Blake Lively has always had a fraught relationship with her Hollywood career arc. After establishing herself on the silver screen with The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in 2005, Lively’s career began to chart a sine-wave across the years that followed. Besides a few well-received projects like The Shallows and A Simple Favor, Lively has had hard luck trying to strike big as the lead.
Blake Lively in It Ends With Us [Credit: Sony Pictures]
After failing to score a win with her last big feature number, The Rhythm Section, Blake Lively returns 4 years later to widespread criticism and mass outrage with the adaptation of It Ends With Us. Although set for an assured win due to its large number of BookTok-inspired followers, no one could have predicted the harrowing press tour that would derail the entire film’s reputation even before it launched in theaters.
Blake Lively Sets a Bad...
Blake Lively in It Ends With Us [Credit: Sony Pictures]
After failing to score a win with her last big feature number, The Rhythm Section, Blake Lively returns 4 years later to widespread criticism and mass outrage with the adaptation of It Ends With Us. Although set for an assured win due to its large number of BookTok-inspired followers, no one could have predicted the harrowing press tour that would derail the entire film’s reputation even before it launched in theaters.
Blake Lively Sets a Bad...
- 9/1/2024
- by Diya Majumdar
- FandomWire
Sarajevo’s CineLink Presents Latest Projects From Directors of ‘Godless,’ ‘Viktoria,’ ‘Scary Mother’
During the 30th Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug. 16 to 23), CineLink, the festival’s industry program, will present its work-in-progress showcase. This includes eight feature-length fiction and one documentary film in the production or post-production stages from Southeast Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
Among those competing are Alisa Kovalenko, who was in competition in Sarajevo last year for “We Will Not Fade Away,” which also screened at the Berlinale; Adrian Sitaru, named best director at Locarno with “Best Intentions“; Tarik Aktas, who took best emerging director at Locarno with “Dead Horse Nebula”; Ralitza Petrova, winner of the Golden Leopard for best film at Locarno with “Godless“; Maya Vitkova, who competed at Sundance with “Viktoria“; and Ana Urushadze, who took best first feature at Locarno for “Scary Mother.”
The projects will be presented to funders, sales agents, distributors, broadcasters and festival programmers with the aim of driving forward their completion and boosting their distribution chances.
Among those competing are Alisa Kovalenko, who was in competition in Sarajevo last year for “We Will Not Fade Away,” which also screened at the Berlinale; Adrian Sitaru, named best director at Locarno with “Best Intentions“; Tarik Aktas, who took best emerging director at Locarno with “Dead Horse Nebula”; Ralitza Petrova, winner of the Golden Leopard for best film at Locarno with “Godless“; Maya Vitkova, who competed at Sundance with “Viktoria“; and Ana Urushadze, who took best first feature at Locarno for “Scary Mother.”
The projects will be presented to funders, sales agents, distributors, broadcasters and festival programmers with the aim of driving forward their completion and boosting their distribution chances.
- 8/12/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
We recently learned that five years after Dragged Across Concrete, S. Craig Zahler will soon announce his next feature. In the meantime, the director has unveiled his favorite music, books, and––most pertinent to this site––films he watched in the past year.
The 21-movie list includes not only his ten favorites of the year but revival screenings as well, including Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky’s Werckmeister Harmonies, Kelly Reichardt’s Wendy and Lucy, Masaki Kobayashi’s Harakiri, Gaspar Noé’s Irreversible, Nagisa Ôshima’s The Pleasures of the Flesh, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Memoria, and William Friedkin’s The Exorcist.
When it comes to new releases, amongst the favorites of the Bone Tomahawk director were Sean Durkin’s The Iron Claw, Skinamarink, Godzilla Minus One, the Indian action-thriller Jawan, films by Martin Scorsese and Jonathan Glazer, and the latest in the Saw franchise.
Check out the list below.
Godzilla Minus One...
The 21-movie list includes not only his ten favorites of the year but revival screenings as well, including Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky’s Werckmeister Harmonies, Kelly Reichardt’s Wendy and Lucy, Masaki Kobayashi’s Harakiri, Gaspar Noé’s Irreversible, Nagisa Ôshima’s The Pleasures of the Flesh, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Memoria, and William Friedkin’s The Exorcist.
When it comes to new releases, amongst the favorites of the Bone Tomahawk director were Sean Durkin’s The Iron Claw, Skinamarink, Godzilla Minus One, the Indian action-thriller Jawan, films by Martin Scorsese and Jonathan Glazer, and the latest in the Saw franchise.
Check out the list below.
Godzilla Minus One...
- 1/15/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Japanese genre auteur Takashi Miike is notorious for taking his cinema to extreme limits, whether that’s in terms of violence or sexual depravity. And over a career that spans three decades, he’s directed some classics: “Audition,” “Ichi The Killer,” the “Dead Or Alive” trilogy, and “Hara-Kiri,” just to name a few. Now the prolific director has another film on the way, and it sounds like a perfect fit for him.
Continue reading ‘Lumberback The Monster’ Trailer: Takashi Miike’s Latest Pits A Psychopathic Lawyer Against A Masked Serial Killer at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Lumberback The Monster’ Trailer: Takashi Miike’s Latest Pits A Psychopathic Lawyer Against A Masked Serial Killer at The Playlist.
- 6/8/2023
- by Ned Booth
- The Playlist
Experience the richness of world cinema with these classic foreign language films. From intense drama to thrilling action, each one offers an unforgettable cinematic experience that will stay with you long after watching. These iconic movies break boundaries while teaching viewers more about diverse cultures, so grab some popcorn today.
Related: 10 Best TV Movies of All Time, Ranked by Viewers
Foreign films have been inaccurately labeled as arrogant. However, these movies offer many genres, including action flicks, comedies, musicals, and thrillers. This list of best foreign movies includes those from non-English speaking countries but no silent films. This is your cinematic passport to the world’s movie scene.
10 Best Foreign Movies, Ranked on IMDb The Lives of Others (2006) – 8.4 Oldboy (2003) – 8.4 The Best of Youth (2003) – 8.5 Cinema Paradiso (1988) – 8.5 The Intouchables (2011) – 8.5 Parasite (2019) – 8.5 Harakiri (1962) – 8.6 Life Is Beautiful (1997) – 8.6 City of God (2002) – 8.6 Spirited Away (2001) – 8.6 10 The Lives of Others (2006)
IMDb: 8.4/10 396K | Popularity: 1,156 | Top 250: #58 | Metascore: 89
The Lives of Others...
Related: 10 Best TV Movies of All Time, Ranked by Viewers
Foreign films have been inaccurately labeled as arrogant. However, these movies offer many genres, including action flicks, comedies, musicals, and thrillers. This list of best foreign movies includes those from non-English speaking countries but no silent films. This is your cinematic passport to the world’s movie scene.
10 Best Foreign Movies, Ranked on IMDb The Lives of Others (2006) – 8.4 Oldboy (2003) – 8.4 The Best of Youth (2003) – 8.5 Cinema Paradiso (1988) – 8.5 The Intouchables (2011) – 8.5 Parasite (2019) – 8.5 Harakiri (1962) – 8.6 Life Is Beautiful (1997) – 8.6 City of God (2002) – 8.6 Spirited Away (2001) – 8.6 10 The Lives of Others (2006)
IMDb: 8.4/10 396K | Popularity: 1,156 | Top 250: #58 | Metascore: 89
The Lives of Others...
- 4/30/2023
- by Buddy TV
- buddytv.com
It's hard to argue with the sheer enjoyability of the "John Wick" films. In what feels like a short time, Keanu Reeves and stuntman-turned-director Chad Stahelski have built an original franchise that stands apart from the sea of tried-and-true superhero slugfests. It'd be easy to credit Reeves' titular rogue killer as the main selling point, but the "John Wick" films also benefit from Stahelski's own keen eye for both high-octane action and rich worldbuilding.
The world of "John Wick" is a world built on intricate rules. The films prove that even killers have a code, and show the fresh hell that can break loose when that code is broken. It's the theme that's driven the franchise from the very beginning — and, as Stahelski recently told Total Film for their 2023 Preview, it's one that he borrowed from one of his favorite genres of all time.
Every Man's Got A Code
"I'm...
The world of "John Wick" is a world built on intricate rules. The films prove that even killers have a code, and show the fresh hell that can break loose when that code is broken. It's the theme that's driven the franchise from the very beginning — and, as Stahelski recently told Total Film for their 2023 Preview, it's one that he borrowed from one of his favorite genres of all time.
Every Man's Got A Code
"I'm...
- 12/12/2022
- by Lyvie Scott
- Slash Film
Masaki Kobayashi was a filmmaker who was never afraid to speak his mind on a matter. He was always open with his mindset, regularly criticizing systematic corruption and violation of human rights throughout the majority of his filmography. He didn’t often direct jidaigeki cinema, but when he did, the director generally delivered a stellar picture. His haunting masterpiece “Harakiri” gives a darker examination of the flawed aspects of the Bushido Code. Kobayashi would bring corruption and humanism to the forefront in his excellent film “Samurai Rebellion.”
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
The original Japanese title for the feature translates to “Rebellion: Receive the Wife,” which is fitting, considering what transpires within the story. The movie is based on Yasuhiko Takiguchi’s short story “Hairyozuma shimatsu.” The screenplay is written by acclaimed screenwriter Shinobu Hashimoto, who had previously collaborated with Masaki Kobayashi on his samurai movie “Harakiri.
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
The original Japanese title for the feature translates to “Rebellion: Receive the Wife,” which is fitting, considering what transpires within the story. The movie is based on Yasuhiko Takiguchi’s short story “Hairyozuma shimatsu.” The screenplay is written by acclaimed screenwriter Shinobu Hashimoto, who had previously collaborated with Masaki Kobayashi on his samurai movie “Harakiri.
- 10/24/2022
- by Sean Barry
- AsianMoviePulse
Arrow Video floors us with yet another well-curated Japanese masterpiece. For practical purposes, this disc might represent the Western premiere of Tomu Uchida’s three-hour ‘crime and punishment’ saga. Unfolding like a novel and filmed with an unusually gritty visual scheme called ‘the Toei W106 method,’ the story’s timeline is split between 1947 and 1957. It has a strong postwar social statement to make, but the overriding theme is one of spiritual Karma, and the function of guilt in imperfect humans. Several of the actors are just unforgettable, especially Rentarô Mikuni, Junzaburô Ban, and Ken Takakura.
A Fugitive from the Past
Blu-ray
Arrow Video
1965 / B&w / 2:35 widescreen / 183 min. / Street Date September 27, 2022 / Kiga kaikyô, Straits of Hunger / Available from Amazon / 39.95
Starring: Rentarô Mikuni, Sachiko Hidari, Ken Takakura, Junzaburô Ban, Kôji Mitsui, Yoshi Katô, Susumu Fujita, Akiko Kazami, Rin’ichi Yamamoto, Tadashi Suganuma.
Cinematography: Hanjirô Nakazawa
Special Effects: Sadao Uemura
Art Director: Mikio Mori...
A Fugitive from the Past
Blu-ray
Arrow Video
1965 / B&w / 2:35 widescreen / 183 min. / Street Date September 27, 2022 / Kiga kaikyô, Straits of Hunger / Available from Amazon / 39.95
Starring: Rentarô Mikuni, Sachiko Hidari, Ken Takakura, Junzaburô Ban, Kôji Mitsui, Yoshi Katô, Susumu Fujita, Akiko Kazami, Rin’ichi Yamamoto, Tadashi Suganuma.
Cinematography: Hanjirô Nakazawa
Special Effects: Sadao Uemura
Art Director: Mikio Mori...
- 9/6/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Masaki Kobayashi’s six-part adaptation of the book by Jumpei Gomikawa may be the most ambitious, most truthful film about the big-picture reality of war. Idealist Tatsuya Nakadai thinks he can avoid complicity in human evil by volunteering as a civilian to manage a work camp in occupied Manchuria, only to find that he’s expected to starve and torture Chinese slave laborers. Resistance leads to his conscription in a brutal boot camp, and his deployment on the Northern front as the Russians invade leads to an extended struggle to survive amid mounting horrors. There’s no escape: the ‘human condition’ is that barbarity is a given, a constant. It’s nine hours of suffering that can change one’s world view.
The Human Condition
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 480
1959-61 / B&w / 2:39 anamorphic widescreen / 575 min. / Ningen no jôken / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date June 8, 2021 / 59.95
Starring: Tatsuya Nakadai,...
The Human Condition
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 480
1959-61 / B&w / 2:39 anamorphic widescreen / 575 min. / Ningen no jôken / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date June 8, 2021 / 59.95
Starring: Tatsuya Nakadai,...
- 6/29/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
A film studio since 1920, Japan’s Shochiku has a back catalogue filled with works by master directors including Ozu Yasujiro and Kinoshita Keisuke as well as 1960s New Wave leaders Oshima Nagisa and Shinoda Masahiro and studio stalwart Yamada Yoji, maker of the enduringly popular Tora-san series.
Shochiku has been digitally remastering its classics in 4K for some time now and is bringing to FilMart four of the most recently restored titles in this ongoing project.
At (almost) the same time, the Hong Kong International Film Festival is laying on a ten-film tribute to the studio as a main plank of its 45th edition. Titles include: “The Masseurs and a Woman” (1938); Mizoguchi Kenji’s 1939 “The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum”; Kinoshita’s “Twenty-Four Eyes” (1954); Ozu’ “Equinox Flower” (1958); Kobayashi Masaki’s 1962 “Harakiri”; “Love Affair at Akitsu Spa” (1962); Yamada classic “The Yellow Handkerchief” (1977); Berlinale-winning “Gonza The Spearman” (1986); Oshima’s final feature “Gohatto...
Shochiku has been digitally remastering its classics in 4K for some time now and is bringing to FilMart four of the most recently restored titles in this ongoing project.
At (almost) the same time, the Hong Kong International Film Festival is laying on a ten-film tribute to the studio as a main plank of its 45th edition. Titles include: “The Masseurs and a Woman” (1938); Mizoguchi Kenji’s 1939 “The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum”; Kinoshita’s “Twenty-Four Eyes” (1954); Ozu’ “Equinox Flower” (1958); Kobayashi Masaki’s 1962 “Harakiri”; “Love Affair at Akitsu Spa” (1962); Yamada classic “The Yellow Handkerchief” (1977); Berlinale-winning “Gonza The Spearman” (1986); Oshima’s final feature “Gohatto...
- 3/16/2021
- by Mark Schilling
- Variety Film + TV
Masaki Kobayashi is one of the most internationally recognized Japanese directors of his era, with many of his films still receiving continued and undiminished critical acclaim. The ghost anthology “Kwaidan”, the samurai films “Samurai Rebellion” and “Harakiri” and the anti-war epic “The Human Condition” are some of his films to remain highly regarded. In 1956, Kobayashi tackled the businesslike nature of Japan’s sports industry in a film with an extremely provoking title: “I Will Buy You”.
Daisuke Kishimoto is a talent scout working for the professional baseball team Toyo Flowers. He is sharp, no-nonsense and relentless in his ways to acquire new players for the team. His latest target is a promising pitcher, but the assignment fails when he finds out that the promising talent is recovering from losing a finger in an accident at the factory he works in. Kishimoto’s character is revealed further when...
Daisuke Kishimoto is a talent scout working for the professional baseball team Toyo Flowers. He is sharp, no-nonsense and relentless in his ways to acquire new players for the team. His latest target is a promising pitcher, but the assignment fails when he finds out that the promising talent is recovering from losing a finger in an accident at the factory he works in. Kishimoto’s character is revealed further when...
- 2/15/2021
- by Raktim Nandi
- AsianMoviePulse
3 February 2021 (Hong Kong) – The 45th Hong Kong International Film Festival will mark the 100th anniversary of Shochiku Cinema with a retrospective programme, showcasing ten masterpieces from ten revered Japanese maestros, including Ozu Yasujiro, Shimizu Hiroshi, Imamura Shohei, and Oshima Nagisa.
Founded in 1920, Shochiku is one of Japan’s oldest and most successful studios. A media giant that prided itself first and foremost as a director’s studio, Shochiku offered creative freedom with which formative filmmakers crafted their signature styles to perfection. From Japan’s first sound film, first colour film, first Oscar-winning film to the world’s longest-running film series, Shochiku transformed the cinematic landscape, leading to Japanese cinema’s rising profile globally.
The ten classics in this selection reflect Shochiku’s remarkable achievements over a century. Shimizu and Ozu, two pillars at the studio renowned for their spontaneous style, are exemplified in The Masseurs and a Woman (1938) and the...
Founded in 1920, Shochiku is one of Japan’s oldest and most successful studios. A media giant that prided itself first and foremost as a director’s studio, Shochiku offered creative freedom with which formative filmmakers crafted their signature styles to perfection. From Japan’s first sound film, first colour film, first Oscar-winning film to the world’s longest-running film series, Shochiku transformed the cinematic landscape, leading to Japanese cinema’s rising profile globally.
The ten classics in this selection reflect Shochiku’s remarkable achievements over a century. Shimizu and Ozu, two pillars at the studio renowned for their spontaneous style, are exemplified in The Masseurs and a Woman (1938) and the...
- 2/5/2021
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
Another Decade with Takashi Miike is a series of essays on the 2010s films of the Japanese maverick, following Notebook's earlier survey of Miike's first decade of the 21st century.In mid-2011, Takashi Miike unveiled two films in characteristically quick succession. Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai, a remake of Masaki Kobayashi’s seminal Harakiri (1962), premiered in May at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was the first 3-D movie ever to screen in competition. Two months later at the New York Asian Film Festival came Ninja Kids!!!, a live-action adaptation of the long-running anime series Nintama Rantarō (itself an adaptation of the manga series Rakudai Ninja Rantarō). These two films are plainly different from one another: Hara-Kiri is a grim movie intended for grown-up audiences, while Ninja Kids!!! is a bright, goofy film aimed principally at young children. At the same time, the movies have a surprising amount in common,...
- 8/31/2020
- MUBI
After much thought, and taking into consideration the health of our guests and viewers, Nihon Media announced that Japan Filmfest Hamburg cannot take place this year as a traditional film festival – and will be online instead. Under the motto ‘Breaking Free – From Japan with Love’, Nihon Media will collaborate with Videocity to stream its entire programme of 70+ films in around 40 blocks globally from 19th of August to the 2nd of September.
The 2020 film programme features 70 current productions, from full-length feature films to experimental short films, including many German, European, and international premieres. Most of the films are shown in the original Japanese language with English subtitles. One special highlight of our programme is the gangster-ballad originally planned as the opening film for the 21st Jffh, “Paradise Next” (2018) from director and film composer Yoshihiro Hanno (“Flowers of Shanghai”). An atmospheric road-movie about the travels of three lost souls living on the edges of society,...
The 2020 film programme features 70 current productions, from full-length feature films to experimental short films, including many German, European, and international premieres. Most of the films are shown in the original Japanese language with English subtitles. One special highlight of our programme is the gangster-ballad originally planned as the opening film for the 21st Jffh, “Paradise Next” (2018) from director and film composer Yoshihiro Hanno (“Flowers of Shanghai”). An atmospheric road-movie about the travels of three lost souls living on the edges of society,...
- 8/10/2020
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
Films that focus on the rather harsh practices of Bushido have been aplenty among the jidai-geki, but “Sword of Desperation” seems to move the concept a step further, in a rather captivating (if too similar with “Harakiri”) story that is based on the homonymous novel by Hideyuki Kirayama.
The script unfolds in two time frames, both focusing on Kanemi Sanzaemon, a captain of the powerful daimyo Tabu Ukyou. As the film starts, we witness him killing his lord’s concubine, Renko, in a seemingly unwarranted action that has him, however, suffering only a minor punishment, of one-year house arrest. The second period takes place in the past, in essence explaining the reasons for his actions, mostly deriving from the huge influence Renko had on Ukyou, and the repercussions her decisions had.to both his household and the people he ruled. At the same time, we witness Sanzaemon’s relationship with his wife,...
The script unfolds in two time frames, both focusing on Kanemi Sanzaemon, a captain of the powerful daimyo Tabu Ukyou. As the film starts, we witness him killing his lord’s concubine, Renko, in a seemingly unwarranted action that has him, however, suffering only a minor punishment, of one-year house arrest. The second period takes place in the past, in essence explaining the reasons for his actions, mostly deriving from the huge influence Renko had on Ukyou, and the repercussions her decisions had.to both his household and the people he ruled. At the same time, we witness Sanzaemon’s relationship with his wife,...
- 3/12/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
After the completion of his “The Human Condition”-trilogy in 1961 with “A Soldier’s Prayer”, Japanese director Masaki Kobayashi expressed interest in doing a samurai film, a jidaigeki. In retrospect, a director whose theme has always been the relationship of the individual and the system, the time and age could not have been better for a closer focus on that subject within a more historical context. Considering the following years would have re-discover the genre as a means to explore repressive regimes, codes and how these influence society and the character of a person, “Harakiri” fits perfectly in this time of Japanese cinema. Even though Kobayashi’s approach respects the tradition of the genre, there is an undeniable link to the times, the increasing sense of frustration with an inhumane system, which, in the end, makes his film one of the classics within Japanese film.
The story...
The story...
- 10/30/2019
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Can (intense) violence be used to communicate a message about antiviolence? If Shinya Tsukamoto begun giving a reply to this question with “Fires on the Plain”, this time, he gives a definite one, and in the most stunning matter.
“Killing” is screening at Art Film Fest Košice
After 250 years of peace, the idle samurais hear again the bells of war in the mid 19th century coming from Edo, as the “negotiations” with the Americans start taking place. Mokunoshin Tsuzuki is another masterless samurai, who earns his living by working in the rice paddies of an isolated farm, while honing his skills by sparring with the family’s son, Ichisuke, who dreams of becoming a samurai, despite the fact the he was born a peasant. At the same time, the beginning of a subtle romance seems to take place between Tsuzuki and Yu, the family’s daughter despite the fact that...
“Killing” is screening at Art Film Fest Košice
After 250 years of peace, the idle samurais hear again the bells of war in the mid 19th century coming from Edo, as the “negotiations” with the Americans start taking place. Mokunoshin Tsuzuki is another masterless samurai, who earns his living by working in the rice paddies of an isolated farm, while honing his skills by sparring with the family’s son, Ichisuke, who dreams of becoming a samurai, despite the fact the he was born a peasant. At the same time, the beginning of a subtle romance seems to take place between Tsuzuki and Yu, the family’s daughter despite the fact that...
- 6/16/2019
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
“Dissent is forbidden.”
As part of ongoing series giving insights into the diversity of Japanese film, Japan Society introduces audiences to a fresh look at the Japanese New Wave Movement which is mostly associated with names like Masahiro Shinoda or Nagisa Oshima. Eitaro Morikawa’s “The Tragedy of Bushido”, as part of this year’s series, is special in many ways, for it is the debut feature of its director and also the first jidaigeki film within the movement. Deeply embedded in the atmosphere of the time, it is a film about the conflict between the young and the old, about a system which has come to consume the young in order to live on.
In the 17th century, the powerful Honda clan fears for its reputation. After two of its members tried to escape from committing ritual suicide, its elders fear the Shogunate might intervene in what is a...
As part of ongoing series giving insights into the diversity of Japanese film, Japan Society introduces audiences to a fresh look at the Japanese New Wave Movement which is mostly associated with names like Masahiro Shinoda or Nagisa Oshima. Eitaro Morikawa’s “The Tragedy of Bushido”, as part of this year’s series, is special in many ways, for it is the debut feature of its director and also the first jidaigeki film within the movement. Deeply embedded in the atmosphere of the time, it is a film about the conflict between the young and the old, about a system which has come to consume the young in order to live on.
In the 17th century, the powerful Honda clan fears for its reputation. After two of its members tried to escape from committing ritual suicide, its elders fear the Shogunate might intervene in what is a...
- 3/19/2019
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Can (intense) violence be used to communicate a message about antiviolence? If Shinya Tsukamoto begun giving a reply to this question with “Fires on the Plain”, this time, he gives a definite one, and in the most stunning matter.
Killing is screening at Five Flavours Festival
After 250 years of peace, the idle samurais hear again the bells of war in the mid 19th century coming from Edo, as the “negotiations” with the Americans start taking place. Mokunoshin Tsuzuki is another masterless samurai, who earns his living by working in the rice paddies of an isolated farm, while honing his skills by sparring with the family’s son, Ichisuke, who dreams of becoming a samurai, despite the fact the he was born a peasant. At the same time, the beginning of a subtle romance seems to take place between Tsuzuki and Yu, the family’s daughter despite the fact that the...
Killing is screening at Five Flavours Festival
After 250 years of peace, the idle samurais hear again the bells of war in the mid 19th century coming from Edo, as the “negotiations” with the Americans start taking place. Mokunoshin Tsuzuki is another masterless samurai, who earns his living by working in the rice paddies of an isolated farm, while honing his skills by sparring with the family’s son, Ichisuke, who dreams of becoming a samurai, despite the fact the he was born a peasant. At the same time, the beginning of a subtle romance seems to take place between Tsuzuki and Yu, the family’s daughter despite the fact that the...
- 11/16/2018
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Above: Tony Stella’s illustration for an alternative poster for Suspiria for Alphaville.One of my favorite working movie poster illustrators is the Italian-born, Berlin-based artist Tony Stella, a true connoisseur of cinema as well as a prodigious and prolific artist. I profiled Tony in this column a few years ago. Tony recently joined forces with the designer known as Midnight Marauder to start the boutique movie poster design agency Alphaville, and since I recently asked Mm for his ten favorite movie posters it was only fair that I ask Tony too, a task he took up with alacrity.So, without further ado, here are Tony Stella’s ten favorite movie posters of all-time, in ascending order, with his own comments. His choices take us on a tour through some of the best movie poster illustration of the past 50 years.10. Get Carter (1971)“The number ten spot was a toss-up between...
- 11/9/2018
- MUBI
Both a landmark and a source of much controversy, “Hiroshima” is one of those films where the background is as significant as the picture itself. Let us take things from the beginning, by quoting Joseph Anderson and Donald Richie’s “The Japanese Film”. “In 1953, the Japan Teachers Union decided to go in with Kaneto Shindo and make a film version of the bestselling “Children of the Atom Bomb” (Genbaku no Ko) by Arata Osada. Shindo made a faithful film version, using the name of the book, and showed the aftermath of the bomb without any vicious polemic. (…) The Union was not at all satisfied, saying that he had “made [the story] into a tear-jerker and destroyed its political orintation.” They decided to back another version which would this time “genuinely to help to fight to preserve peace.” They found their man in Hideo Sekigawa, who turned out “Hiroshima”. (…) The picture was financially...
- 9/25/2018
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Shinobu Hashimoto, a prominent scriptwriter, director and producer, best known for his work with Akira Kurosawa, died in Tokyo Thursday from pneumonia. He was 100.
During the war years Hashimoto studied scriptwriting under Mansaku Itami, a writer and director who was the father of actor/director Juzo Itami.
A Hashimoto script based on the Ryunosuke Akutagawa short story “In a Grove” caught the attention of Akira Kurosawa, who adapted it for his 1950 film “Rashomon.” After the film won the Golden Lion at the 1951 Venice Film Festival Hashimoto quit his job as a company employee and devoted himself full-time to writing.
He worked on “Ikiru,” “Seven Samurai,” “Throne of Blood,” and other films for Kurosawa, concluding with the 1970 drama “Dodes’ka-den.” Hashimoto also scripted for other directors, including Masaki Kobayashi and Kihachi Okamoto.
In 1958 “I Want to Be a Shellfish,” a post-World War II drama he scripted for the Krt (now TBS) network,...
During the war years Hashimoto studied scriptwriting under Mansaku Itami, a writer and director who was the father of actor/director Juzo Itami.
A Hashimoto script based on the Ryunosuke Akutagawa short story “In a Grove” caught the attention of Akira Kurosawa, who adapted it for his 1950 film “Rashomon.” After the film won the Golden Lion at the 1951 Venice Film Festival Hashimoto quit his job as a company employee and devoted himself full-time to writing.
He worked on “Ikiru,” “Seven Samurai,” “Throne of Blood,” and other films for Kurosawa, concluding with the 1970 drama “Dodes’ka-den.” Hashimoto also scripted for other directors, including Masaki Kobayashi and Kihachi Okamoto.
In 1958 “I Want to Be a Shellfish,” a post-World War II drama he scripted for the Krt (now TBS) network,...
- 7/20/2018
- by Mark Schilling
- Variety Film + TV
We finally got a glimpse of “Shogun World” in the latest episode of “Westworld,” and the idea to mash up the two universes isn’t just a coincidence. There’s a long history of Westerns borrowing from samurai cinema and the other way around, with Akira Kurosawa studying the work of John Ford, which in turn led to many of Kurosawa’s movies to be remade as Spaghetti Westerns. The cowboy and the samurai are each lone wanderers in a lawless world, so it makes sense that the themes would crossover. Here are 10 instances in which the West met the East.
“The Magnificent Seven” (1960) and “Seven Samurai” (1954)
Akira Kurosawa’s landmark film “Seven Samurai” was highly influential on modern action cinema, but its most direct descendant was John Sturges’s “The Magnificent Seven,” starring Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and Eli Wallach. The film is a remake but represents...
“The Magnificent Seven” (1960) and “Seven Samurai” (1954)
Akira Kurosawa’s landmark film “Seven Samurai” was highly influential on modern action cinema, but its most direct descendant was John Sturges’s “The Magnificent Seven,” starring Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and Eli Wallach. The film is a remake but represents...
- 5/22/2018
- by Brian Welk and Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
If you ask me, Hell is the ultimate horror setting. Sure, creepy castles and abandoned outposts are great and all, but a realm of eternal torment just strikes me as a tad more terrifying. And of the major cultural interpretations of Hell out there, none are quite as grisly as the hell of Japanese Buddhism: Jigoku. Sure, there’s a way out of it, but the torments inflicted upon the damned in Jigoku make the ones Dante wrote about seem fit for children’s birthday parties. Jigoku consists of sixteen separate hells (eight “hot” and eight “cold”), with eight great hells that consist of tortures ranging from being charred in massive frying pans to being eternally smashed into paste and revived by massive rocks. It’s a brutal, depressing place where hope is faint and mercy can wait billions of years away. Naturally, it makes for a great topic for a horror movie.
- 12/2/2017
- by Perry Ruhland
- DailyDead
Each month, the fine folks at FilmStruck and the Criterion Collection spend countless hours crafting their channels to highlight the many different types of films that they have in their streaming library. This April will feature an exciting assortment of films, as noted below.
To sign up for a free two-week trial here.
Monday, April 3 The Chaos of Cool: A Tribute to Seijun Suzuki
In February, cinema lost an icon of excess, Seijun Suzuki, the Japanese master who took the art of the B movie to sublime new heights with his deliriously inventive approach to narrative and visual style. This series showcases seven of the New Wave renegade’s works from his career breakthrough in the sixties: Take Aim at the Police Van (1960), an off-kilter whodunit; Youth of the Beast (1963), an explosive yakuza thriller; Gate of Flesh (1964), a pulpy social critique; Story of a Prostitute (1965), a tragic romance; Tokyo Drifter...
To sign up for a free two-week trial here.
Monday, April 3 The Chaos of Cool: A Tribute to Seijun Suzuki
In February, cinema lost an icon of excess, Seijun Suzuki, the Japanese master who took the art of the B movie to sublime new heights with his deliriously inventive approach to narrative and visual style. This series showcases seven of the New Wave renegade’s works from his career breakthrough in the sixties: Take Aim at the Police Van (1960), an off-kilter whodunit; Youth of the Beast (1963), an explosive yakuza thriller; Gate of Flesh (1964), a pulpy social critique; Story of a Prostitute (1965), a tragic romance; Tokyo Drifter...
- 3/29/2017
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
Want a nine-hour dose of the truth of existence so harrowing that it will make you feel grateful no matter how humble your situation? Masaki Kobayshi's epic of the real cost of war boggles the mind with its creeping revelations of cosmic bleakness. Yet all the way through you know you're experiencing a truth far beyond slogans and sentiments. The Human Condition Region B Blu-ray Arrow Academy (UK) 1959-61 / B&W / 2:35 anamorphic widescreen / 574 min. / Ningen no jôken / Street Date September 19, 2016 / Available from Amazon UK £ 39.99 Starring Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Chikage Awashima, Ineko Arima, Keiji Sada, So Yamamura, Kunie Tanaka, Kei Sato, Chishu Ryu, Taketoshi Naito. Cinematography Yoshio Miyajima Art Direction Kazue Hirataka <Film Editor Keiichi Uraoka Original Music Chuji Kinoshita Written by Zenzo Matsuyama, Masaki Kobayashi from the novel by Jumpei Gomikawa Produced by Shigeru Wakatsuki Directed by Masaki Kobayashi
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The first Blu-ray of perhaps...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The first Blu-ray of perhaps...
- 9/27/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
David’s Quick Take for the tl;dr Media Consumer:
Kill! is an entertaining and unusual take on the samurai/swordplay genre that plays for laughs many of the conventional tropes and set-ups common in the classic films from that tradition. I was fascinated observing how many of the fighting techniques, interpersonal conflicts, man vs. world showdowns and dramatic battle scenes that impact viewers with awe-inspiring tension can become a showcase of hilarity with just a slight exaggeration of tone, body language or facial expression (or simply cranking the fans that stir up dust clouds an extra notch or two.) Barking dialog that would come across as solemn and severe in more straightforward, traditional chanbara epics conveys much of the same surface meaning in advancing the story along in Kill! but also ends up generating a nice side helping of mirth in the process. Though at least one review considers...
Kill! is an entertaining and unusual take on the samurai/swordplay genre that plays for laughs many of the conventional tropes and set-ups common in the classic films from that tradition. I was fascinated observing how many of the fighting techniques, interpersonal conflicts, man vs. world showdowns and dramatic battle scenes that impact viewers with awe-inspiring tension can become a showcase of hilarity with just a slight exaggeration of tone, body language or facial expression (or simply cranking the fans that stir up dust clouds an extra notch or two.) Barking dialog that would come across as solemn and severe in more straightforward, traditional chanbara epics conveys much of the same surface meaning in advancing the story along in Kill! but also ends up generating a nice side helping of mirth in the process. Though at least one review considers...
- 6/5/2016
- by David Blakeslee
- CriterionCast
Above: 1964 Czech poster for Darkness in Daytime (Zoltán Fábri, Hungary, 1964).In the world of Czech movie posters there is an abundance of riches. The website (and Prague-based brick and mortar store) Terry Posters, tireless keepers of the flame of Czech poster design, offers a seemingly endless source of graphic delight. Scrolling through its pages, posters will jump out at me not for their title (a large portion of Czech posters having been made for Eastern Bloc films that are still unknown here) or the name of the designer, but simply because of their wholly unusual and striking design.One such recent discovery was this startling collage above, reminiscent of Eyes without a Face: a supremely simple but haunting design that wipes the floor with most contemporary horror movie posters. The necklace-like title treatment is a nice touch too.Checking the name of the designer, Jan Cihla, I realized he...
- 3/19/2016
- by Adrian Curry
- MUBI
Samurai Rebellion (original title: Joi-uchi: Hairyo tsuma shimatsu)
Written by Shinobu Hashimoto
Directed Masaki Kobayashi
Japan, 1967
In 18th century Edo Japan, long-time friends Isaburo Sasahara (Toshiro Mufine) and Tatewaki Asano (Tatsuya Nakadai) of the Aisu clan joyfully anticipate a fast approaching annual festival, but all is not well. Isaburo’s son, Yogoro (Go Kato), needs to be wed soon, yet the perfect bride whose status would respect their family honour has yet to be found. This weighs on Isaburo’s wife, the severe Sugo (Michiko Otsuka), even more so than on Isaburo himself. Familial recognition and pride is at stake, two important factors put to the test when the Aisu clan lord, Masakata Matsudaira (Tatsuo Matsumura), decides that his former mistress, Ichi (Yoko Tsukasa), is to be given to them. Controversy stems from the fact that Ichi was actually dismissed from their lord’s court following a rather unorthodox and unexpected emotional outburst.
Written by Shinobu Hashimoto
Directed Masaki Kobayashi
Japan, 1967
In 18th century Edo Japan, long-time friends Isaburo Sasahara (Toshiro Mufine) and Tatewaki Asano (Tatsuya Nakadai) of the Aisu clan joyfully anticipate a fast approaching annual festival, but all is not well. Isaburo’s son, Yogoro (Go Kato), needs to be wed soon, yet the perfect bride whose status would respect their family honour has yet to be found. This weighs on Isaburo’s wife, the severe Sugo (Michiko Otsuka), even more so than on Isaburo himself. Familial recognition and pride is at stake, two important factors put to the test when the Aisu clan lord, Masakata Matsudaira (Tatsuo Matsumura), decides that his former mistress, Ichi (Yoko Tsukasa), is to be given to them. Controversy stems from the fact that Ichi was actually dismissed from their lord’s court following a rather unorthodox and unexpected emotional outburst.
- 1/15/2016
- by Edgar Chaput
- SoundOnSight
What makes a Ghost Story scary? This classic was almost too artistic for the Japanese. Masaki Kobayashi's four stories of terror work their spells through intensely beautiful images -- weirdly painted skies, strange mists -- and a Toru Takemitsu audio track that incorporates strange sounds as spooky musical punctuation. Viewers never forget the Woman of the Snow, or the faithful Hoichi the Earless. Finally restored to its full three-hour length. Kwaidan Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 90 1964 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 183 161, 125 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date October 20, 2015 / 39.95 Starring Michiyo Aratama, Rentaro Mikuni; Tatsuya Nakadai, Keiko Kishi; Katsuo Nakamura, Tetsurao Tanba, Takashi Shimura; Osamu Takizawa. Cinematography Yoshio Miyajima Film Editor Hisashi Sagara Art Direction Shigemasa Toda Set Decoration Dai Arakawa Costumes Masahiro Kato Original Music Toru Takemitsu Written by Yoko Mizuki from stories collected by Kiozumi Yakumo (Lafcadio Hearn) Produced by Shigeru Wakatsuki Directed by Masaki Kobayashi
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson...
- 10/20/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Takashi Miike‘s The Happiness of the Katakuris begins with a woman probing a freshly delivered bowl of soup only to fish out a miniature angel/gargoyle/teletubby? whose presence seems to instigate the onscreen conversion of the world into claymation before tearing out the poor woman’s uvula and tossing it into the air to float away like a heart-shaped balloon. This is a film that, even in an oeuvre that includes works as disparate as gross out shocker Visitor Q and the kid friendly The Great Yokai War, is pure unpredictable insanity that baffles as much as it entertains. Essentially a horror comedy musical, Miike’s genre mashing farce is loosely based on Kim Jee-woon’s The Quiet Family, in which a family owns a remotely located bed and breakfast whose customers always happen to die during their stay, yet takes that simple premise to its outermost extremes in the silliest of ways.
- 6/30/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Harakiri
Written by Shinobu Hashimoto and Yasuhiko Takiguchi
Directed by Masaki Kobayashi
Japan, 1962
In the early 17th century, the Iyi clan abides by the bushido code to the letter in all its facets, sepukku, the traditional samurai suicide ceremony by which a warrior disembowels himself before being decapitated, being no exception. It is on a bright sunny day that one Tsugumo Hanshirô (Tatsuya Nakadai) arrives at the Iyi estate, currently run by Saitô Kageyu (Rentarô Mikuni), to plead for space in order to perform a honourable act of seppuku. He claims that the regional peace has led to unemployment, and rather live like a dog, suicide as ordained by bushido seems preferable. Knowledgeable of the occurrences of bluff requests made by other ronin samurai that were merely looking for pittance, Saitô is suspicious of Hanshirô’s motives and begins to relate a recent story of another, younger former warrior (Akira Ishihama...
Written by Shinobu Hashimoto and Yasuhiko Takiguchi
Directed by Masaki Kobayashi
Japan, 1962
In the early 17th century, the Iyi clan abides by the bushido code to the letter in all its facets, sepukku, the traditional samurai suicide ceremony by which a warrior disembowels himself before being decapitated, being no exception. It is on a bright sunny day that one Tsugumo Hanshirô (Tatsuya Nakadai) arrives at the Iyi estate, currently run by Saitô Kageyu (Rentarô Mikuni), to plead for space in order to perform a honourable act of seppuku. He claims that the regional peace has led to unemployment, and rather live like a dog, suicide as ordained by bushido seems preferable. Knowledgeable of the occurrences of bluff requests made by other ronin samurai that were merely looking for pittance, Saitô is suspicious of Hanshirô’s motives and begins to relate a recent story of another, younger former warrior (Akira Ishihama...
- 1/31/2015
- by Edgar Chaput
- SoundOnSight
Apparently there’s no accounting for taste; The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 is leading the pack in Blu-Ray pre-sales this week, closely followed by Taken 2 and Skyfall. After a lengthy run, The Dark Knight Rises has fallen to number 12 on the bestselling Blu-Ray sales charts and it will be sorely missed (thankfully I already own the film and you should too).
This week, Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña star as two boys in blue in End of Watch, a classic samurai film gets a reboot, and a little-known Sherlock Holmes film finally arrives on Blu-Ray.
Ready for this week’s picks? Then read on.
End of Watch
Release Date: January 22nd, 2013
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Peña, Anna Kendrick, America Ferrera, Frank Grillo, and Natalie Martinez.
Director: David Ayer
An American thriller drama film written and directed by David Ayer ( who also wrote Training Day and The Fast and the Furious...
This week, Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña star as two boys in blue in End of Watch, a classic samurai film gets a reboot, and a little-known Sherlock Holmes film finally arrives on Blu-Ray.
Ready for this week’s picks? Then read on.
End of Watch
Release Date: January 22nd, 2013
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Peña, Anna Kendrick, America Ferrera, Frank Grillo, and Natalie Martinez.
Director: David Ayer
An American thriller drama film written and directed by David Ayer ( who also wrote Training Day and The Fast and the Furious...
- 1/18/2013
- by C.P. Howells
- We Got This Covered
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Jan. 22, 2013
Price: DVD $26.95, Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Tribeca Film/Cinedigm/New Video
Swords are swinging in Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai.
From prolific Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike (he’s completed seven features in the last three years, including 2010’s 13 Assassins) comes the 2011 martial arts action-drama film Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai, a remake of Masaki Kobayashi’s 1962 classic samurai film, Harakiri.
Hara-Kiri tells the story of Hanshirô (Ebizô Ichikawa), a samurai who arrives at the doorstep of his feudal lord and requests an honorable death by ritual suicide in his courtyard. The lord threatens him with the brutal tale of Motome (Eita), a desperate young ronin (a samurai with no lord or master) who made a similar request with ulterior motives, only to meet a grisly end. Undaunted, Hanshirô begins to tell his own story…
Miike’s movie arrives following its release on video-on-demand and digital platforms in July,...
Price: DVD $26.95, Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Tribeca Film/Cinedigm/New Video
Swords are swinging in Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai.
From prolific Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike (he’s completed seven features in the last three years, including 2010’s 13 Assassins) comes the 2011 martial arts action-drama film Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai, a remake of Masaki Kobayashi’s 1962 classic samurai film, Harakiri.
Hara-Kiri tells the story of Hanshirô (Ebizô Ichikawa), a samurai who arrives at the doorstep of his feudal lord and requests an honorable death by ritual suicide in his courtyard. The lord threatens him with the brutal tale of Motome (Eita), a desperate young ronin (a samurai with no lord or master) who made a similar request with ulterior motives, only to meet a grisly end. Undaunted, Hanshirô begins to tell his own story…
Miike’s movie arrives following its release on video-on-demand and digital platforms in July,...
- 1/15/2013
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
To Remake Or Not To Remake, That Is The Question
“Ichimei” or “Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai” is Takashi Miike‘s 2012 remake of the extraordinary 1962 classic “Seppuku” ( or “Harakiri“ ), that one directed by Masaki Kobayashi. If you feel like this might be a little too ambitious of a project for someone like Miike, fear not. His last project was “13 Assassins” ( which was reviewed right here on Amp ), a similar type of film with parallel themes and a striking resemblance in terms of visuals.
The story goes as follows: A ronin requests an audience with the regent of a powerful samurai clan. Once he is permitted to enter the grounds, the wandering warrior makes a startling demand: he requests the use of the clan’s courtyard in order to perform hara-kiri ( suicide by disembowelment ). Now, this is where the story gets even stranger…
As the conversation continues, the regent reveals an...
“Ichimei” or “Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai” is Takashi Miike‘s 2012 remake of the extraordinary 1962 classic “Seppuku” ( or “Harakiri“ ), that one directed by Masaki Kobayashi. If you feel like this might be a little too ambitious of a project for someone like Miike, fear not. His last project was “13 Assassins” ( which was reviewed right here on Amp ), a similar type of film with parallel themes and a striking resemblance in terms of visuals.
The story goes as follows: A ronin requests an audience with the regent of a powerful samurai clan. Once he is permitted to enter the grounds, the wandering warrior makes a startling demand: he requests the use of the clan’s courtyard in order to perform hara-kiri ( suicide by disembowelment ). Now, this is where the story gets even stranger…
As the conversation continues, the regent reveals an...
- 1/4/2013
- by The0racle
- AsianMoviePulse
If Tarantino’s films of the 1990s announced the writer-director’s as a phenom for writing formidably snappy dialogue that enhanced characterization, his films of the 00s, while continuing to demonstrate the aforementioned writing prowess, suggest that he is equally adept at staging and filming wonderful action scenes, be they brawls, gun fights or contests of martial arts skills. Death Proof and Django Unchained have their share of impressive set pieces representing unique visions of what, in the case of the former, a cinematic car chase can be like, and, in the case of the latter, what a cinematic gun fight shoot out can be like. In essence, pretty darn sweet.
In both cases, even though Tarantino and his crack team definitely put their own spin on such action set pieces, the ingenuity that went into both was inspired by movies which made names for themselves in the annals of film history.
In both cases, even though Tarantino and his crack team definitely put their own spin on such action set pieces, the ingenuity that went into both was inspired by movies which made names for themselves in the annals of film history.
- 12/22/2012
- by Edgar Chaput
- SoundOnSight
A remake of Masaki Kobayashi's Harakiri (1962), Takashi Miike's new film Hara-kiri: Death of a Samurai retains much of the original's plot, imagery, and production design; even the sets and props appear to be near-replicas of ones in the 1962 film. And yet Miike's movie is completely its own thing, nothing like Kobayashi's—owing in part to the directors' radically different attitudes toward the subject matter, and to the two films' diametrically-opposed conceptions of space and movement. A big pontificator with an arty style, Kobayashi favored complex sequence shots, dolly-ins from behind, smash zooms, and extremely wide angle lenses that warp the space around the edges of the frame, making it appear as though rooms and bodies are constantly expanding and contracting; his Harakiri is an angry, slow-burn anti-chanbara flick—dramatically heightened, spatially wonky, accusatory.
Miike is no stranger to attacking culturally-ingrained hypocrisy (for just one obvious example, see Izo...
Miike is no stranger to attacking culturally-ingrained hypocrisy (for just one obvious example, see Izo...
- 7/20/2012
- MUBI
With Takashi Miike’s remake Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai next week I thought it was as good an excuse as any to look back at the many gorgeous posters for Masaki Kobayashi’s 1962 original. One of the most startlingly beautiful of all Samurai movies, Harakiri is an exercise in stylistic bravado, a masterpiece of widescreen high contrast black and white. I recently stumbled across this unusually stark vertical Polish poster—like one of Kobayashi’s frames upended—by Marek Freudenreich (he of the amazing crossword skull Stage Fright) on a Polish culture site which was reviewing a 2008 show of his work. This little-seen design set me off on a search for other posters for Kobayashi’s masterpiece, the fruits of which you can see below.
Above: The enormous Italian style B 4-foglio (55" x 78") by Alverado Ciriello.
Above: The Italian style A 4-foglio (55" x 78") , also by Ciriello.
Above: The French grande (47" x 63") signed by “Ainelare.
Above: The enormous Italian style B 4-foglio (55" x 78") by Alverado Ciriello.
Above: The Italian style A 4-foglio (55" x 78") , also by Ciriello.
Above: The French grande (47" x 63") signed by “Ainelare.
- 7/13/2012
- MUBI
I love a good martial arts film, and here's the trailer to a solid looking new samurai drama called Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai. It comes from Japanese director Takashi Miike who recently directed the film 13 Assassins, which was pretty damn good. This latest film is a remake of Masaki Kobayashi’s 1962 film called Harakiri. Unfortunatley, as good as it looks, Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai is not getting very good reviews on the festival circuit. I like these kinds of movies though, so I think I might end up enjoying it. I guess we'll see!
Here's the Synopsis:
A mysterious samurai 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...
Here's the Synopsis:
A mysterious samurai 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...
- 6/26/2012
- by Venkman
- GeekTyrant
From Audition to Ichi The Killer and 13 Assasins, prolific Japanese director Takashi Miike has regularly awed audiences around the world with his harrowing tale of violence and revenge. Now, more than a year after Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, the heralded drama is at long last gearing up for its Stateside release with a sleek and stylish trailer, which you can check out below. A respectful remake of Masaki Kobayashi film Harakiri, Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai follows the quest of a mysterious samurai, who travels to the doorstep of a feudal lord and requests to commit ritual suicide in the man's courtyard. Suspicious of the stoic warrior, the lord unfurls the tragic story of an ill-fated ronin named Motome, who came to this place before with a similar request, but also with an ulterior motive. Unexpectedly, the story the lord...
- 6/22/2012
- cinemablend.com
Chicago – Hideo Gosha’s spectacularly entertaining 1964 feature directorial debut, “Three Outlaw Samurai,” is a samurai film for moviegoers who aren’t necessarily fans of the samurai genre. At a running time of 93 minutes, the picture is briskly paced and packed with suspenseful set-pieces, while centering its narrative on a partnership between three men who could easily be dubbed, “Good,” “Bad” and “Ugly.”
Though the film essentially functions as a prequel to Gosha’s Japanese television show of the same name, moviegoers won’t need any familiarity with the material to get immediately caught up in the action. Tadashi Sakai’s in-your-face cinematography often slants to a diagonal angle while closing in on the agonized faces of foes as they fight to the death. When the sword meets flesh, Gosha doesn’t spare the audience of the blood that follows.
Blu-ray Rating: 4.0/5.0
Tetsurô Tamba, a veteran actor memorably featured in Masaki Kobayashi’s classic,...
Though the film essentially functions as a prequel to Gosha’s Japanese television show of the same name, moviegoers won’t need any familiarity with the material to get immediately caught up in the action. Tadashi Sakai’s in-your-face cinematography often slants to a diagonal angle while closing in on the agonized faces of foes as they fight to the death. When the sword meets flesh, Gosha doesn’t spare the audience of the blood that follows.
Blu-ray Rating: 4.0/5.0
Tetsurô Tamba, a veteran actor memorably featured in Masaki Kobayashi’s classic,...
- 2/28/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
DVD Playhouse—November 2011
By Allen Gardner
Tree Of Life (20th Century Fox) Terrence Malick’s latest effort is both the best film of 2011 and the finest work of his (arguably) mixed, but often masterly canon. A series of vignettes, mostly set in 1950s Texas, capture the memory of a man (Sean Penn) in present-day New York who looks back on his life, and his parents’ (Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain) troubled marriage, when word of his younger brother’s suicide reaches him. Almost indescribable beyond that, except to say no other film in history so perfectly evokes the magic and mystery of the human memory, which both crystalizes (and sometimes idealizes) the past. Like Stanley Kubrick’s 2001, this is a challenging, polarizing work that you must let wash over you. If you go along for the ride, you’re in for a unique, rewarding cinematic experience. Also available on Blu-ray disc.
By Allen Gardner
Tree Of Life (20th Century Fox) Terrence Malick’s latest effort is both the best film of 2011 and the finest work of his (arguably) mixed, but often masterly canon. A series of vignettes, mostly set in 1950s Texas, capture the memory of a man (Sean Penn) in present-day New York who looks back on his life, and his parents’ (Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain) troubled marriage, when word of his younger brother’s suicide reaches him. Almost indescribable beyond that, except to say no other film in history so perfectly evokes the magic and mystery of the human memory, which both crystalizes (and sometimes idealizes) the past. Like Stanley Kubrick’s 2001, this is a challenging, polarizing work that you must let wash over you. If you go along for the ride, you’re in for a unique, rewarding cinematic experience. Also available on Blu-ray disc.
- 11/25/2011
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Samurai films exist within their own nexus of film history, all at once a tribute to the feudal Japanese eras and commentaries on modern times through a metaphoric lens. Akira Kurosawa’s name has all but become synonymous with the genre and his films are often held aloft as prime examples of classic Japanese filmmaking. Equally deserving of that praise is Masaki Kobayashi whom, with his Harakiri (or Seppuku), deconstructed the Samurai genre and built it in a new image: the anti-Samurai film, a stinging look at the hypocrisies inherent in a value-driven system taken to extremes. Harakiri has an elegant simplicity to its structure and yet the brilliance with which the plot unfolds and the performance of Tatsuya Nakadai as the sullen warrior with ulterior motives reciting a tale of woe makes it a riveting classic. It’s a beautifully crafted film in nearly every sense and The Criterion...
- 10/31/2011
- by Lex Walker
- JustPressPlay.net
★★☆☆☆ Takashi Miike's Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (Ichimei, 2011) - starring Kôji Yakusho, Naoto Takenaka and Hikari Mitsushima - can best be described as troublesome; a remake (based on Masaki Kobayashi Harakiri [1962]) that is full of potential, yet ultimately fails to deliver. The plot is your usual fair of revenge and honour that focuses on a struggling samurai who discovers that his son-in-law has committed ritual suicide, leading to him acting out his revenge upon the feudal lord who allowed his death.
The act of seppuku (harakiri) is one that has fascinated Western minds due to its extreme dedication to the concept of retaining honour to the point of death. The problem with Miike's Hara-Kiri is that rather than tackling the concept in a interesting way, Miike puts his audience through an initial, overly-grotesque scene of suicide involving a bamboo sword, that lasts approximately ten minutes. The violence goes beyond...
The act of seppuku (harakiri) is one that has fascinated Western minds due to its extreme dedication to the concept of retaining honour to the point of death. The problem with Miike's Hara-Kiri is that rather than tackling the concept in a interesting way, Miike puts his audience through an initial, overly-grotesque scene of suicide involving a bamboo sword, that lasts approximately ten minutes. The violence goes beyond...
- 10/22/2011
- by Daniel Green
- CineVue
Chicago – I’m always amazed when smart people tell me they don’t see foreign films. The fact is that our foreign film market is worse than it’s ever been with fewer and fewer works from other countries actually making an impact in this one. I see dozens of foreign films a year and I’m still just chipping at the iceberg of the international film scene. One of the countries with the most vibrant filmmaking histories is Japan and for proof that they’ve been making intriguing dramas for decades now look no further than the Criterion edition of “Harakiri,” a striking drama that won the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and has recently been released on Blu-ray for the first time.
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0
Without the Criterion Collection, I wonder if “Harakiri” would even be on DVD, much less Blu-ray. Some of their titles — “Carlos,...
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0
Without the Criterion Collection, I wonder if “Harakiri” would even be on DVD, much less Blu-ray. Some of their titles — “Carlos,...
- 10/19/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Harakiri Directed by: Masaki Kobayashi Written by: Shinobu Hashimoto Starring: Tatsuya Nakadai, Rentaro Mikuni, Akira Ishihama, Shima Iwashita Masaki Kobayashi's Harakiri is a sort of anti-samurai film that explores honour and moral decency within the strict adherence to a centuries old code. Kobayahsi's criticisms hurled towards this authoritative body is just as relevant now as it was in Edo period Japan. The result is a film that plays with the audience as it peels back the layers, strategically revealing plot revelations that tantalize the audience, creating a truly engrossing cinematic experience. Hanshiro Tsugumo, a Ronin Samurai, enters the estate of the Lyi Clan in search of a courtyard to perform Harakiri; an act of ritual suicide through disembowelment. Within the Bushido code, it's used both as punishment or voluntarily by a samurai looking to die with honour. In this case, Hanshiro is out of work due to the current...
- 10/18/2011
- by Jay C.
- FilmJunk
My experience with Japanese director Kaneto Shindo was zero before pushing play on Criterion's new Blu-ray presentation of the helmer's 1968 supernatural horror Kuroneko. I was familiar with Shindo only in that I'd heard of his '64 feature, Onibaba, and after reading the synopsis for that film it would seem Kuroneko is something of an even darker version of the helmer's film from four years earlier. Set in war-torn medieval Japan, Kuroneko centers on a mother and her daughter-in-law who are raped and murdered by itinerant samurais. Upon their death they make a deal with the devil to remain on Earth as spirits, luring samurai into their clutches and killing them to make up for the lives they've stolen. The story takes an interesting turn when the son returns home after being forced to join the war. Now a samurai in his own right, he comes back only to find his...
- 10/18/2011
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Anyone who has already seen Masaki Kobayashi’s 1962 film Harakiri, of which this film is very much a remake, will very quickly realise when watching Miike’s 2011 update that little in the story has been changed but whilst the mechanics of the story are unchanged Miike makes significant changes in the way this story is told.
Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai begins with Kageyu (Koji Yakusho), the head of the House of Li, telling Hanshiro (Ebizo Ichikawa) the tale of Motome (Eita), a samurai who arrived at the gates of the House of Li asking for the use of their courtyard to commit ritual suicide (Harakiri, or actually more accurately Seppuku).
Hanshiro is requesting this very same thing and it is clear that Kageyu is attempting to offer Hanshiro a warning. Motome had no intention of actually going through with the suicide and was actually attempting a ‘suicide bluff’, a...
Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai begins with Kageyu (Koji Yakusho), the head of the House of Li, telling Hanshiro (Ebizo Ichikawa) the tale of Motome (Eita), a samurai who arrived at the gates of the House of Li asking for the use of their courtyard to commit ritual suicide (Harakiri, or actually more accurately Seppuku).
Hanshiro is requesting this very same thing and it is clear that Kageyu is attempting to offer Hanshiro a warning. Motome had no intention of actually going through with the suicide and was actually attempting a ‘suicide bluff’, a...
- 10/18/2011
- by Craig Skinner
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Criterion Collection: Harakiri [Blu-ray] Movie: Disc: Click here to read the dvd review! "Winner of the Special Jury Prize at Cannes in 1963, Masaki Kobayashi’s Harakiri is an elegantly told, parabolic tale of hypocrisy, class struggle and revenge. In fact, the film will likely remind today’s viewers of the work of Quentin Tarantino, as Harakiri is filled with nail biting tension, sudden, shocking violence and a richly layered narrative that slowly, at times painfully, peels down to its bare, heartbreaking substrate."...
- 10/11/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
Takashi Miike might get away with remaking a little seen samurai flick like The Thirteen Assassins (1963), but Masaki Kobayashi's Harakiri is another story. The 1962 original, a masterpiece in pacing and storytelling, is a well distributed, widely seen and much loved classic. Among the probably audience for Miike's remake, comparisons will be inevitable and will be an unfortunate red herring to the surprisingly conventional film Miike has made. More than any other film in his career, Harakiri is a study in restraint that exudes a certain respect for the original. Unfortunately, minor added affectations don't serve the film well and the remake can't hold a candle to Kobayashi's perfection. Titled Ichimei ("One Life") in Japanese and Harakiri: Death of a Samurai, the film...
- 10/5/2011
- Screen Anarchy
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