302 Harakiri

[What A Disgrace]

Harakiri's listed as a double disc set now.

[Cinephrenic]

Well that explains the $39.95 price. Now what is "more!" to be placed into disc 2

[Sai]

Well that explains the $39.95 price. Now what is "more!" to be placed into disc 2

It could be a Divorce Italian Style-disc, with a second disc with just over an hour of extras. Oh well.

[Matango]

Just picked it up today (early arrival here in Hong Kong, along with Boudou). After sitting through the Platinum Classics version half a dozen times, this is like jumping into clean sheets. A wonderful transfer, great subs. =D>

Something that might be worth discussing is that the DVD cover is a direct copy of the Cuban movie poster, but the only design credits go to an apparently outsourced graphic design company based in Switzerland. As an American company, would Criterion be allowed to pay a fee to the Cuban designer even if they located him/her, what with the longstanding trade embargo?

[Grimfarrow]

Wow, a fellow collector from Hong Kong! That's rare Where did you get your Harakiri? Through HMV or CD-WOW?

[Matango]

I got it in Laservision in Mongkok, for HK$245. It's not in HMV yet, but when it is, it will be $360. DVD-Wow is charging $265 I think.

[Grimfarrow]

Thanks for that! I never shop at HMV because it's ridiculously overpriced. I'll have to find that Laservision place when I get back into town.

[oldsheperd]

I still don't get why this is two discs. A few interviews on a second disc. The film is only 133 minutes.

[Narshty]

Well, it depends on how long the interviews are to begin with. I suspect Criterion would rather shift them onto the second disc so as the give the feature's compression room to breath as best it can. It's also an option for a hearty $10 raise.

[daniel p]

DVD Authority review.

First review I've come across - mentions how the extras are a bit underwhelming - but the PQ sounds great... 1 disc might have done it, but the higher bitrate is welcome imo.

[Lino]

DVD Talk review:

An absolute masterpiece of a film, Harakiri gets the kind of treatment that it completely and utterly deserves from The Criterion Collection. Top notch audio and video and some tantalizing extra features that put the film into context and explain its history as well as that of those who helped create it make this one a completely worthwhile endeavor. Highly Recommended!

[analoguezombie]

• New, restored high-definition digital transfer
• Exclusive video introduction by Japanese-film historian Donald Richie
• Rare excerpt of a Directors Guild of Japan video interview with director Masaki Kobayashi, moderated by filmmaker Masahiro Shinoda (Double Suicide)
• New video interviews with star Tatsuya Nakadai and screenwriter Shinobu Hashimoto
• Poster gallery
• Original theatrical trailer
• New and improved English subtitle translation
• A 32-page booklet featuring a new essay by film scholar Joan Mellen and a reprint of her 1972 interview with Kobayashi.

Yeah there's absolutely no way that all could have fit on one disc.

[The Invunche]

Especially the 32-page booklet. Only disc two can hold those.

[analoguezombie]

Especially the 32-page booklet. Only disc two can hold those.

No kidding man! It's not like any of the Kurosawa one-discs came with a big booklet or anything, sheesh! A booklet over 10 pages mandates an extra $10, and a larger keepcase. Not to mention that it absolutely demands that one disc worth of material be split to make it seem like there is more than there is.

[Lino]

DVD Beaver comparison

[analoguezombie]

Two disc or one disc or whatever, it's comparisons like that that remind me how thankful I am to Criterion, and how nice it is to be a film fan alive today.

[kortik]

What about comparing the Criterion video quality to R2 J DVD that was compared earlier with support of Henryk and me? This one. How does CC compare to Shochiku? anybody?

[analoguezombie]

The image is pristine. Just from looking at the pics on DVD Beaver I'd saw the Criterion is at least as good as the Shochiku and perhaps better. The shot in the cemetary for example, is even more clear and unmuddied on the Criterion release. It's a beautiful black and white transfer.

I was struck by the sword fighting, and how real, and unstaged it seemed. It definitely wasn't Sword fo Doom or Yojimbo in its design. It was simply survival fighting. The epic duel between Tsugumo and Okadomo was more flashy then the climax of the film, but even it was very rough. It really succeeded in portraying a fight between someone who had never used his sword in combat and a battlefield veteran who hadn't really fought in 16 years.

I thought it was just brilliant how Kobayashi panned away from the final fight scene at its beginning. Leaving Tsugumo outside while the camera tracked inside the building to show the clan head. As if to say the battle is not important, its the fact that it is taking place, that's what is important. The focus is not on winning, but on the struggle itself, thus connecting the sequence to the underlying theme of fighting against unjust authority. In the end Tsugumo does not kill the entire clan the way Yojimbo or Ryunosuke might have, but he doesn't have to. The power of the clan/state/beurocracy is absolute, but one must still struggle against what is wrong and unjust. Winning is not the goal, standing up is.

[Sekoya]

Please Note: For those of you who haven't yet seen Harakiri, I must warn you not to watch Donald Ritchie's introduction to the film before watching the movie, as it spoils the entire film.

Thanks for the warning! Although I barely watch those introductions beforehand I appreciated your comment a great deal.

Amazing film! Watched this only hours after "Sword of Doom" and Tatsuya Nakadai's different performances surprised me in a positive way. He's a great actor whom I learn to respect more and more with every film I see.

[kortik]

Agreed on the previous post. The best film IMHO.

Ugetsu would be awesome also.

I am buying Critirion Harakiri soon, I was thinking not to buy it since I have a Shochiku R2J dvd but this thread convince me to buy it. Thank you all

[Anonymous]

I'd still like to see a comparision of the R2J versus Criterion's transfer.

[kortik]

Well,you can find comparison of my Shochiku dvd and Panorama but I haven't gotten any feedback on Criterion to really compare you can use my screenshots over at DVD Beaver and compare it w/Criterion's Harakiri.

[richast2]

Please Note: For those of you who haven't yet seen Harakiri, I must warn you not to watch Donald Ritchie's introduction to the film before watching the movie, as it spoils the entire film.

Thanks for the warning! Although I barely watch those introductions beforehand I appreciated your comment a great deal.

Though there is a small-print warning on the menu screen that says the interview gives away the ending.

Just watched this for the first time and I was incredibly moved. This is one I'm thankful to Criterion for releasing, as I might never have seen it otherwise.

[jt]

Well, this is absolutely one of my favourite films in the collection. You don't have to be a particular fan of Japanese films or the Samurai genre to enjoy this. It is so exquisitely shot, acted and paced that any casual film fan could pick this up and get something out of it.

Like his later epic, Samurai Rebellion, Kobayashi on the surface gives us a strong story, building the tension right up until the finale like the very best of out-and-out thrillers but infuses it with political overtones to provide the viewer with a much deeper and meatier film than most in the genre.

There are moments of real beauty and human warmth, juxtaposed with scenes of horrifying brutality but all handled very delicately by Kobayashi, who manages to avoid straying into over-the-top chambara style. He is more interested in exposing the hypocrisy of the samurai code of honour (as a metaphor for the Japanese government of the time?)

As has been mentioned before, the extras are perhaps a little light for a double disc but it shouldn't be hard to pick this up for the price of a stacked single disc by now and if you miss this film for the sake of saving a few dollars, then you're denying yourself a real treat.

Even those who aren't the biggest fans of Samurai films would, I guess, consider Seven Samurai an essential purchase. This should be too.

[ando]

The black and white, deep focus photography is impressive, but on the whole I found the film a rather static affair. Despite the few scenes of decidedly graphic violence I found the film lacked a vital center. Exposing hypocricy is a noble enough cause - and the humanity of Hanshiro Tsugumo is admirable, but the narrative feels as empty as the suit of armour that serves as the film's central visual motif.

Also, the narrative feels elliptical (short periods of tension followed by long flashback sequences), which is admittedly unavoidable because of Tsugumo's manipulation of the clan. But it destroys the film's momentum. The pattern of threatened violence, whether from the prospect of ritual suicide or the onslaught of insulted samurai, interrupted with the flashback device is mercilessly repeated to a most frustrating effect. If the film moved at a faster pace the pattern repetition would surely create a comic effect, which in retrospect, might have been just as (if not more) effective in terms of the film's overall effect (social commentary not withstanding). Flashbacks may illuminate a situation, providing the groundwork for character motivation and/or development, but it can also destroy the rhythm of a film. I strongly feel this to be the case with Harakiri. And given the slow pace of the film the effect (for me, anyway) was decidely soporific. Then again, this is just my impression from a single viewing.