Harakiri

UPC: 715515087513

Studio: Criterion

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:[Not For Children]

Summary: This well-regarded Japanese drama follows an aging samurai as he attempts to regain his family's honor. In 17th century Japan, a shift in the country's political structure has thrown the feudal Shogun system into disuse. Impoverished samurai wander the countryside, asking wealthy estate owners if they can commit hara-kiri, a grisly form of suicide, on their property. The usual and honorable response is an offer of some work for food or shelter. Into the house of a lord comes Hanshiro Tsugumo (Tatsuya Nakadai), an elderly warrior who asks chief retainer Kageyu Saito (Rentaro Mikuni) that the manor's three hired swordsmen serve as his seconds in the ritual. When the appointed hour arrives, however, the swordsmen do not appear, dishonoring the man. Hanshiro reveals himself to be the father-in-law of Motome Chijiiwa (Yoshio Inaba), a young samurai who had earlier approached Saito and been cruelly forced to go through with the fatal act, disemboweling himself with a dull bamboo blade, as his own had been sold to feed his family. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Special Jury Prize – Cannes Film Festival

Features: Video Introduction by Japanese-film Historian Donald Richie

Excerpt from a rare Directors Guild of Japan video Interview with Director Masaki Kobayashi, Moderated by Filmmaker Masahiro Shinoda

Video Interviews with star Tatsuya Nakadai and Screenwriter Shinobu Hashimoto

Original Theatrical Trailer

Plus: A Booklet featuring an Essay by Film Scholar Joan Mellen and a reprint of Mellen's 1972 Interview with Kobayashi

Harakiri

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 10/04/2011

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Runtime: 133 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Subtitles: English

Michael Costello

Arguably Kobayashi's masterpiece, the austere tale of revenge is a brilliant assault on the latent hypocrisy and cruelty in the code of the samurai. The film takes place in peaceful 17th century Japan, where unemployed samurai warriors were forced to beg alms from feudal lords through the supposedly empty ritual of offering to commit ritual suicide. When such a samurai is forced by a lord to actually commit hara-kiri rather than being given alms, his father-in-law Tatsuya Nakadai seeks revenge. Kobayashi turns the sacred code of bushido inside out, pointing out that the notions of honor and obedience it exalts can easily be twisted to serve evil ends. Although it excoriates empty ritual, the film is permeated with the sense that the protagonist is enacting something like a holy rite, and the atmosphere is galvanized by the great Nakadai, who gives a performance of almost frighteningly controlled intensity. Not to be ignored is the impact of the carefully composed black-and-white photography of Yoshio Miyajima, a key component of this astonishing film. ~ Michael Costello, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Jo Azumi  Actor 
Ichiro Nakaya  Actor 
Yoshio Aoki  Actor 
Hisashi Igawa  Actor 
Kei Sato  Actor 
Shouji Kobayashi  Actor 
Toru Takemitsu  Composer (Music Score) 
Masaki Kobayashi  Director 
Shinobu Hashimoto  Screenwriter 
Tatsuo Hosoya  Producer 
Tatsuya Nakadai  Actor 
Akira Ishihama  Actor 
Shima Iwashita  Actor 
Tetsuro Tamba  Actor 
Rentaro Mikuni  Actor 
Yoshio Inaba  Actor 
Masao Mishima  Actor 

Country: Japan