that could go right while making it went right. incredible performances (tatsuya nakadai is a very versatile actor, sadly not so many people know about him because most associate samurai film actors with mifune), awesome b & w cinematography, pure passion and raw emotion radiating from each frame, effective aperiodic string soundtrack which will linger in the mind for a long time, suspenseful battle scenes and an excellent ending .
something most people i speak to about it don' t know is that the film is a powerful allegory for a japanese attitude towards authority post - world war ii .
that’s a well - cut trailer for a film that has been reported to be a bit dull. miike is almost always good for an exciting sequence or two, and there’s clearly enough material to cut into a compelling two and a half - minute presentation. it’s enough to make me want to catch the full film, despite the reviews .
sublime i was introduced to kobayashi with the human condition and absolutely loved it. having been a lover of japanese cinema i was shocked by my ignorance of this great director. harakiri is a masterpiece and a joy to watch from the very first frame to the last. i kept thinking throughout the film whether i have ever seen a better black and white cinematography. the sets are designed to perfection. it made me laugh when kobayashi mentions the
roofs
in the interview. what a discovery !
the film has a steady, hypnotic momentum; the director, masaki kobayashi, wrings as much drama out of facial twitches as he does out of sword fights .
how are the quintessentially
japanese
themes these movies raise (esp. honor, duty / obligation vs desire) seen / experienced by those who, let' s say, are not really
into
japanese culture, history, or films? would they, as expressed by harakiri for instance, still have the same impact ?
set in 1844, 13 assassins follows the seven samurai template, featuring a band of samurais who come together to overthrow a despotic lord for the greater good of society. miike’s version benefits from a far more generous budget, with a wonderful attention to period sets and costumes and some inventively choreographed fight scenes. his subsequent stab at remaking a genre masterpiece, with hara - kiri: death of a samurai (2012), a reworking of the 1962 kobayashi classic, was an altogether more sedate affair: the first jidaigeki shot in 3d, it was only distributed in its flat version in the uk .
it' s been around a year since i saw harakiri but the authoritarianism demonstrated was very basic. 1984 (the book) is something i can more easily relate to, because i can understand why someone wouldn' t stand up to 1984' s authority. the trial (book or movie) is another great anti - authority story .
i' m rarely a fan of frame narratives, but harakiri allows the viewer to experience an honorable man' s decline so vividly, so humanly. everything is obvious and we anticipate the progression of misery, sickness, and death, but the expert scripting, the awesome direction, and the sadness of tatsuya nakadai' s eyes sell it .
[ 8 ] jonathan rosenbaum and adrian martin, eds. , movie mutations: the changing face of world cinephilia (london: british film institute, 2003), 5 - 6 .
american cinematheque at the aero: directed by max ophüls: “sarajevo” (1940) and “letter from an unknown woman” (1948), 7: 30 p. m. june 5. “yogimbo” (1961) and “harakiri” (1962), 7: 30 p. m. june 6. “curly top” (1935) and “heidi” (1937), 3 p. m. june 7. the golden age of 3 - d: shorts, 7: 30 ($ 13) and, “the bubble” (1966), 9: 30 p. m. june 11 (free); “house of wax” (1953) and “the mad magician” (1954), 7: 30 p. m. june 12; “kiss me kate” (1953) and “miss sadie thompson” (1953), 7: 30 p. m. june 13. most tickets $ 11; $ 9 seniors and students. 1328 montana ave. , santa monica. 323 - 466 - 3456. urltoken
consider the iconic image of the film, when tsugomu fights a swordsman of the clan on a windy moor. at the climax he assumes an odd stance with the sword, pictured here :
this is an amazing japanese classic written and filmed without flaw. the action unfolds in story - telling within story - telling. this is a film about truth. whose truth? that is the unfoldment. in a perverted way, this amazing piece of work has become predictive of western corporate banking. perhaps you' ll see what i mean at the end of the film .
great film, as good a film as i' ve ever seen! as good a purchase as i' ve ever made, it' s in czech, so you have to fiddle around with it to get japanese audio and english subtitles, but it is worth it at a good price for such a quality groundbreaking film, i went off of roger ebert on this one and i am so glad i did, fantastic story, great acting by nakadai as in ran, and it' s just a classic, up there with seven samurai, yojimbo imo .
following the collapse of his clan, an unemployed samurai (tatsuya nakadai) arrives at the manor of lord iyi, begging to be allowed to commit ritual suicide on the property. iyi’s clansmen, believing the desperate ronin is merely angling for a new position, try to force his hand and get him to eviscerate himself—but they have underestimated his beliefs and his personal brand of honor. winner of the cannes film festival’s special jury prize, harakiri, directed by masaki kobayashi is a fierce evocation of individual agency in the face of a corrupt and hypocritical system .
their three best warriors pretend to be ill so that nobody will find out they had their samurai topknots taken, instead of immediately committing harakiri to atone for their disgrace. after hanshiro' s rampage, the clan covers up the whole incident because they can' t admit to the world that some half - starved ronin managed to inflict such casualties on their ranks .
adapted from the same source novel in 2011 by notorious auteur takashi miike, the original – winner of the 1963 special jury prize at cannes – still stands as a startling moment in japanese cinema. the masters of cinema series is proud to present, for its 50th anniversary, the uk home viewing première of harakiri in a dual format blu - ray + dvd edition .
following the collapse of his clan, an unemployed samurai arrives at the manor of lord iyi, begging to be allowed to commit ritual suicide on the property. iyi' s clansmen, believing the desperate ronin is merely angling for a new position, try to force his hand and get him to eviscerate himself, but they have underestimated his beliefs and his personal brand of honor. winner of the cannes film festival' s special jury prize, harakiri, directed by masaki kobayashi is a fierce evocation of individual agency in the face of a corrupt and hypocritical system .
this stunning film is a sombre tragedy (...) giving off deep rage against militarism, political systems and beliefs that do not allow for a rational human outlook or future change
keisuke kinoshita in 1958 and shohei immamura in 1983) are superb. both are adaptations of a book by shichiro fukazawa which complicates the line of descent. similarly the coen brothers claim that their film
soundtrack duties for miike’s film are provided by superstar composer ryuichi sakamoto. whilst i admire sakamoto’s work with nagisa oshima (merry christmas mr lawrence (1983) and gohatto (1999) ), this soundtrack has too much melodramatic swelling strings for my liking. far superior are the disconcerting twangs and shimmering gongs of the original film’s soundtrack. this was written by the innovative and influential experimental composer toru takemitsu. amongst his other impressive body of film work are soundtracks for kurosawa’s ran (1985), kobayashi’s kwaiden, and best of all: hiroshi teshigahara’s the woman in the dunes (1964) .
film development
is what we at urltoken are calling the process of thinking about films with the idea that the films themselves are thinking. very simply: what is a film thinking about, how is it thinking about that, and what may be the value of that thinking? read more. (click the red x - upper right corner - to make this notice vanish forever) .
﻿with takashi miike ’s remake hara - kiri: death of a samurai next week i thought it was as good an excuse as any to look back at the many gorgeous posters for masaki kobayashi ’s 1962 original. one of the most startlingly beautiful of all samurai movies, harakiri is an exercise in stylistic bravado, a masterpiece of widescreen high contrast black and white. ﻿i recently stumbled across this unusually stark vertical polish poster﻿—like one of kobayashi’s frames upended—by marek freudenreich﻿ (he of the amazing crossword skull stage fright) on a polish culture site which was reviewing a 2008 show of his work. this little - seen design set me off on a search for other posters for kobayashi’s masterpiece, the fruits of which you can see below. above: the enormous italian style b ﻿ 4 - foglio (55
x 78
) by alverado ciriello. above: the italian style a﻿ 4 - foglio (55
x 78
), also by ciriello. ﻿ above: the french grande (47
x 63
) signed by “ainelare .
after completing his story, saito sternly questions hanshiro’s sincerity. hanshiro assures him that he is indeed sincere in performing harakiri. but before doing so, he requests an audience with saito and the iyi retainers to tell a story of his own: a story that will challenge the belief system of the entire iyi clan and the fatalistic code of bushido that they continue to adhere to .
lawrence of arabia becomes only the third film (following gone with the wind and casablanca) to come in 1st place in the top 1000 for the year and also win best picture at the oscars .
the implications of contreras’ separation of time and space, evident in her account of shots in which the camera and figures rarely move, are thrown into stark relief in its application to the action sequences. it is with the duel scene that contreras’ discussion of the film reveals most clearly the inadequacy of a pictorial approach to addressing the dynamism of the film or to giving an insight into why it is so thrilling .
[ 13 ] donald richie, “notes on the film music of takemitsu toru, ” contemporary music review 21: 4 (2002), 5 - 16: 9; takemitsu, confronting silence, 102 .
is well made, enjoyable, and was critically well received. however, being almost identical, and in almost every way inferior to its original template, there is little to justify its existence. miike’s calling card has always been originality. when you can call a miike film (whether you liked it or not) unoriginal, it seems a somewhat sad betrayal of this surreal and boundary pushing film maker’s sensibilities .
subverting authority on the basis of human moral decency, harakiri endures as kobayashi’s most powerful film, and an uncommonly singular statement against samurai honor. given the ingrained presence of samurai in japanese cinema, and the samurai’s influence over japanese principles from their feudal period to present, kobayashi’s filmic assault transcends history to find modern parallels in their social infrastructure. under his direction, japanese warriors revered for centuries as symbols of military composure and nobility become hardened figures of corruption and emotional indifference, further outlining how systems of authority concern themselves only with the collective’s need in prioritized ranks, and rarely ever consider the individual .
you' re completely reducing the film to it' s societal criticism by saying it shouldn' t be as adored today. you are also incorrect to say
society has changed too much
. harakiri is still as relevant now as it was then, perhaps not in your country, but the world is filled with authoritative governments and political corruption. and even if it didn' t, as a time period piece it still marvelous excels. and hell, even if it' s themes were completely stricken from the movie, it would still be a tense, powerful, and tragic story .
the story: one afternoon, a shabby, starved ronin (or unemployed samurai) by the name of hanshiro tsugumo arrives at the mansion of lord iyi in edo (tokyo). a former retainer of the fukushima clan, hanshiro (like many other former samurai who, according to the code of bushido, dedicated their hearts, souls and swords to serving their masters) was cast aside and forced to seek employment elsewhere. with no purpose in a time of peace, and little to no reason to live, he requests permission from lord iyi’s senior counselor, saito kayegu (rentaro mikuni), to perform harakiri in the forecourt of the mansion. harakiri, or seppuku (the film’s japanese title), is a ritualistic act of suicide which begins with self - disembowelment with a short blade – either a knife (tanto) or short sword (wakizashi) – and concludes with the decapitation of the samurai in one stroke (kaishaku) by a swordsman (kaishakunin) selected by the samurai himself .
hikokuro is one of the three men most responsible for motome' s suffering, as he was the one who argued that he should be made to commit harakiri, and refused to chop off his head until he had dragged the bamboo bladea across his stomach. yet compared to hayato and umenosuke, hikokuro does a much better job of actually living up to the bushido code he claims to live by .
unlike the film’s 2011 3d remake (yes, ladies and gents…. 3 - d…. remake! !) “hara - kiri: death of a samurai” directed by takashi miike (who made the incredibly awesome chambara “13 assassins” one year prior), “harakiri” maintains a dark, haunting and bitter tone. the first few opening shots set this tone brilliantly. an empty suit of armour is shot from different angles inside a room enveloped in darkness and mist. even when the back wall of the room is illuminated slightly by a back light, the armour still appears dark. this suit is the symbol of the iyi clan and represents their martial valour, and yet in these opening shots (and sporadically throughout the film) it’s presented as hollow, ghost - like and lifeless, a remnant of olden, obsolete rules and traditions .
the allegory is not the subtlest in harakiri, but the rare sense of anger in my opinion overrides criticism of it. tsugomu, we learn, was a devoted master swordsman of a clan that was abolished on a whim by the shogunate a decade prior. twelve thousand innocent souls, as tsugomu put it, cast adrift to perish by governmental decree. it is because of this abolition tsugomu and his son - in - law find themselves in the dire straits that necessitate the son - in - law begging money of the cruel lord that begins the film, and the same implacability of the whole that ultimately ends it .
is an original screenplay. this means that miike’s version has no point of origin except for kobayashi’s film. as the setting is the same, miike cannot utilise the disconnect of place or language that allows films such as
at the gate of the official mansion of lord iyi, a shabby ronin named tsugumo hanshiro applies for an audience with the clan elder, saito kayegu (rentaro mikuni). he has been set loose by lord geishu and has no job. he requests permission to kill himself in the clan' s forecourt. the ritual act is known as harakiri, or seppuku (which is the film' s title in japanese). it involves using a short blade for self - disembowelment. after the blade plunges in and slices from left to right, a designated master swordsman stands by to decapitate the samurai with one powerful stroke .
film at ovitt family community library: “frozen” (2013), noon - 1: 30 p. m. june 5, free, 215 e. c st. , ontario, 909 - 395 - 2004. urltoken
it would be wrong for me to reveal the details of the story tsugumo tells. what i can say is that it is heartbreaking. he explains that motome was not a man trying to avoid death by the excuse of asking for a delay. he was a man whose actual honor humbles saito and other authoritarian bureaucrats. sometimes it takes more courage to do the right thing than to do the traditional thing. following the bushido code frees its adherents from the need to arrive at their own moral conclusions .
harakiri
is a film reflecting situational ethics, in which the better you know a man the more deeply you understand his motives .
joan mellen is the author of several books about japanese cinema, including voices from the japanese cinema and the waves at genji’s door as well as monographs for the bfi on seven samurai and in the realm of the senses. her most recent book is a farewell to justice: jim garrison, jfk’s assassination, and the case that should have changed history. this piece originally appeared in the criterion collection’s 2005 dvd edition of harakiri .
harakiri ’s composer, takemitsu, appears particularly attuned to the discovery of similarity or pattern between modes, to thinking cross - modally—experiencing and thinking of one sense as the other or complemented by the terms of the other. he describes his way of working with film, in which sound and image cannot be conceived separately. he sees images as music: “i love movies because i experience them as music” and sees music as image: “when i hear sound, maybe because i am a visual person, i always have visions. and when i see, i always hear. these are not isolated experiences but always simultaneous, activating imagination. ” [ 13 ]
film at los angeles county museum of art: “ladies in retirement” (1941), 1 p. m. june 9. tickets $ 4. 5905 wilshire blvd. , los angeles. 323 - 857 - 6010. urltoken
( 1954). miike uses kudo’s template as a showcase for his own brand of violent action. the film’s set up is essentially an excuse for a 50 minute climactic battle in a booby trapped village. in this part of the film the narrative recedes into the background whilst the the “cinema of attractions” of the action spectacle takes over. the village is a haunted house ride (a different surprise around every corner) within which miike blocks out time by combining rapid cut chaotic fighting scenes against graceful balletic movements captured with longer kinetic camera movements. violence is mainly implied, leading up to coup de grace moments of explicit gore which mark the end of sub - scenes (within this long uberscene). the generic template of kudo’s original allows miike to explore his various styles of action film making over an extended period. in my opinion this is enough of a departure from the original film to justify the remake .
masaki kobayashi served as a rebel filmmaker in japan’s thriving, defiant postwar cinema, presenting his most vital criticisms of authoritarian powers through jidai - geki, or period pieces, which veiled the director’s censures of contemporary officialdom behind their historical setting. harakiri stands as kobayashi’s most pronounced anti - establishment film, its raw moments of symbolic violence balanced with a narrative whose allusions hold tragic humanist and social implications. condemning his country’s lingering ties to their feudal past, his tale of desperate samurai and corrupt feudal clans challenged its japanese audience to look into their history for a modern precedent, and represents, with unparallel clarity of purpose in his career, kobayashi’s need to defy authority .
anne rutherford teaches cinema studies at western sydney university. she has published on cinematic affect and embodiment, cinematic materiality, mise en scène, indigenous cinema and documentary, and is the author of ‘what makes a film tick? ’: cinematic affect, materiality and mimetic innervation. her recent research explores montage and performativity in the work of william kentridge; and the film work of indigenous australian director, ivan sen. she has also made several short films. urltoken
in other technical aspects miike simply can’t compete. his film is in colour (3d in fact, although i watched it in 2d), but the tones are oddly murky. only the opening shot of the crimson wood of the palace, and a later pillow shot of maple leaves in autumn, take advantage of the colour palette. kobayashi’s film has a very strong visual identity forged by two reoccurring shots in the courtyard scenes. one is a fixed over - the - shoulder shot from behind the counsellor looking down at hanshiro. the other is a fixed over - the - shoulder shot from behind hanshiro looking up at the counsellor. these shots quickly establish the power relations in the film, and anchor the film between the various flashbacks. miike prefers to keep his camera mobile, constantly circling hanshiro. this gives us a sense of the forces that surround him, bit isn’t as effective as kobayashi’s static camera .
everyone involved in this film, kobayashi, nakadai, hashimoto, miyajima, takemitsu... everyone' s firing on all cylinders. ridiculously good. one of the all time great revenge films. suck on it, tarantino .
oh well. anyway, the photography of this film was gorgeous, especially toward the end of the film where nakadai hunts down some of the samurai. i also love the shots in the courtyard, where we can see every scraggly hair on nakadai' s face. a great ending fight sequence too, albeit it has a bit of that
why don' t they all just go for him at once
problem oft found in group fight sequences .
film at claremont 5 laemmle: “the fixer upper” (2015), 9: 30 and 11: 15 a. m. june 5, tickets $ 8 - $ 11, 450 w. second st. , claremont. urltoken
from audition to ichi the killer and 13 assasins, prolific japanese director takashi miike has regularly awed audiences around the world with his harrowing tale of violence and revenge. now, more than a year after hara - kiri: death of a samurai made its world premiere at the cannes film festival, the heralded drama is at long last gearing up for its stateside release with a sleek and stylish trailer, which you can check out below. a respectful remake of masaki kobayashi film harakiri, hara - kiri: death of a samurai follows the quest of a mysterious samurai, who travels to the doorstep of a feudal lord and requests to commit ritual suicide in the man' s courtyard. suspicious of the stoic warrior, the lord unfurls the tragic story of an ill - fated ronin named motome, who came to this place before with a similar request, but also with an ulterior motive. unexpectedly, the story the lord
about the post - ww2 anti - authority statement: kobayashi' s films often feature noble individuals who have to act against the oppresive system, whether it' s the feudal law in harakiri and samurai rebellion, or ww2 japanese obsessive militarism in the human condition. kobayashi himself was a soldier in ww2 manchuria, and after the war he made lots of films attacking the japanese state / laws, such as the thick - walled room or black river .
of all masaki kobayashi’s attacks on the cruelty and inhumanity perpetrated by authoritarian power (including the human condition and samurai rebellion), perhaps none are more brilliant than his visceral, mesmerising harakiri [ aka seppuku ]. in a magnificent performance, tatsuya nakadai (yojimbo, the face of another, ran) stars as hanshiro tsugumo, a masterless down - and - out samurai who enters the manor of lord iyi, requesting to commit ritual suicide on his property .
even if kobayashi' s first period film is an exemplary tale speaking as much to our own times as to japan' s feudal era, it is also a ripping yarn, keeping the viewer gripped with its jigsaw structure and intense performances .
in that previous thread, a poster mentioned
something most people i speak to about it don' t know is that the film is a powerful allegory for a japanese attitude towards authority post - world war ii .
thoughts on that statement ?
a beautiful film set in 18th century japan. the handsome but overly ambitious gonza (hiromi go) is one of the matsue clan' s most talented lancers. although he is already engaged to the sister of one of his fellow retainers, gonza agrees to wed the daughter of his lord to better his position. the fiancée' s infuriated brother plots against gonza. this classic tale of conflicts between love and honor, duty and devotion, won a silver bear at the berlin film festival.
harakiri ( 切腹 seppuku , 1962 ) is a japanese jidaigeki ( period-drama ) film directed by masaki kobayashi . the story takes place between 1619 and 1630 during the edo period and the reign of the tokugawa shogunate . it tells the story of hanshirō tsugumo , a warrior without a lord . at the time , it was common for masterless samurai , or rōnin , to request to commit seppuku ( hara kiri ) in the palace courtyard in the hope of receiving alms from the remaining feudal lords . 
harakiri (切腹 seppuku, 1962) is a japanese jidaigeki (period-drama) film directed by masaki kobayashi. the story takes place between 1619 and 1630 during the edo period and the reign of the tokugawa shogunate. it tells the story of hanshirō tsugumo, a warrior without a lord. at the time, it was common for masterless samurai, or rōnin, to request to commit seppuku (hara kiri) in the palace courtyard in the hope of receiving alms from the remaining feudal lords.
harakiri (切腹 seppuku, 1962) is a japanese jidaigeki (period-drama) film directed by masaki kobayashi. the story takes place between 1619 and 1630 during the edo period and the reign of the tokugawa shogunate. it tells the story of hanshirō tsugumo, a warrior without a lord. at the time, it was common for masterless samurai, or rōnin, to request to commit seppuku (hara kiri) in the palace courtyard in the hope of receiving alms from the remaining feudal lords.