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Harikiri

post #1 of 32
10/7/06 at 9:16am
Thread Starter 
It’s getting quite irritating now with these Samurai Films, as I keep seeing new films which trump my last ‘best Samurai Film I’ve ever seen’ recommendation. While I still hold to the virtues of Sword of Doom and Samurai Rebellion, Harikiri is better on just about every level.

Essentially telling the story of how a conman Ronin was forced to commit Seppuku in the most horrific way possible (with suitably nasty demonstration of how to disembowel oneself with a bamboo sword), Harikiri is a full forced attack on the notion of Samurai honour.

The story, largely told in flashback, is delivered by a half starved and haggard ronin named Hanshiro Tsugamoto (played with a wonderful melachonly by Tatsuya Nakadai). Originally appearing as if he just wants to commit suicide on the ground of the Iyi Clan it soon becomes apparent that he has a vested interest in the forced suicide. What emerges is a battle between humanism and the samurai code as Tsugamoto attempts to explain what drove the young ronin to sell his swords and attempt to con the clan.

Beautifully filmed and staged Harikiri is chock full of graceful moments which really cement Kobayashi as one of Japan’s best directors. The few action scenes, while not spectacular in a traditional sense, have a wonderful sense of realism and vitality to them.

Just a wonderful movie.
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post #2 of 32
10/7/06 at 4:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spike Marshall
Essentially telling the story of how a conman Ronin was forced to commit Seppuku in the most horrific way possible
Conman, Marshall?! Now really, we must duel. Sunset on some windswept hillside okay?
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post #3 of 32
10/8/06 at 8:54am
Thread Starter 
Well he essentially is a conman, he's just an honourable one.
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post #4 of 32
10/8/06 at 1:00pm
It's very close to a perfect film in my mind. It's this and Seven Samurai (perhaps Rashomon, too), they are my favorite samurai films, and they are among my 15-20 favorite films ever. Emotionally devastating, often grueling to watch, but great. Glad you liked it, Spike.
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post #5 of 32
10/8/06 at 1:40pm
Good timing because I watched this movie just last night. The only reason I saw it was because I just got a DVR last week and wanted to test it and record a movie. It just so happened that this movie was on IFC and the first one I selected. Wow, am I glad that I chose this one because what a great movie it was. Not something that I would have ever picked on my own. I was literally holding my breath during the main Motome Chijiiwa scene.

Also, this movie definitely piqued my interest to find out more about Seppuku because I know absolutely nothing about the history (in fact this was the first Samurai movie I have ever seen) which led me to spend an hour going from page to page on Wikipedia.

I have a feeling that a door has been opened to a whole new genre of film for me. Next step is to tackle that monster of a thread, The Asian Films Thread.
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post #6 of 32
2/28/07 at 6:42pm
Thread Starter 
This is perhaps one of the few films which leaves me feeling gutted each and every time I see it. Such a masterful film, I'd dare say its on par with Kurosawa's films in terms of Samurai films.

Four grown men gently sobbing for half an hour after the end of the film is a testament to the films power.
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post #7 of 32
2/28/07 at 7:22pm
"Gutted" - Heh.
Seems every time I watch a samurai film I tend to think "I'll have to watch Harakiri again soon". But it's such a tough experience, it's not one I tend to watch over and over. But I have seen it three times, and it seems to grow with each viewing.
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post #8 of 32
2/28/07 at 7:33pm
The film is so brilliantly made, it's easy to forget what a bleak and harrowing experience watching it actually is. But I tend to not look at it as depressing, but actually quite exhilirating and uplifting in a way. It's about a true samurai, standing up and making a point.

It also has possibly the best action of any samurai film. That duel between Nakadai and Tetsuro Tamba - wow.
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post #9 of 32
4/28/07 at 5:24pm
This film, highly unfortunately, seems to have been very overshadowed in history. I wonder why that is - it's a brilliant film, just as good as any famous samurai film (i.e. Kurosawa stuff, Ugetsu, Sword of Doom, Samurai Trilogy, etc.). It has all the facets that define the great films in the genre - the structural cleverness of Rashomon, the engrossing storytelling of The Seven Samurai, the visual beauty of Ran. Yet, all I hear from critics about Japanese cinema is Kurosawa, Ozu, Mizoguchi, repeated ad nauseum.

Why do you guys think it doesn't get much attention? I think a little bit may be the year it was released (at Cannes it lost the Palm d'Or to The Leopard, which made Roger Ebert's list of Great Movies and thus is apparently highly regarded) and the situation of its release - like Red Beard, it came at a time when Japan seemed to be growing tired of samurai dramas, but unlike Red Beard, it doesn't have a (deservedly) internationally-famous star and an even more famous director to make sure it gets the attention it deserves these days.
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post #10 of 32
4/28/07 at 5:29pm
Thread Starter 
I think the film is a lot harder than most other Samurai fare, its unrelentingly pessimistic and doesn't have any real moments which could be classed as uplifting. Sword of Doom may be a dark piece of work but its peppered with some phenomenal swordfights, Samurai Rebellion has the same nihilism and sense of injustice but the ending is rather empowering, and Kurosawa films are Kurosawa films.

It's a fantastic piece of work, but its bleakness may be detracting too a lot of people.
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post #11 of 32
4/28/07 at 5:52pm
I lent this to a friend who had been asking me to give him tips on great Asian films. He absolutely loved it, and we had a little discussion about the film. Made me want to go back and watch it again, so I'll do that some time in the next couple of weeks or so.

And, like Spike, I think it's *too bleak* for people to sit through. Just a harrowing experience that leaves scars that a lot of people don't feel like acknowledging. Maybe, I don't know. I think it's better than just about *everything*.
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post #12 of 32
4/28/07 at 6:56pm
I can definitely see your point about the bleakness of it (although I found it, in some ways, inspiring and even a bit uplifting) but I will never understand why film critics never seemed to latch onto it - it's such a brilliant subversion of the 'samurai code of honor' that is taken for granted in, well, just about every other film I've seen on the subject of samurai. Critics normally love that kind of thing.

Ah, well. I'm glad I found out about it, anyway.
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post #13 of 32
5/5/07 at 5:36pm
I wasn't interested in this movie until I checked this thread. Then I look on imdb and it's number 250 on the top 250! What are the odds...
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post #14 of 32
5/8/07 at 10:50pm
Well, Harakiri now has an 8.6 average at IMDb which, if you take that sort of thing seriously, means it's pretty damn good. The only reason it isn't higher (it's actually climbing now) is because it doesn't have enough votes. Glad to know it is finally on there, though. Here's hoping it'll lead to more exposure.
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post #15 of 32
5/9/07 at 1:10am
It may sound pathetic, but I do care about that sort of thing. I may personally enjoy, like, or even love a movie with a 5.7 rating without caring whatsoever about the imdb votes, but the 7.5 and above rating always has me convinced I should see it.
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post #16 of 32
5/9/07 at 2:02am
thanks to this thread, this movie just got moved to the tops of my Netflix queue. on par with seven samurai AND sword of doom(my two favorite samurai films)? yes please.
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post #17 of 32
5/9/07 at 1:15pm
I don't want to get your hopes up, so perhaps you shouldn't expect Seven Samurai. It's not as joyous an experience (and that's putting it rather mildly). I totally stand by my comments earlier in the thread, but sooner or later someone's gonna come along and say "what the fuck, man?"
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post #18 of 32
5/9/07 at 11:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by le Stephanois
It may sound pathetic, but I do care about that sort of thing. I may personally enjoy, like, or even love a movie with a 5.7 rating without caring whatsoever about the imdb votes, but the 7.5 and above rating always has me convinced I should see it.
No, I understand completely, and I do the same thing. Only, my standards are a bit lower, as some of my favorite films are below 7.5. My general rule is that a movie recommended by a friend with a 7 or above, or a movie in general with a 7.5 or above, is *probably* worth something.

Sorry, I didn't mean to come off as snotty and elitist in my post, though I see now that I probably did. It's just, you know, for every five good films in the top 250 there's at least one bad film. But that's the way it goes with popular voting.

Quote:
thanks to this thread, this movie just got moved to the tops of my Netflix queue. on par with seven samurai AND sword of doom(my two favorite samurai films)? yes please.
On par, yes, quality-wise, but as Lee Harvey C. said, it's very, very different in tone. The closest it comes to in that regard is probably Ran, which most consider pretty damn depressing. That it isn't light, fun viewing - or even serious but enjoyable viewing - is a point that can't be stressed enough.
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post #19 of 32
5/10/07 at 2:59am
Naw, you aint a snotty elitist in my book. Nibbler fans can't be bad.
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post #20 of 32
1/28/08 at 1:08am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by CryOpenupthesky View Post
thanks to this thread, this movie just got moved to the tops of my Netflix queue. on par with seven samurai AND sword of doom(my two favorite samurai films)? yes please.
Did you ever get around to seeing the film Cry, and if so what did you think. It's a film which I think is legitimately great, but I know a lot of people don't like it because of how unremmitingly brutal it is.
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post #21 of 32
2/17/08 at 1:59pm
I added Harakiri and Samurai Rebellion to my Amazon wishlist, as they are the ony films mentioned here that I have yet to see. Will i get my money's worth? Those are some expensive packages...
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post #22 of 32
2/17/08 at 2:20pm
Thread Starter 
The Criterion Harakiri and Samurai Rebellion are both amazing. I wouldn't watch them together though, as they might step on each others feet thematically.
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post #23 of 32
2/17/08 at 7:19pm
Noted.
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post #24 of 32
2/17/08 at 10:47pm
And if you only watch one make it Harakiri. Not that Rebellion isn't a great film. But Harakiri is outstanding (and emotionally devastating).
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post #25 of 32
2/18/08 at 2:05am
Eagerly buying both and watching harakiri first -OR- doubly noted.
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post #26 of 32
2/18/08 at 5:19am
Caught Harakiri on IFC. So great on so many levels. Really one of the best reccommendations I can think to make to someone who doesn't know a lot about Japanese film.
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post #27 of 32
2/18/08 at 7:26pm
Rewatched it last weekend, because I'm going to write a review of it for a web page I'm working for. The Criterion transfer is just gorgeous, and the film seems to grow on me with ever viewing. Themes and visual detail become a lot clearer after I've seen it acouple times. I just love how it continually throughout the film keeps corrupting the seppuku ritual, robbing it of any sort of grace, elegance or meaning, and instead it becomes this merciless and torturous act of violence.
The film's a lot easier to take now, but there is a cut (not spoiling it!) that still makes me cringe. I find it amazing that I can still be chocked by something like that in a 45 year old film.
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post #28 of 32
2/21/08 at 5:26am
Anyone else here agree this movie has the coolest hats in samurai movie history? Not to take anything away from Nakadai's massive lampshade in Sword of Doom, or the three Gods of Death in Lone Wolf & Cub 2, but this film really does feature some first-class straw headgear.
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post #29 of 32
12/21/08 at 8:11pm
Thread Starter 
If I could show one film to anyone it would be this one. It's a film which frustrates me immensely because it's so beautiful, but it's foreigness, length and subject matter make it almost impossible for me to show it to new people.
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post #30 of 32
12/21/08 at 9:56pm
What are the chances we'll start seeing stuff like Harikiri, Rashomon, Seven Samurai and whatnot on blu-ray in the new year? Criterion or otherwise..

I really really really want to pick this up..
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post #31 of 32
12/21/08 at 10:11pm
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the price cuts on the Criterion dvds were in anticipation of the Blu-Rays.
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post #32 of 32
12/22/08 at 12:09pm
What a great movie. I love the way it plays with the audience's initial perception of events and completly turns it in your face by revealing why the "conman" was really there. So devestating. I'd put this up there with any Kurosawa.
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