Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Criterion #302: Harakiri
While looking through Premier Video to find a movie to rent with Life on Mars, I decided on a foreign language film, specifically a Criterion DVD. So I randomly chose Harakiri.
Regarding Criterion DVDs, at one time I thought I would try and collect them all. This has proven impractical with the pace that they are producing videos. So instead I will settle on watching as many as I can with all of the extras. I’ve already seen quite a few but I can’t remember how much of the extras I’ve seen so I’ll reset the counter back to zero. Number 1 on the list was Criterion #250a The Killing of a Chinese Bookie that I watched last month.
So this would be Criterion #302: Harakiri.
I knew nothing about this film but it is an amazing piece of work. It is written by the man who wrote a number of Kurosawa films such as Rashoman and The Seven Samurai and directed by Masaki Kobayashi. This is my introduction to this director’s work but reading the essays with the DVD he is know for films that question the establishment.
This is what makes this such an intriguing film. It is a samurai film but it does not romanticize the period. Many of these warriors are not honorable and are downright hypocritical. It is told in a non-linear manner that adds enhances the tension. The photography is wonderful and some of the scenes are quite bloody given the time (1962). I’m sure Tarantino was influenced by some of this film with the fight sequence and the theme of revenge.
The supplements are all well worth exploring. Anything by Donald Richie is welcome but it’s not really an introduction since you would not want to watch it before viewing the film. The interviews with the director, actor, and screenwriter give candid talks about their philosophy of work and their role with the crew.
Regarding Criterion DVDs, at one time I thought I would try and collect them all. This has proven impractical with the pace that they are producing videos. So instead I will settle on watching as many as I can with all of the extras. I’ve already seen quite a few but I can’t remember how much of the extras I’ve seen so I’ll reset the counter back to zero. Number 1 on the list was Criterion #250a The Killing of a Chinese Bookie that I watched last month.
So this would be Criterion #302: Harakiri.
I knew nothing about this film but it is an amazing piece of work. It is written by the man who wrote a number of Kurosawa films such as Rashoman and The Seven Samurai and directed by Masaki Kobayashi. This is my introduction to this director’s work but reading the essays with the DVD he is know for films that question the establishment.
This is what makes this such an intriguing film. It is a samurai film but it does not romanticize the period. Many of these warriors are not honorable and are downright hypocritical. It is told in a non-linear manner that adds enhances the tension. The photography is wonderful and some of the scenes are quite bloody given the time (1962). I’m sure Tarantino was influenced by some of this film with the fight sequence and the theme of revenge.
The supplements are all well worth exploring. Anything by Donald Richie is welcome but it’s not really an introduction since you would not want to watch it before viewing the film. The interviews with the director, actor, and screenwriter give candid talks about their philosophy of work and their role with the crew.
Labels: Criterion, FilmReview
# posted by ChrisR @ 10:00 PM 
