Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

DipitySkillful an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

Brooklynn There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Tweekums In seventeenth Century Japan it is a time of relative peace and samurai who were in service to defeated warlords have fallen on hard times. One, Hanshiro, goes to the local castle asking if he me commit hara-kiri, ritual suicide, in the castle courtyard. Before granting permission he is told the story of Motome, another poor samurai from the same clan as Hanshiro, who made a similar request a year before. Several others had made similar requests but changed their minds when offered money; suspecting Motome is another 'suicide bluffer' they decide to make an example of him and force him to go ahead with his suicide; even after he begs for three ryo for his sick wife, Miho, and child… not only that he must use his wooden bladed sword. This is slow and agonising. We then learn that Hanshiro not only knew Motome but is his father in-law and now he wants revenge. In flashback we then see Hanshiro and Motome's past and how the latter became so desperate. We then return to Hanshiro's present for the inevitably tragic conclusion.I have yet to see the original film so can't say how this compares. Judging it on its own I can say I really enjoyed it even if it was far from the 'samurai action film' I'd expected. The scene where Motome is forced to disembowel himself with a wooden sword is painfully gruelling to watch as it goes on and on… even though it doesn't dwell on the wounds inflicted it is a hard watch; and rightly so. When we learn of his connection to Hanshiro that painful scene explains why he is so desperate to show how a real samurai lives and dies. The cast does a fine job; most notably Ebizô Ichikawa, Eita and Hikari Mitsushima as Hanshiro, Motome and Miho respectively. Takashi Miike's direction is impressively subtle given his reputation over-the-top violence. Overall I'd recommend this; just don't expect lots of action; this is about character.

adrongardner Let's get this out of the way. Kobayashi's hard hitting "Harakiri" is a masterpiece. It's one of the great pieces of not only Japanese cinema, but also one of the best movies of the 20th century. While I'm disappointed the film was remade at all, and surprised it came from Miike, there are still good things to be found here. To my surprise, for the most part, this is a good movie and in very small quantities, there are some true moments of greatness. Even if they are very short.A good deal of the original film's grit is lost for most of this go around. The cinematography is over-lit and the pacing falls into lulls. But survive to the end and you will be rewarded as the final irony is quite powerful. I mean, no spoilers from me, but even with the cheesy fake snow, I have to say, Ebizô Ichikawa's powerful presence won me over and he truly wins the day when the time calls for it. I was never too crazy about all the Kurosawa remakes of the 60s and 70s. Fistful of Dollars always felt like a cheap knock-off, because it is. The Magnificent Seven was sort of a tolerable chuckle. Kurosawa's films were so human, almost populist, because of their themes, his work was ripe for remake, reboot or even plagiarism. Only Star Wars seemed to get the joke and succeed in being something different than a pure Hidden Fortress copy. Kobayashi's Harakiri seemed to escape the trend for so long because of the subject matter - even the title! But here we are. There is still something not right about this "remake," but MIike gets it right in the end, even if never needed to be done in the first place.

Tom Collis I thought they did a wonderful job with this movie. They didn't sell out by making it all in English with American actors. They didn't go crazy making it a bloodbath just to get the younger viewers. The movie really gives you an insight into Japan's history and what life was like for these people. The atmosphere and story telling really draws you in. The acting is great especially one scene that had me cringing. There were a lot of parts where I was like whoa I didn't see that coming. I can understand those out there loyal to the original but you at least have to give the film makers of this remake credit. They stayed true to Japanese culture, they didn't get tom cruise or Keanu reeves to star in it. They didn't write it for the newer younger audience and make all the characters smart mouth kids. Unfortunately I haven't seen the original yet and I understand how those people might not like this one. I don't know how I would feel about a seven samurai remake? I think this movie was well done. It succeeded in telling a truly gripping story without going all modern on it and ruining it. I enjoyed it.

Vaudrey-etienne Masaki Kobayashi's HARA-KIRI is my favorite movie of all time, Timeless story about Authority, Unjustice, Family and social links, but I tried to watch this one as partial as i could (well i saw the original 15 times so it's hard but i tried) and the changes in the screenplay are great because they throw the movie in another direction and that's what we want for a remake, not the same movie with better technology only...Let's talk about technology : The 3D stereoscopic experience Ruins the cinematography... when you put off the glasses you got nice colors, contrasts and well balance luminosity... then when you put the glasses on you loose 2 diaphs, the contrast are flattened to the extreme and this is completely ugly for inside scenes... I saw it in Cannes 2011 so it was the first versions, i am sure they will change it for the theatrical release, if you have the choice between 3D and 2D versions don't hesitate a second and choose 2D.Better be aware : the storytelling is very simple and contrast a lot with the masterpiece of Kobayashi, some who haven't seen the original said that was a problem, and some others said it was the way to tell this screenplay but the original one have to be better constructed. I would said honestly that even as this version is 5O years younger than the original, the filmaking is so simplified in this version that you couldn't tell which movie is the remake if you get rid of the technology differences, one is in Black and white, the other in 3D so...My advice is you need to see both beginning by Kobayashi one as any human being should experience this story, one movie is a masterpiece of film making and give a great lesson to the viewer, the other is a smart adaptation of the screenplay and gives a great lesson to the characters of the movies, both are good to watch if you are a filmmaker, a movie reviewer or a movie addict.EDIT : i saw it again in 2D in theatre last week IT IS FAR WORST than the original. no rhythm no conflict too much debriefing than a smart storytelling, run away from this betrayal and watch kobayashi masterpiece ASAP. i can't believe i was too gentle with this one IT IS A DISGRACE ! miike remake of eichi kudo's was great but this is a slaughter.