Harakiri
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.
Running Time
134 mins
Year
1962
Kanopy ID
1113249
Filmmakers
Features
Languages
Subjects
Show More
Related videos
Samurai Rebellion
Toshiro Mifune stars as Isaburo Sasahara, an aging swordsman living a quiet life until his clan lord orders that his son marry the lord's mistress, who has recently displeased the ruler. Reluctantly, father and son take in the woman, and, to the family's surprise, the young couple fall in love.…
Yojimbo
The incomparable Toshiro Mifune stars in Akira Kurosawa's visually stunning and darkly comic YOJIMBO.
To rid a terror-stricken village of corruption, wily masterless samurai Sanjuro turns a range war between two evil clans to his own advantage. Remade twice, by Sergio Leone and Walter Hill, this exhilarating genre-twister remains one…
The 47 Ronin: Part 2
47 samurai avenge the death of their lord in Kenji Mizoguchi's take on the famous historical event.
The 47 Ronin: Part 1
47 samurai avenge the death of their lord in Kenji Mizoguchi's take on the famous historical event.
Sanjuro
Toshiro Mifune swaggers and snarls to brilliant comic effect in Akira Kurosawa's tightly paced, beautifully composed SANJURO.
In this sly companion piece to Yojimbo, jaded samurai Sanjuro helps an idealistic group of young warriors weed out their clan's evil influences, and in the process turns their image of a "proper"…
Throne of Blood
This vivid, visceral Macbeth adaptation, directed by Akira Kurosawa, sets Shakespeare's definitive tale of ambition and duplicity in a ghostly, fog-enshrouded landscape in feudal Japan.
As a hardened warrior who rises savagely to power, Toshiro Mifune gives a remarkable, animalistic performance, as does Isuzu Yamada as his ruthless wife. THRONE…
Samurai I
In the first part of the epic Samurai Trilogy, Toshiro Mifune thunders onto the screen as the iconic title character. When we meet him, Miyamoto is a wide-eyed romantic, dreaming of military glory in the civil war that is ravaging the seventeenth-century countryside. Twists of fate, however, turn him into…
Samurai II
Toshiro Mifune furiously embodies swordsman Musashi Miyamoto as he comes into his own in the action-packed middle section of the Samurai Trilogy.
Duel at Ichijoji Temple furthers Miyamoto along his path to spiritual enlightenment, as well as further from the arms of the two women who love him: loyal Otsu…
Samurai III
A disillusioned Musashi Miyamoto (Toshiro Mifune) has turned his back on the samurai life, becoming a farmer in a remote village, while his nemesis Kojiro (Koji Tsuruta) now works for the shogun. Circumstances bring them back together for one final face-off.
Though it's marked by a memorably intense final battle…
Sansho The Bailiff
When an idealistic governor disobeys the reigning feudal lord, he is cast into exile, his wife and children left to fend for themselves and eventually wrenched apart by vicious slave traders.
Under Kenji Mizoguchi's dazzling direction, this classic Japanese story became one of cinema's greatest masterpieces, a monumental, empathetic expression…
The Hidden Fortress
A grand-scale adventure as only Akira Kurosawa could make one, THE HIDDEN FORTRESS stars the inimitable Toshiro Mifune as a general charged with guarding his defeated clan's princess (a fierce Misa Uehara) as the two smuggle royal treasure across hostile territory. Accompanying them are a pair of bumbling, conniving peasants…
An Autumn Afternoon
Yasujiro Ozu's final film was also his final masterpiece, the gently heartbreaking story of a man's dignified resignation to both life's ever-shifting currents and society's gradual modernization.
Though widower Shuhei Hirayama (Ozu's frequent leading man Chishu Ryu) has been living comfortably for years with his grown daughter, a series of…
Comments (6)
An utterly damning indictment, a deeply serious reflection on a culture, and a masterful work of art all at once.
You learn something new and you use it to reinforce the memory. Chiasmus. That’s what I noticed this first go round: the reverse-structure mirroring, specifically of the hallway scenes and the opening/closing shots of the effigy. Shows mastery in technique.
It’s interesting, too, to ...Read more
You learn something new and you use it to reinforce the memory. Chiasmus. That’s what I noticed this first go round: the reverse-structure mirroring, specifically of the hallway scenes and the opening/closing shots of the effigy. Shows mastery in technique.
It’s interesting, too, to consider the predictability of the film and what must be a general trend of disillusionment-oriented period films in Japan during this time. I haven’t watched too many yet, but how does it relate to national identity? Nationalism? Pride in country? Self perception? The heroes of both this film and Rashomon may ultimately be construed as honorable men. What does that mean?
Read lessThis is so good. This provides a glimpse into the ill fate of samurais in the Edo era, and meanwhile shows the principles of Bushido still being followed by the Ronins.
Stunning. The composition is incredible, really a joy to watch.
This is one of my favorite films. The perfect example of bushido. It broke my heart and made me love it still.
If you liked Rashomon, watch this. Kobayashi is an underappreciated master, and this is his best work.