Samuel LoveIn 2011, legendary filmmaker Takashi Miike premiered his 3D remake of Masaki Kobayashi‘s 1962 film Harakiri in competition at the Cannes Film Festival – the first 3D film to do so. And while Kobayashi’s classic certainly didn’t need a remake, Miike’s update justifies its existence with incredible visuals, stunning performances, and magnificent direction from Miike that makes the story’s gore all the more visceral. This is the guy who directed Ichi the Killer, after all… This is a fantastic samurai flick that deserves rediscovery almost 15 years after its’ release, and Icon Film Distribution are here to help with this rerelease as the original Blu-ray is now long out of print.
Synopsis
With peaceful times in Edo resulting in wide ronin unemployment, poverty-stricken samurai, Hanshiro, calls on the House of Ii, seeking a noble end by ritual suicide. Hoping to dismiss the demand, headstrong lord, Kageyu, recounts the tragic story of another young ronin, forced into an agonizing suicide using a bamboo blade. But in doing so, reveals the horrifying fate of Hanshiro’s loyal friend, Motome, setting in motion a tense showdown of vengeance against his house.
An artful remake of Kobayashi’s 1963 classic, from legendary filmmaker, Takashi Miike, and the producer of The Last Emperor, this epic tale of honour and revenge in 17th century Japan stars Kōji Yakusho (13 Assassins, Babel), Kabuki star, Ichikawa Ebizō (Blade of the Immortal), Eita Nagayama (Monster), and Kazuki Namioka (13 Assassins, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift).
HARA-KIRI: DEATH OF A SAMURAI is available now on Blu-ray from Icon Film Distribution
