Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai is a remake (or better yet, an adaptation of the same novel) of Masaki Kobayashi's 1962 masterpiece Harakiri. Does the story really need another adaptation? Of course not, and once again it's proved that remakes can rarely catch up to the originals. The 2011 version was directed by Takashi Miike, and is actually in 3D. If you watch the original film, the last thing that'll come across your mind is "I wonder how this would look in 3D" because about 80% of the film is just people talking.These are the major differences the remake offers:1) Motome's harakiri scene is longer and bloodier. Well, it's Miike. What can you expect.2) The Iyi clan retainers are bigger bastards this time around. First, this time Motome actually tells them he needs some time to take care of his family, but they ignore him. Second, the guy serving as Motome's second man during harakiri seemed unusually sadistic. Third, the chief retainer is now more like a quirky supervillain; has a white cat like Blofeld from the James Bond series (white cats are actually a leitmotif in this movie, it seems) and walks with a limp, which makes me snicker because this way he reminds me of herr Flick from the British sitcom 'Allo, 'Allo!3) This time around it's immediately revealed that the three retainers Tsugumo chooses as his second men were killed by him (by "immediately revealed" I mean 40 minutes in). This is just stupid because it makes for a considerably less suspenseful viewing than the original.4) Remember the battle in the grass field with the retainer in the '62 version? Well, it isn't here anymore. In this film, Tsugumo takes out all three retainers at once, in a scene that's way too short to enjoy.5) The final battle of Tsugumo vs. the Iyi clan is a bit longer, but two major things were changed: first of all, Tsugumo now sports a bamboo blade instead of a true katana during the fight. Secondly, it snows all the time during the battle. Exactly why I'm not sure, except for actually giving a reason for the film to be in 3D.6) In Kobayashi's film's ending, Tsugumo is quickly shot down by the musket-bearing retainers. In Miike's version, he is killed by swordsmen, but not before making a cheesy dramatic speech.The cinematography is great and stays true to Kobayashi's original visions. The geometrical positioning of the shots and character composition isn't copied from Kobayashi, but gives it a new spin, what with the colors and all. It's a very well made film from a technical aspect. Then again, Miike is an experienced filmmaker so you can pretty much expect that to be true.The music is a major letdown. Kobayashi's movie has a tense soundtrack aperiodically played on strings, which sounded weird to me at first, but I quickly got used to it and I realized it's a very unique and memorable score. It does a great job of raising the tension. Miike's film's music is tremendously forgettable - it's just your typical silent orchestral soundtrack we're so accustomed to nowadays. It's not as daring as the original, instead I can barely distinguish it from other, similar soundtracks.Ebizô Ichikawa is a good replacement for Tatsuya Nakadai in his main role, but overall I prefer Nakadai because he manages to pull off complex emotions just by speaking in the same tone during the entire film - and this is hard to explain, but just by looking at him you really feel like everything that happened to Tsugumo also happened to Nakadai. Ichikawa is alright, but is not as rage-filled and imposing as Nakadai. However, the major reason why the remake fails is the way the story itself is told. Half of the movie is spent on endless flashbacks of Tsugumo's life, which are a chore to watch and completely ruin the mood. The 1962 movie is highly unsettling, the message is laid out clearly and it's unbelievably tense the entire time. The 2011 movie is anything but suspenseful, clear or confrontational, it's horribly bland and Miike fails to deliver the message as passionately as Kobayashi did.

A samurai film set in the first generation after the rise of the Tokugawa Shogunate -- when the samurai were beginning to perceive the bitter reality that unity and peace were the death knell of much of their usefulness as a caste -- Hara-Kiri centers around a story of disgrace and revenge, but its take on this subject matter is unique, and it is one of the very few samurai films that actually reaches the point of questioning the ethos of "warrior's honour." It is not an action film, for the most part; although its climactic act does feature a fascinating one-against-many throwdown, it isn't there to provide gore and death. This is a film that revolves around story, characters and ideas.The basic premise: with many samurai penniless and out of work under the Shogunate -- which has become vindictive about eliminating all possible threats to its power and has shut down whole domains -- a uniquely samurai kind of con artistry has sprung up, called the "suicide bluff," in which a ronin shows up at a well-appointed lordly estate, begs the use of the courtyard to commit seppuku, and thereby hopes to win the lord's sympathy and to be offered some money or a position in his retinue instead.The film begins with one such story set at the House of Ii; the senior retainer, set to hear a suicide request from a penniless ronin, eyes him skeptically and then tells him (in flashback form) the story of another such ronin who came by attempting a suicide bluff just a short while earlier. The story of that young man, who shows up looking skinny, timorous and pathetic to make his request, is the story of an unsuspecting rube badly miscalculating the seriousness of the House of Ii's commitment to the samurai ideal, notwithstanding that most of its younger warriors have never seen combat. When the retainers of Ii discover that the young ronin has brought only a bamboo practice sword with him, they decide in rage to call his transparent bluff, summoning out the whole house to witness his suicide and sternly demanding that he go through with it... using only that same bamboo sword.The youth's panic and seeming cowardice seem contemptible at first... but there is something just as twisted about the retainers' contempt when they discover he was just trying to get money to buy medicine for a sick wife and child. Finally, seeing that there's no way out, he does contrive to commit seppuku with the bamboo sword, in a scene of surpassing drawn-out agony and horror that will stay with you for days. (His "second," assigned to behead him, seems in particular to almost relish the young man's suffering, refusing to end it until he's twisted the bamboo blade in his guts to the man's satisfaction.) Back to the present, and the senior retainer of Ii offering this latest ronin the chance to leave with no questions asked. And that's when we discover that the two ronins' stories are connected... and that there's a larger objective of retribution in the newcomer's actions.The drama that follows -- which affords us a chance to see the two ronin in an entirely different light, to discover their relationship and what brought them to their desperate pass, and to question whether the suppression of humaneness and empathy in the samurai code of conduct really just isn't a form of empty madness -- is deliberately-paced, intricately structured, and moving. It is well worth seeing, and indeed quite probably the best Japanese drama to be produced so far this century.

True to current cinematic trends, Takashi Miike's "Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai" has been released in 3D. There's no real reason this process had to be applied to this particular film, given the fact that it isn't a fantasy, an animated family film, an action extravaganza (contrary to what the title suggests), or part of any genre in which 3D would be accepted – or, at the very least, tolerated. The film is, by and large, a character study and a tragedy, and as such, the visuals rarely lend themselves to gimmicky shots of objects flying at the screen or even creating an immersive experience. Making matters worse is the issue of brightness. Much of the film is spent within a cramped, dingy home in which sunlight almost never creeps in; this means that we in the audience must endure a dim, muddy picture of characters already immersed in shadow.My complaints about 3D notwithstanding, I admittedly did appreciate this film more than Miike's previous import, the overrated "13 Assassins," which isn't directly related to this film but certainly acts as a sort of parallel story. I think what bothered me the most about "13 Assassins" was that it was attempting to glamorize a life that, on the basis of what's depicted in the film, was anything but glamorous; here were a group of men living by a barbaric code of conduct, one that viewed ceaseless servitude and glorified suicide missions as honorable. Now we have a film that not only calls into question this lifestyle but also holds back on the gore and violence. There are two exceptions to the latter. One is a grotesque and needlessly protracted sequence in which a ronin attempts to commit seppuku with a wooden sword. The other is a final battle scene, less bloody but again needlessly protracted.Taking place in 1600s Japan, the film opens when a middle aged ronin named Hanshiro Tsugumo (Ebizo Ichikawa) enters the gates of samurai clan. Begging the audience with the lead retainer, Kageyu (Koji Yakusho), he claims that he is a samurai without a master to serve, and therefore wants die nobly by committing seppuku in his courtyard in full view of the other samurais. Kageyu isn't immediately willing to grant his request, seeing as it's now common for men to enter clan compounds, lie about their status as failed warriors, and claim they want to commit suicide when what they really want is charity. He tells Hanshiro the story of a young man who did exactly that not too long ago; his request was granted, but he only ended up asking for an extra day and, ultimately, for money. An example was made of him, of course, and as painfully as possible, he went through with the hara-kiri.In due time, Hanshiro is kneeling on a mat in the clan's courtyard, surrounded by well-clad, well-armed samurais. But before the suicide ritual can be completed, Hanshiro reveals that what he really wants is vengeance for the young man's death. And with that, he tells his own story, which plays as an extended flashback sequence. We learn that the young man was named Motome (Eita), and that Hanshiro took him in as a boy and raised him as his own after his father grew ill and died. We watch as Motome and Hanshiro's daughter, Miho (Hikari Mitsushima), grow up together, fall in love, and ultimately have a baby boy. We watch the entire family enduring more downs than ups, as they are poverty stricken. Motome, who took to reading and writing at an early age, is forced to pawn off his beloved books just for two eggs – one of which inevitably falls and cracks.The film veers into melodramatic territory the instant Miho lets out a small cough, and it only gets worse when her baby boy develops a fever. There are specific visuals related to both characters that could have easily been exploited for their ability to horrify an audience, but mercifully, Miike restrains himself; he shows that which is absolutely necessary to get the point across, and no more. Unlike "13 Assassins," which had its serious moments but was much more action driven, this movie is deliberately centered on its characters and the quieter moments they share. Although their desperate situation would fit right in with any present-day soap opera, we at least are given the opportunity to know who they are. We're also made to feel what they feel, unpleasant though it may be.The film, like "13 Assassins," is a remake of a 1960s Japanese samurai epic, and as the tenor of my review makes abundantly clear, I haven't seen the original version. No matter; I suspect present-day audiences are much more likely to compare this film to "13 Assassins" than to its cinematic source. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'm strongly advising you to steer clear of a 3D presentation of "Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai." Short of a digital presentation or the celluloid being run through an IMAX 3D projector, you will see only dark images that barely register as having any depth – save for a few brief scenes featuring falling snow, which is far more noticeable than all the people and swords put together. It's disappointing that Miike felt the need to do as many directors do nowadays and sacrifice imagery for technology.-- Chris Pandolfi (www.atatheaternearyou.net)

Well I must say nicely executed (pun entirely intended).The script starts out strong with the mechanical men, obsequious to their lords.It is hard to perceive men so rigid in their view of existence, though no doubt they exist even now.The story does descend to the weepy melodrama, but is that not the fate of all living creatures? do they not seek to procreate? thank the lord the plants obey.The trimester of the movie becomes improbable.One wishes that he had armed himself with Damascus steel rather than bamboo. Then surely the world would not have occurred.But I glory that there are such people that live amongst trees, rather than slewing Dem Deutsch folk. Forgive me for I spake'easy in riddles if not rhymes.Anyway back to the evaluation: A film not to be missed if you can forgive the middling melodrama and the fantasy resolution. But it works, it works, I still remember it 2 days hence.Maybe tomorrow I forget the Bushido code. @#$%^&*(()