IMDb > Seppuku (1962)
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Overview

User Rating:
8.1/10   5,200 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
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Director:
Writers:
Contact:
View company contact information for Harakiri on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
4 August 1964 (USA) more
Genre:
Plot:
Peace in 17th-century Japan causes the Shogunate's breakup of warrior clans, throwing thousands of samurai out of work and into poverty... more | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
8 wins & 1 nomination more
User Comments:
Great movie more (64 total)

Cast

  (Credited cast)
Tatsuya Nakadai ... Hanshiro Tsugumo
Rentarô Mikuni ... Kageyu Saito
Shima Iwashita ... Miho Tsugumo
Akira Ishihama ... Motome Chijiiwa
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Shichisaburo Amatsu ... Retainer
Yoshio Aoki ... Umenosuke Kawabe
Jo Azumi ... Ichiro Shimmen
Hisashi Igawa ... Retainer
Yoshio Inaba ... Jinai Chijiiwa
Akiji Kobayashi (as Shôji Kobayashi)
Masao Mishima ... Tango Inaba
Ichirô Nakatani ... Hayato Yazaki
Kei Satô ... Masakazu
Ryo Takeuchi ... Retainer
Tetsurô Tanba ... Hikokuro Omodaka
more
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Harakiri (USA)
more
Runtime:
133 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Company:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Stage-trained actor Tatsuya Nakadai and older film actor Rentarô Mikuni could not agree on an acceptable speaking voice while sharing the film stage. Nakadai spoke loudly and Mikuni spoke softly each citing their related acting experiences for their choice. They strongly disagreed with each other. The director, Masaki Kobayashi, halted filming and stated that he would not resume until both the actors came to an agreement. They did; stopping the shooting for three days! more
Quotes:
Hanshiro Tsugumo: After all, this thing we call samurai honor is ultimately nothing but a facade. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Jeanie's Magic Box (1972) more

FAQ

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19 out of 20 people found the following comment useful.
Great movie, 28 October 2004
Author: gubami

When I first saw this movie, I did not know much about it. I saw it for a class so I was given a little background of the time period. In fact I was pretty much just told this:

This movie takes place during the time where many Samurai were left ronins, or masterless. These samurai were unable to find work and thereby were left in poverty. Eventually many would go up to clans and ask to commit seppuku.

It was dishonorable to refuse such a "noble" request, but most clans did not want samurai to kill themselves on their property so they would just pay the samurai to go elsewhere.

So I watched the movie and well... I loved it. During the class discussion the next day I found most people hated the movie. Not because it was a bad movie, but because of how it made people feel about themselves. And that's exactly why this movie is genius. If you're interested in watching this movie, do not read the summary in detail - reading the summary in detail will deprive you of what one of the key things that made the movie great IMO.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Seppuku (1962)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Top 250? Bellator86
Know any similar Samurai movies? nathang-1
The Prince oldmotem
this is the worsrst movie ever!!!!! sievetronix
Wonderful movie! 10/10 jonasjobbar
Going up in top 250 jussi94
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