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Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai

Play trailer Poster for Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai 2012 2h 6m History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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76% Tomatometer 42 Reviews 75% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
A samurai (Ebizô Ichikawa) asks permission to commit ritual suicide in the courtyard of a prominent feudal lord and hears the gruesome tale of what happened to a comrade who made a similar request several months earlier.
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Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai

Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai

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Critics Consensus

Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai adds an atypically restrained entry to the Takashi Miike filmography that loses little impact in favoring human drama over action.

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Critics Reviews

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Marc Savlov Austin Chronicle 08/31/2012
2.5/5
Hara-Kiri may be a lesser Miike work, but it's still a (literally) gutsy exercise in prolonged narrative recursiveness. Go to Full Review Barbara VanDenburgh Arizona Republic 08/16/2012
3.5/5
A quiet, narratively layered period drama with a focus squarely on character. Go to Full Review Mark Feeney Boston Globe 07/26/2012
3/4
Miike can't seem to get enough of Hanshiro's heroics. That's not just visual excess, though. Go to Full Review Diego Batlle Otroscines.com 10/04/2022
7.5/10
Rigorous and solemn... [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Stephen Saito Moveable Fest 12/17/2018
"Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai" offers a reason to rejoice, allowing Miike to stretch his abilities in a film that's deliberately paced, but moving nonetheless in invoking an emotion rarely seen in his films before: compassion. Go to Full Review Isabel Stevens ViewLondon 08/27/2018
2/5
The emphasis throughout is not on action, but melodrama - with a rather long and overstated middle section devoted to Monotome's backstory which has little dramatic tension. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Leprechaun K @LeprechaunKing Jan 31 A remake of the classic. Great storytelling with good performances throughout, particularly Nagayama's. Ironically, the final act loses its momentum. See more Liam D @Mediawatcher2003 07/21/2024 An more mature film from Director Takashi Miike (Dead or Alive: Final, Over Your Dead Body) it’s an samurai drama that explores the humanity of being one with great performances See more Person W 01/03/2022 Removing the top knot fight scenes killed the reboot for me. It really missed the mark on the energy at the end. Where is the maniacal laughter of a man who has lost everything, and now gets the last laugh by exposing the facade of samurai honor? Where are the cries of him being a madman? Why did Takashi change the final fight scene so he only had a bamboo sword? A vengeful show of violence, bloodshed, and mockery were supposed to usher in the final act of hara kiri ever committed in that house. See more Leaburn O 01/06/2021 Such an interesting start, such a slow and drab end. Thought I'd bought the classic, turns out I hadn't oops. Better go looking for it again. See more 10/24/2020 Slow paced but worth the watch See more 03/12/2020 original was better than this crap See more Read all reviews
Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai

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Cast & Crew

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Takashi Miike

Director

Ebizô Ichikawa

Hanshirô Tsugumo

Eita Nagayama

Motome

Hikari Mitsushima

Miho

Naoto Takenaka

Tajiri

Munetaka Aoki

Hikokuro Omodaka

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Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai

Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (2011) Ebizo Ichikawa in "Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai." Ebizo Ichikawa in "Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai." Ebizo Ichikawa and Hikari Mitsushima in "Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai." Hikari Mitsushima in "Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai." A scene from "Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samura." Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (2011) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis A samurai (Ebizô Ichikawa) asks permission to commit ritual suicide in the courtyard of a prominent feudal lord and hears the gruesome tale of what happened to a comrade who made a similar request several months earlier.
Director
Takashi Miike
Producer
Toshiaki Nakazawa, Jeremy Thomas
Screenwriter
Kikumi Yamagishi
Distributor
Tribeca Film
Production Co
Kôdansha, Dentsu, Oriental Light and Magic, Recorded Picture Company (RPC)
Genre
History, Drama
Original Language
Japanese
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 20, 2012, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 22, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA)
$60.2K
Runtime
2h 6m
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