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Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai
Seeking an honorable end, poverty-stricken samurai Hanshiro(Ebizo Ichikawa) requests to commit hara-kiri in the courtyard of feudal lord Kageyu's estate.Trying to dismiss Hanshiro's wish to save face, Kageyu(Koji Yakusho) recounts the tragic story of a similar plea years ago from young ronin Motome(Eita). But the arrogant lord is unaware of vengeful Hanshiro's bond to Motome. The film is a remake of the 1962 feature directed by Masaki Kobayashi based on the novel by Yasuhiko Takiguchi. (ropeofsilicon.com)
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Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai

2011
Drama
2h 8m
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Avg Percentile 61.07% from 193 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(193)
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Rated 02 Mar 2020
65
48th
Bookended by an intriguing opening and action packed climax and managed to fill in the middle with exactly what you would think if you were lucky enough not to sit through it. Pity as I was sitting up getting ready for madness but by the time it came I couldn't be bothered to lift my head off the pillow. I've seen the original which is all the more reason the beginning surprised me with its potency. 13 Assassins is still Miike's samurai masterpiece, but I'll give Blade of the Immortal a whirl.
Rated 10 Jul 2012
60
28th
Miike produced a fine film, but when the original is such a revered classic that still holds up, there's no necessary reason to watch this. It's a very straight remake.
Rated 04 Feb 2016
68
52nd
Miike turns what was originally a raw, violent, sad tale told with touches of black humor into a tolerable melodrama. Still its not a tale that's easily butchered, and this film is pretty to look at.
Rated 09 Mar 2013
7
70th
Takashi Miike can pretty much do no wrong.
Rated 01 Jun 2012
3
31st
Unlike the previous entry [13 Assassins] in the cycle of reboots that from some reason Takashi Miike has been given the reigns for, this strays outside the lines of its original source so little that I cannot think of any reason to recommend it. And I really don't think highly of the actor who was hired on for the Tatsuya Nakadai role; his resemblance to the original actor appears to be only area he achieves any success in.
Rated 28 Dec 2011
87
78th
Beautifull settings and camerawork. The first act of the film and the last were very good, but the middle part dragged on a bit to long. But because of the magnificant settings of ancient Japan its still worth watching. For me a good balance between 'action' and drama.
Rated 25 Apr 2018
83
69th
Languid and subdued samurai epic is unusually restrained for Miike; pensive study of personal honour is beautifully crafted and features an array of fine performances, with a devastating one from Mitsushima as the tragic Miho. As always, Miike is a master of creating a vivid, tactile slice of the natural world to set the tone (love the snowstorms!); if it drags a little bit from time to time, the pleasure of Miike taking a more somber and introspective approach more than compensates.
Rated 11 Aug 2012
65
72nd
Needlessly prolonged, but yet beautifully shot.
Rated 13 Oct 2012
79
88th
great atmosphere
Rated 11 Sep 2014
7
58th
A main character you can feel for, strong performances and nice visuals make this a film very worthy of your time. The story hits a slog in the third act, but a great climax helps you walk away from this movie happy. The final scene in this movie has a unique weight to it, check this one out with confidence.
Rated 01 Oct 2012
82
62nd
Very similar to the original but not as good. The few minor changes that were made were for the worst and Ichikawa's acting was nowhere near what we've seen from Nakadai. Do yourself a favor and watch the original, if you havn't already done so.
Rated 15 Dec 2013
50
37th
A large part of the movie is really boring.
Rated 09 Mar 2016
75
78th
Not bad, but the original was much better
Rated 03 Nov 2012
65
36th
An unnecessary and inferior remake. As they usually are.
Rated 22 Mar 2012
100
90th
This much is clear: Takashi Miike knows what the hell he's doing. Not that I've ever been in doubt. Surprisingly the best 3D I've seen since Avatar - Hollywood need to either wise up and start shooting everything in 3D properly or scrap the project altogether. The structure of the film is put off-kilter by its dragging middle but all in all Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai is a beautiful experience.
Rated 17 Jun 2022
65
62nd
This is one of the better Samurai movies, but I subtracted a lot of points for the often excruciating pace. Honor above life, is the Samurai code. Characters were good, and fights were well done.
Rated 23 Jan 2022
60
35th
While I didn't dislike this version, it felt like the long flashback was dipping into melodrama when it was supposed to be deeply moving. Although it follows the same "flow" as the original, I've wondered if arranging it in a more linear fashion -- rather than essentially giving away the "ending" right away -- would have led to as good a story (which would have provided a stronger defense for a remake than just a color and 3D update).
Rated 04 Jul 2022
65
62nd
Here Miike offers us a drab and cold retelling of Harakiri (1962). The pacing was a bit too slow in my opinion but the great cinematography and acting made up for that. The score was decent but nothing noteworthy. The fact that as the audience I felt separated from what was happening was the biggest flaw of the movie. If I could've been drawn in as I was with the first movie then I would've been more invested and could've rated this higher.

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