Hidden Gems

Harakiri, a.k.a Seppuku

 
 
 
Most movies in this subforum are very recent. I wanted to bring attention to a piece that's a bit older. Harakiri is a dark, angry, bitter film about Samurai honor culture and the people that are left behind when society undergoes an economic shift. It's not a film I'd want to see every day, but it's a masterpiece of storytelling. As we watch Hanshiro Tsugumo, a ronin, and Kageyu Saito, the proud lord of the Iyi House, converse before Tsugumo commits ritual suicide, we are witness to a battle of ideas. What is the good life? What is a man's duty? What is honor? Which of these men will be the model for the future of Japan, and which one will be the model for our own lives? True to its name, this film also contains one of the most unsettling and disturbing suicides ever put to film.
 

 
 Harakiri  won the Jury Prize (2nd place) at Cannes 1963, but it's still not very widely seen. Frankly, that's a shame, because the film is extremely powerful and accessible, with story as tragic and elegant as nearly anything in Classical Greek literature. One of the best films I've ever seen. 

Great film, with a great ending. As far as samurai films go it's up in my favorites with Sword of Doom and Miyamoto Musashi. I also have a huge version of that poster. 

Sounds good. I might have to track it down.

@thepaleking said:

" Great film, with a great ending. As far as samurai films go it's up in my favorites with Sword of Doom and Miyamoto Musashi. I also have a huge version of that poster.  "

I'm glad someone else has seen this - and now I'm going to have to check out those other films. Within Japanese cinema, I've largely only seen Kurosawa's work.

This is one of my favorite non-Kurosawa samurai flicks. I also highly suggest Samurai Rebellion (same director as Harakiri) and Goyokin. Sword of Doom is great too, so I will second that.

Great movie