X
- 2012
- Not Rated
- Tribeca Films
- 2 h 8 m
- 2012
- Not Rated
- Tribeca Films
- 2 h 8 m
Summary Revenge, honor and disgrace collide when a samurai's request to commit ritual suicide leads to a tense showdown with his feudal lord. [Tribeca Film]
Directed By: Takashi Miike
Written By: Kikumi Yamagishi, Yasuhiko Takiguchi
- 2012
- Not Rated
- Tribeca Films
- 2 h 8 m
- 2012
- Not Rated
- Tribeca Films
- 2 h 8 m
Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai
76
7.5
Where to Watch
Summary Revenge, honor and disgrace collide when a samurai's request to commit ritual suicide leads to a tense showdown with his feudal lord. [Tribeca Film]
Directed By: Takashi Miike
Written By: Kikumi Yamagishi, Yasuhiko Takiguchi
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 19 Critic Reviews
76
79% Positive
15 Reviews
15 Reviews
21% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 19 Critic Reviews
76
79% Positive
15 Reviews
15 Reviews
21% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Takashi's film is sumptuous, with rich cinematography, costumes and set design. Half the time it is a game of chess - the battle of wits between Motome and the lord. Half of the time it is a moving melodrama.
Arriving on the heels of "13 Assassins," Miike's gloriously irreverent take on the samurai action genre, Hara-Kiri seems conventional by his standards, especially in a long middle section that occasionally dips into sentimentality.
What most distinguishes the redo is the often remarkable use of 3-D: Miike turns the format's inherent limitations, especially the tendency toward visual murkiness, to his advantage, fully immersing us in a world suffused with moral and ethical rot.
It's superb filmmaking, uncluttered and utterly assured. Miike places us in the household of Li, offering up rich, deep colors, with an almost painterly exploration of fields of depth and volume.
Hara-Kiri is formal, deliberate, leisurely almost to a fault. It features the sort of slow-gliding camera movements favored by Kenji Mizoguchi, one of the greatest 20th century Japanese filmmakers - and the one least like Miike.
The 3D is completely redundant and the action sporadic but unexpected gearshifts provide plenty of narrative meat.
Takashi Miike lets his familiar tastelessness get the better of him, relishing the grisly seppuku-by-bamboo in unnecessary detail.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 22 User Ratings
7.5
77% Positive
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
9% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
14% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 22 User Ratings
7.5
77% Positive
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
9% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
14% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
Production Company
Recorded Picture Company (RPC),
Sedic International,
Amuse Soft,
Asahi Shimbun,
Dentsu,
Kôdansha,
Oriental Light and Magic (OLM),
Shochiku,
Yahoo Japan,
Yamanashi Broadcasting System,
Yamanashi Nichinichi Shimbun
Release Date Jul 20, 2012
Duration 2 h 8 m
Rating Not Rated
Genres
Awards
Awards of the Japanese Academy
• 2 Nominations
Asian Film Awards
• 2 Nominations
Cannes Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
