Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai [Blu-ray]

First off, I recommend watching the original first, it's better in many ways.If you haven't watched the original, please do that before reading this because of spoilers ahead.This movie was good, but has had some of the key points/ideas of the plot changed, which weren't necessarily bad, in fact if you watch the original first and then watch this one there is one point change where you'll be like "Awh awesome!" But most of the changes lead to a slightly different story and it's not as good over all. I like the different take, but not as good. Imagine the different parallel Spiderman verses, this is a different Harakiri verse.The original flips back and forth between past and present a good number of times with perfect reasons and timing for each flip. The editing is amazing. This tells the story in such a better way and allows for such better dialogue and scenes that aren't in this remake because they're stuck in the past.This remake starts off with short present, long past, ending present. (Minus a day dream at the end.) In other words, it was dumbed down so it was easier to follow I guess.Good - There is some great lighting at times, great shots, and great music/sound effects. These don't make it better as the original had all that. - Father brings the money back - If you've seen the original, the father's sword in this was a "oh wow!/Holy crap!" moment that shows off some amazing skill. But this is also kinda a negative since it wasn't done exactly right.Bad - No memorable/quote-able lines, maybe one at best. -Story is basically told all at once and then ending, not enough back in forth from past to present. - Goes from asking Motome to marry Miho to baby; no wedding like original - Miho doesn't feed Motome and tell him "They taste better with someone." - The translation isn't as good as the original. At times the word "Squire" appears when they had said the person's name... Squire isn't used in the original at all if I remember correctly. - The food line was done by the father in the original and made more sense with the translation. - He fights all 3 samurai at once vs at different times, less dialogue from past to present, short fight - This one does not to as good of a job at talking about honor and valor compared to the original. - One of the biggest issues I have with this one, is he says he comes to perform Harakiri/Seppuku and he doesn't!!! In the original he does!!! - In this one he is killed by blades, just standing there without a sword... I'm not sure how honor works with that, or attacking someone with just a bamboo blade... but in the original they have to use guns to kill him! Now that shows such a lack of honor. - He throws someone into the armor in this one vs trashing it himself in the original. - When Motome gets his funeral robes it doesn't make as much sense in this one; in the original that scene is much better and makes more sense. - When Motome is return home father has to chase after the guys, the original scene is much better and makes more sense as to how the father knew who to go after. - Motome asks for money in this one? Kinda ok but more so not... - When did Motome sell his swords? The original portrays this wayyyy better - Cool that father sold his sword, awesome twist, but why? And then he didn't be like Motome and commit harakiri/seppuku with it? What a let down! - Father doesn't mention why he did this, why he want through this whole "charade" - The three topknots weren't ordered to perform harakiri/seppuku - We don't hear about how they covered up the deaths of these guys - No one else dies? - The king comes back and can tell the armor was moved and so he asks if it was polished and he gets lied to I guess? - I'm probably missing some other things that make me go >8( as I couldn't believe they missed that... the more I think this only deserves two stars...The original has better editing, sound, acting, scenes, dialogue, sequences, back and forth from past to present moments... This movie was good, and I kinda liked some of the changes but on some of the changes they missed just a few more parts to make it a good change. Like with the food scene I mentioned above where Miho doesn't feed her dead husband and say the line, where the father doesn't perform harakiri/seppuku with the bamboo blade, nor does he take as many dishonorable people with him to the grave.This movie could have been better with the changes they made and possibly been just as great as the first if they would have done things better. Still worth a watch, but only after watching the original.

This movie shows not only the samurai culture, love and compassion, but also touch on humanity's greed, violence and sadistic ways. It also shows what can drive a man to glory and happiness or to total madness and dispair in an instant.

Captures the pain of transitioning to the Tokugawa era.

Like many reviewers, I found this remake to be several notches below the original, which I would probably rate at least four stars, likely five. Like most remakes, this one suffers in comparison, but I don't remember enough to compare the two in detail.The setup is good, with the most interesting cinemaphotography in the first few minutes, when the father and the son present themselves to commit ritual suicide. The long flashback about how the situation developed drags in places, and there are too many melodramatic scenes about poverty and sickness.The movie falls apart at the end. The combat is not the most important feature of the film to me, but it should be credible. I found it laughable. The father takes on three top samurai at once, a sure suicide mission. In the original, he fights them one at a time. Then the father shows up for the climax with a nearly worthless sword, but he magically bests several skilled fighters who have good swords. Maybe this is supposed to be a comment on the situation, but I thought it was just silly.The lame ending left a bad taste in my mouth, and it knocked a promising movie down to quite average.

Takashi Miichi's remake of the iconic 1962 "Hara Kiri," directed by Masaki Kobayashi, in color and 3-D for theater-goers, would surely be acclaimed as a near masterwork, a return to the cinematic artistry that made Kobayashi and Kurosawa sublime in their time. Unfortunately for Miichi, too many of us remember the original in all its black-and-white starkness and moodiness. Remaking Hara Kiri is as presumptuous as rewriting Hamlet or recomposing The Marriage of Figaro. The good news is that Miichi follows the script and the ineluctable timing of Kobayashi's classic almost scene for scene... until the climax, the furor that erupts in the last ten minutes. To compare the climactic scenes would constitute an atrocious spoilage, so I won't. But I will say that Miichi's finale discards the profound historical significance of Kobayashi's. Both films are quite worth seeing, believe me, even on successive evenings.The most salient difference, nevertheless, needs to be expressed. The original starred Tatsuyo Nakadai, whose ferocity and intensity made him the Dark counterpart to the lustiness and mirth of Toshiro Mifune. Nobody could match Nakadai in this role; Ebizo Ichikawa earns my admiration for trying.

The 1962 film is my favorite film of all time, so I was very excepted to see the remake knowing it was just that.This film is true to the original in plot, and is a good film and benefits from modern advances in cinematography and budget. Despite it’s obvious advantages, this film suffered from the zeitgeist of 21st century film. Beautiful special effects do not a great film make. This remake misses points on many of the subtle and fine points. Laconic phrases are replaced by conversations. The romance between Chijiwa and Miho is turned to 11. This film takes liberties with certain detail I wish were left alone. The original score replaced with a full orchestra.Criticism not withstanding this is a good film. The plot is good, the lessons are valuable, and the cinematography is beautiful. I would recommend this film to my friends who do not enjoy classic samurai films as an introduction to the genre.One odd point for anyone paying attention, there are many more cats in this version than the original.

Do not go into this movie expecting spectacle or action. This is award worthy storytelling - beyond oscars (they are garbage). Story stays with you long after viewing. Amazing. Do not believe a single negative review. Went into this looking for kickass samurai action and came out with heavy self reflections and contemplation on life and its value. Highly recommended to anyone with a soul.

Following on from the excellent 13 Assassins Takishi Miike now remakes another classic samurai story. Hara-Kiri is the tale of a man who asks to commit ritual suicide in a lords premises. Doing such an act will garner greater honour. However, he is told that this is not the first time that this request has been made and that such people usually do this as a bluff to gain money in hard times.The film starts with this and then intercuts with the previous ronin (masterless samurai) who requested it and tells his story. This is then intercut with the tale of what brought him to this stage before the final reckoning. Of course the stories are linked and of course this isn't coincidence.Miike has beautifully shot this film and the whole tone is one of low tones and a time of honour. Its a morality play in essence though with the final scene showing exactly what the honour is. There is violence (one part was particularly bloody) but not much of it. Don't expect a long fight scene as was in the previous effort.The film works due its style, acting and direction. Miike's stamp is all over this and its a fantastic achievement. How he does these films in such a quick time I never will understand. It isn't an action film however. So don't expect that. But expect a thoughful morality play of feudal Japan and a look into why the honour code let so many down.

Visibile solo in lingua originale coi sottotitoli inglesi, è un discreto dramma giapponese che vede il ritotno del regista sul tema dei samurai dopo 13 assassins. Questo film presenta però uno stile nettamente diverso dal precedente, confinando le scene d'azione nel suggestivo finale sotto la neve. Ci si avvicina quindi ai lavori sull'argomento diretti da Yoji Yamada (Twilight samurai; The hidden blade; Love and honor) anche se Miike non rinuncia comunque a qualche eccesso tipico dei titoli della sua infinita filmografia. La trama del film vede il giovane samurai Motome trovarsi in una situazione di estrema povertà. La sua posizione si aggrava ulteriormente quando la moglie e il suo figlio neonato cadono vittime di una brutta malattia. Per riuscire a pagare le cure, Motomoe deve così vendere la sua spada da samurai sostituendola con una di legno. A seguito della notizia di un samurai che aveva finto la volontà di volersi suicidare, con il vero scopo di chiedere carità, Motome decide imitarne il gesto. Kegeyu, il ricco capo del clan, si promette di punire in maniera esemplare i samurai che chiedono un finto suiciduo. Il giovane samurai viene così obbligato a compiere un terribile Hara Kiri con la sua spada di legno. Il padre adottivo di Motome, interpretato dall'ottimo Ebizo Ichikawa,si presenterà davanti a clan di Kageyu deciso a compiere una vendetta simbolica... Per la visione è necessaria una conoscenza minimale della lingua inglese, la distribuzione italiana lascia spesso molto a desiderare. La storia non è però particolarmente e complessa e i dialoghi non sono troppo difficili da seguire. Per il resto il film risulta sicuramente valido e intenso, non violento e sopra le righe come alcuni lavori girati in passato da Miike. Certo non bisogna aspettarsi un nuovo 13 assassins, il ritmo è infatti decisamente lento ponendo le situazioni drammatiche in primo piano rispetto all'azione. Da queste premesse, se si gradiscono le pellicole sui samurai può essere sicuramente consigliato.

This film is both an homage to Kobayashi's classic and a totally different telling of the story. According to various interviews Miike was working from the original story, which gives certain insights into the background of the main characters and their motivation. Unlike SEPPUKU (Hari-Kiri) which spells out the historical context leading up to the events depicted, this version expects the viewer to be aware of the peaceful era of Tokugawa rule. It is also helpful to have seen the original in order to comprehend how the story follows both paths, the similarities and differences. Miike, who is best known as an over-the-top filmmaker, seems to have turned the corner and become more a traditionalist. The recent remake of 13 ASSASSINS started this trend, while this movie went even further. As a matter of fact, this film has more the feeling of Yamada Yoji's trilogy of samurai films from the last decade (based on the stories of Fujisawa Shuhei) giving a human heart to the low level samurai who are victims of their cruel overlords. Starting with his brilliant stage play ZATO ICHI, and continuing through 13 ASSASSINS to HARA-KIRI: DEATH OF A SAMURAI (Ichimei), we see a new maturity on the part of Japan's most well known filmmaker as he changes his legacy for the better.

Well, action packed it certainly isn't. As a study of life in feudal Japan times it is very interesting - makes one appreciate the luxuries that we living in the 21st century take for granted. Production and direction-wise can't be faulted BUT - I have two issues with the movie: first is with the initial request to commit ritual suicide. Why not just request from the Lord's retainer the 3 ryo required for the doctor instead of an elaborate "scam" which I found made me far less sympathetic to the ronin's plight. The retainer was portrayed as a sympathetic individual, so one is led to believe that the request could have been entertained. Second point is the hero's denial of knowing the first ronin when in fact he does. What was the point of the denial - and for a film which is so focused on honour and word as a bond, both of the characters to my mind betrayed those fundamental principles. Unless that is the point the movie is trying to make....however the end result was to make me as a viewer appreciate more the House of Li's stance in the matter, rather than sympathising with the main protagonist. But the ending is a nice twist and does cause pause for thought.