Hara-Kiri

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Hara-Kiri

Released Aug 4, 1964

2h 15m

Drama

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12 Reviews

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5,000+ Ratings

Aging samurai Hanshiro Tsugumo (Tatsuya Nakadai) arrives at the home of Kageyu Saito (Rentarô Mikuni) and asks to commit a ritual suicide on the property, which Saito thinks is a ploy to gain pity and a job. Saito tells Tsugumo of another samurai, Motome Chijiiwa (Yoshio Inaba), who threatened suicide as a stratagem, only to be forced to follow through on the task. When Tsugumo reveals that Chijiiwa was his son-in-law, the disclosure sets off a fierce conflict.

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Wael Khairy

RogerEbert.com

Masaki Kobayashi’s “Harakiri” illustrates the samurai code as a flawed system hiding behind a façade of honor and principle—it is undeniably the greatest anti-samurai film ever made.

Sep 23, 2022

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Roger Ebert

RogerEbert.com

It would be wrong for me to reveal the details of the story Tsugumo tells. What I can say is that it is heartbreaking.

Rated: 4/4

Mar 18, 2016

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Michael Sragow

New Yorker

The film has a steady, hypnotic momentum; the director, Masaki Kobayashi, wrings as much drama out of facial twitches as he does out of sword fights.

Sep 15, 2014

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Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

Kobayashi establishes his aesthetic signature and maintains the balance of a tense and tragic narrative to interrogate the honor, bravery and hypocrisy of a feudal system, with a highly organic performance from Tatsuya Nakadai. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 7/10

Sep 5, 2024

Full Review

Randy Meeks

Espinof

Harakiri is the symbol of resistance against authority and the inhuman tendencies of the untouchable elite against the nobility of an impoverished working class... [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 5/5

Mar 28, 2023

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

The film’s condemnation of the lies systems of authority will tell to preserve their power and engrain their ideology is deeply felt and presented in a structure that leaves the viewer rife with indignation.

Rated: 4/4

Jul 21, 2022

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Blu B

Masterful filmmaking all around. The Citizen Kane inspired flashback storytelling, deep focus cinematography, and blakc and white asetics make this incredibly moody, riveting, and memorable. The sword fights at the end are incredibly memorable and so well done. The highlight is easily the fight in the field between the two. Incredible commentary on the value of life and the the serves as "Unforgiven" style deconstruction of the Samurai mythos simliar to the cowboy. Riveting character drama is what carries this as there is not much action at all but makes up for it with tons of substance. Everyone who is willing to give a foreign film a try should consider this as a candidate.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/28/24

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Guilherme M

The movie show us the opposite of what we see in most Samurai movies, dishonor and lies. The hard life of a Ronin family when they get involved with the honorable samurais. Its a great movie, a must watch!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/14/24

Full Review

Its F

Sword fights are too long, they run goofy, laugh was creepy, X-Force appeared, they weren't using savers

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

08/08/24

Full Review

Lars N

Do NOT miss out on one of the best movies ever made. I was completely floored since I saw it the first time knowing very little about it in advance, and it has stayed with me ever since. There isn't a single shot in this movie, that isn't perfection.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/02/24

Full Review

Tom K

For years, Seven Samurai has been just about my favorite film. Hara-Kiri is good enough to edge it out. I don't know how I missed it for so long. Be aware though, that for a samurai film there aren't many duel or battle scenes (in case that's what you're expecting).

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/26/24

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Christopher S

I am not a connoisseur of Japanese cinema, but I have seen many Japanese films, particularly in the samurai genre. To this date, this one is my favorite. The intensity is unmatched, as is the psychological warfare between the Iyi clan and two ronin, a man and his son-in-law. Both come separately to Iyi in order to perform the rite of harakiri, but for distinct reasons. As these reasons unfold, the drama heightens and the action builds until the fantastic crescendo at the end. The film is rooted in historic realism, not fantasy, and is a critique on Japanese traditions, but is not bogged down by didactic dogma. It is also beautiful, with high contrast black and white, long continuous shots, and multiple views of the scenery. Certainly worthwhile.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/08/23

Full Review

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Masaki Kobayashi

Director

Tatsuya Nakadai

Hanshiro Tsugumo

Shima Iwashita

Miho Tsugumo

Akira Ishihama

Motome Chijiiwa

Yoshio Inaba

Jinai Chijiiwa

Rentarô Mikuni

Kageyu Saito

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Synopsis

Aging samurai Hanshiro Tsugumo (Tatsuya Nakadai) arrives at the home of Kageyu Saito (Rentarô Mikuni) and asks to commit a ritual suicide on the property, which Saito thinks is a ploy to gain pity and a job. Saito tells Tsugumo of another samurai, Motome Chijiiwa (Yoshio Inaba), who threatened suicide as a stratagem, only to be forced to follow through on the task. When Tsugumo reveals that Chijiiwa was his son-in-law, the disclosure sets off a fierce conflict.

Director: Masaki Kobayashi
Producer: Tatsuo Hosoya
Screenwriter: Shinobu Hashimoto
Production Co: Shôchiku Eiga
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 4, 1964, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 11, 2017
Runtime: 2h 15m

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