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Masaki Kobayashi was a filmmaker who was never afraid to speak his mind on a matter. He was always open with his mindset, regularly criticizing systematic corruption and violation of human rights throughout the majority of his filmography. He didn’t often direct jidaigeki cinema, but when he did, the director generally delivered a stellar picture. His haunting masterpiece “Harakiri” gives a darker examination of the flawed aspects of the Bushido Code. Kobayashi would bring corruption and humanism to the forefront in his excellent film “Samurai Rebellion.”

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The original Japanese title for the feature translates to “Rebellion: Receive the Wife,” which is fitting, considering what transpires within the story. The movie is based on Yasuhiko Takiguchi’s short story “Hairyozuma shimatsu.” The screenplay is written by acclaimed screenwriter Shinobu Hashimoto, who had previously collaborated with Masaki Kobayashi on his samurai movie “Harakiri.

Harakiri

Written by Shinobu Hashimoto and Yasuhiko Takiguchi

Directed by Masaki Kobayashi

Japan, 1962

In the early 17th century, the Iyi clan abides by the bushido code to the letter in all its facets, sepukku, the traditional samurai suicide ceremony by which a warrior disembowels himself before being decapitated, being no exception. It is on a bright sunny day that one Tsugumo Hanshirô (Tatsuya Nakadai) arrives at the Iyi estate, currently run by Saitô Kageyu (Rentarô Mikuni), to plead for space in order to perform a honourable act of seppuku. He claims that the regional peace has led to unemployment, and rather live like a dog, suicide as ordained by bushido seems preferable. Knowledgeable of the occurrences of bluff requests made by other ronin samurai that were merely looking for pittance, Saitô is suspicious of Hanshirô’s motives and begins to relate a recent story of another, younger former warrior (Akira Ishihama...

I saw Takashi Miike's Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and in my review I opened by saying, "Somehow [Miike] has managed to make a film six minutes shorter than Masaki Kobayashi's far superior 1962 classic and make it feel as if it is one hour longer." The film has been picked up by Tribeca Film and for whatever reason they are going ahead with a 3-D release on July 20, just after the film is made available on Video On Demand on July 18. I say "for whatever reason" because it is one example of some of the absolute worst 3-D I have ever seen in a film that is an absolute bore and the fact they are selling it as from the director of 13 Assassins is infuriating considering the two films fall on polar opposite ends of the entertainment spectrum. The story centers on an unemployed...

Takashi Miike follows 13 Assassins with a neo-classical remake of the Yasuhiko Takiguchi story about desperate, impoverished ronin and implacably cruel feudal lords.

"Another one?"

This is the grimly resigned response of Kageyu (Yakusho Koji), Chief Official of the noble Ii clan, when he is informed that there is at the gate a shabbily dressed ronin, or masterless samurai, seeking permission to commit formal seppuku (also known as harakiri, or 'cutting the belly') in the clan's forecourt. It is 1635, some three and a half decades after the Battle of Sekigahara from which the...

Hara-kiri: Death of a Samurai

Directed by Takashi Miike

Japan, 2011

Moving from one genre to the next with ambition and passion, Miike’s newest effort is always worth a look. His newest film is an adaptation of the famed novel, Yasuhiko Takiguchi, which depicts one samurai’s false claim for seppuku at Lord’s home and the revenge that motivates him to tarnish his honor.

Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai is a desperate melodrama. It is a tragedy in the highest order, told in a series of flashbacks. The film feels like an appropriate companion piece to his previous samurai film, 13 Assassins. Both set during a period of peace, they demonstrate the changing role of the warrior class. They are both very different interpretations of the Samurai narrative but offering complementary musings on honor, war and bravery.

The film’s violence, which is used sparingly, is nonetheless frightening. These scenes are not gratuitous,...

Every year the Fantasia Film Festival reserves several spots in their schedule for popular films that sell out and demand an additional screening for fans who didn’t have a chance to see the films. Sometimes Tba’s are reserved either for a secret screening that Fantasia didn’t want you to know about such as Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds from two years ago, or a film that they couldn’t confirm that they would get before they printed out the programs. This isn’t unusual and most genre fests do the same. So the question remains, what are the Tba’s going to be for 2011.

Attack The Block screened Friday to a sold out audience and so far it has been the highlight of the festival. Joe Cornish’s infectiously larky extraterrestrial invasion movie effortlessly had the ability to extract laughs and shocks from the already feverish Fantasia audience.

Ebizo Ichikawa in Hara-kiri: Death of a Samurai Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai, Takashi Miike's new adaptation of Yasuhiko Takiguchi's novel, is an absolute snoozer. Somehow he has managed to make a film six minutes shorter than Masaki Kobayashi's far superior 1962 classic and make it feel as if it is one hour longer. Miike's telling is incredibly similar to that of Kobayashi's, the difference being Miike's inability to break free of his lethargic pace. With a running time set at two hours and six minutes, it's the 90 minutes smack dab in the middle that test your ability to stay awake.

Hara-kiri follows the fractured narrative of Hanshiro (Ebizo Ichikawa), an unemployed samurai who sets out to exact revenge on the House of Ii after learning of the fate of his son-in-law Motome (Eita) in the house's courtyard two months earlier. The film bounces back-and-forth in time to...

Toshiro Mifune in Seven SamuraiI'm not sure why the Weinstein Co. and Japan's Kurosawa Productions are still referring to their next project as a Seven Samurai remake when it's nothing more than just another case of using the same plot device as Akira Kurosawa's film. Movies have been biting off Kurosawa's classic for years with films such as The Guns of Navarone, Ocean's Eleven, The Dirty Dozen, The Magnificent Seven, last year's The Expendables and even Inglourious Basterds had a taste of it. Well those weren't samurai films you may say... Well, neither is this one.

Variety reports Scott Mann (The Tournament) has been brought aboard to direct the "remake" which will be a contemporary telling of the story centering on a town in Northern Thailand that recruits seven paramilitary contractors from around the globe to defend it from an imminent attack. Come to think of it, wasn't this...

Sleeping Beauty, which will unveil at Cannes, stars Sucker Punch's Aussie lead Emily Browning as a prostitute who allows men to do with her what they will while she sleeps. Another Cannes film I am looking forward to is Takashi Miike's Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (Ichimei) (his lauded 13 Assassins opens today), a remake of Masaki Kobayashi's 1962 adaptation of the novel by Yasuhiko Takiguchi about a 17th century samurai who wants to commit suicide at the end of his career. The trailer is below. [Hat Tip: The Playlist, Rope of Silicon.]...

Audiences at Cannes this year will get a special treat when controversial Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike‘s Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (Ichimei) is screened in 3D. Today, the first international trailer for the movie debuted on its official site.

Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai is a dramatic, 3D re-imagining of the 1962 film Harakiri by Masaki Kobayashi, itself based on the novel by Yasuhiko Takiguchi. Since the trailer doesn’t give any story clues away, here’s a perfectly concise synopsis via the knowledgeable Brad Brevit at Ropes of Silicon:

The story is set during the 17th century and centers on Hanshiro (played by Ebizo Ichikawa), an honorable, poverty-stricken samurai seeking a noble end as he requests to commit ritual suicide at the House of Ii, run by headstrong Kageyu (played by Koji Yakusho). Trying to dismiss Hanshiro’s demand, Kageyu recounts the tragic story of a similar recent plea...

Here is an international trailer for Takashi Miike's Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai. The film is a remake of 1962 feature directed by Masaki Kobayashi based on the novel by Yasuhiko Takiguchi. Hara-Kiri is one ot two films set to be presented at Cannes in 3D. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is the other one.

Synopsis:

Set during the 17th century and centers on Hanshiro (played by Ebizo Ichikawa), an honorable, poverty-stricken samurai seeking a noble end as he requests to commit ritual suicide at the House of Ii, run by headstrong Kageyu (played by Koji Yakusho). Trying to dismiss Hanshiro's demand, Kageyu recounts the tragic story of a similar recent plea from young ronin Motome (played by Eita). Hanshiro is shocked by the horrifying details of Motome's fate, but remains true to his decision to die with honor. At the moment of the hara-kiri, Hanshiro makes a...

This year two films will be presented in 3D at Cannes, one is Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, but the other, more fascinating film will be Takashi Miike's Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (Ichimei), a remake of the 1962 feature directed by Masaki Kobayashi based on the novel by Yasuhiko Takiguchi.

Today an international trailer for the Cannes competition title has arrived via the film's official site.

The story is set during the 17th century and centers on Hanshiro (played by Ebizo Ichikawa), an honorable, poverty-stricken samurai seeking a noble end as he requests to commit ritual suicide at the House of Ii, run by headstrong Kageyu (played by Koji Yakusho). Trying to dismiss Hanshiro's demand, Kageyu recounts the tragic story of a similar recent plea from young ronin Motome (played by Eita). Hanshiro is shocked by the horrifying details of Motome's fate, but remains true to...

After it was announced as a member of this year’s Cannes Film Festival lineup, we now, finally, have our first look at the hotly anticipated 3D remake of the Masaki Kobayashi film, Harakiri, directed by Takashi Miike.

Entitled Hara-Kiri: Death Of A Samurai, the film is a remake of the 1962 classic who itself is based on the novel penned by Yasuhiko Takiguchi, and follows a samurai, Hanshiro Tsugumo, who presents himself to Lord Iyi, requesting to be allowed to commit seppuku. However, he decides to take revenge after the fall of his son-in-law instead, leading him on his journey.

Apparently this film will feature “a considerably lower body count” as compared to Miike’s previous films, something that having seen his last, 13 Assassins, shouldn’t be something all that hard to do. Starring Ebizo Ichikawa, the film definitely looks like a continuation of what Miike was attempting to do...

Today’s reveal of the excellent lineup for the 2011 Cannes Film Festival is an appropriate way to kick off this news story, which has early looks at a few of the movies that’ll be playing there this coming May.

First, we have the trailer for Australia’s Sleeping Beauty. Written and directed by novelist Julia Leigh – who’s making her filmmaking debut – and presented by director Jane Campion, it stars Sucker Punch‘s Emily Browning. The association with that film wouldn’t give you an idea of what to expect, though; this has a very dark vibe to it, one that almost reminds me of the works of Michael Haneke. Described as “a haunting erotic fairytale about Lucy, a young University student drawn into a mysterious hidden world of beauty and desire,” this looks pretty interesting. It’ll premiere at the festival, and in competition. The preview showed up...

Ebizo Ichikawa in Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (Ichimei)

Sedic International Takashi Miike's Cannes 2011 In Competition entry will be the first 3D film to compete in the official selection. The film is Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (Ichimei), a remake of the 1962 feature directed by Masaki Kobayashi based on the novel by Yasuhiko Takiguchi.

When I made my list of "Top Ten Previously Released Films I'd Pay to See If They'd Been Shot in 3D" and included Akira Kurosawa's Sanjuro I am now beginning to wonder if the arterial spray I wanted to see in 3D will finally be arriving. However, Patrick Frater at FilmBiz.asia says, "[Death of a Samurai] is expected to be a more serious drama than Miike's recent films with a considerably lower body count."

Set during the 17th century, the story centers on Hanshiro (played by Ebizo Ichikawa), an honorable, poverty-stricken samurai requesting to commit hara-kiri in...