Watch: Trailer for ’13 Assassins’ Director Takashi Miike’s ‘Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai’
Love. Honor. Revenge. Takashi Miike turned a lot of heads last year with the highly acclaimed 13 Assassins and he is now back with more samurai awesomeness. Tribeca has released a trailer for Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai, a remake of the 1962 Masaki Kobayashi classic.
The story centers on a mysterious, low-ranking samurai who arrives at the doorstep of his feudal lord, requesting an honorable death by hara-kiri. The lord threatens him with the brutal tale of Motome, a desperate young ronin who made a similar request with ulterior motives, only to meet a grisly end. Undaunted, the samurai begins to tell a story of his own, with an ending no one could see coming.
It will be interesting to see Miike take on such a character-driven film. The main complaint I had with 13 Assassins was the lack of character development which left many of the assassins’ deaths not nearly as resonant as they should be.
Watch the trailer below and let us know what you think! Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai will be available on VOD starting July 18th before making a limited theatrical run in New York City and Los Angeles on July 20th.
From visionary auteur Takashi Miike (13 ASSASSINS) comes the story of a mysterious samurai who arrives at the doorstep of his feudal lord, requesting an honorable death by ritual suicide in his courtyard. The lord threatens him with the brutal tale of Motome, a desperate young ronin who made a similar request with ulterior motives, only to meet a grisly end. Undaunted, the samurai begins to tell a story of his own, with an ending no one could see coming. With stunning cinematography and gripping performances, HARA-KIRI: DEATH OF A SAMURAI is a thrilling exploration of revenge, honor, and individuality in the face of oppressive power.
10 Comments
Now that looks awesome!
I agree, Castor. Let’s see what Miike does with this one. Harakiri (1962, AKA Seppuku) by Kobayashi is one of the great samurai films, like ever. This was also one of Tatsuya Nakadai’s best roles. Thanks for the heads up.
He’s been turning heads (and chopping some off) since well before “13 Assassins”
I know, right? xD
Sweet. I’ve been a Miike fan for quite some time. I’m really looking forward to this.
I love 13 assassins and I sure am expecting this movie…unfortunately, I am not going to be as lucky as you…it might not be in my cinemas
I have to wait for the DVD.
Right there with you Nov, I LOVE 13 Assassins and am totally stoked for this. I don’t dig many of Miike’s films but sometimes (like 13) the “go for the throat” approach is so bold it becomes an instant classic. He’s a powerful visual storyteller and this looks amazing. Fingers crossed!
Trying to reconcile the Miike of the aughts with the Miike of the new decade is a bit mind-bending. From Ichi the Killer, Gozu, and Visitor Q– among others– to 13 Assassins and now Hara-Kiri…well, it’s a weird arc. At least Izo ties together this Miike with the old Miike. Plus, of course, 13 Assassins is great, a remake that feels like a Miike film despite not being Miike-esque in the ways we expect.
So in short, I’m looking forward to this.
Looks good
It feels like such a long time since I watched this at LFF… I enjoyed it greatly at the time.
Sorry for my absence since Wednesday, I have been on a little holiday!!
Back now.
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