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IMDb > Seppuku (1962)
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Overview

User Rating:
8.1/10   4,812 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 1% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Masaki Kobayashi
Writers:
Shinobu Hashimoto (writer)
Yasuhiko Takiguchi (story)
Contact:
View company contact information for Harakiri on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
4 August 1964 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama more
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:
more
Awards:
8 wins & 1 nomination more
User Comments:
200 Proof more

Cast

  (Credited cast)
Tatsuya Nakadai ... Hanshiro Tsugumo
Rentaro 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 Nakaya ... Hayato Yazaki
Kei Sato ... Masakazu
Ryo Takeuchi ... Retainer
Tetsuro Tamba ... Hikokuro Omodaka
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Additional Details

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

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Seppuku and harakiri (the US working title) both mean to commit ritual suicide in Japanese. However, seppuku is the formal term, derived from the kanji characters for "hara" (belly) and "kiri" (cut); harakiri is the cruder, less polite term for this act. more
Quotes:
Hanshiro Tsugumo: After all, this thing we call samurai honor is ultimately nothing but a facade. more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
42 out of 51 people found the following comment useful:-
200 Proof, 8 November 2001
10/10
Author: Duree from New York

This film is the purest distillation of the spirit of Greek tragedy ever put on celluloid. Yes, this is a review of Seppuku, a Japanese film released in 1962. Perhaps it took a non-Westerner, free of all of the cultural baggage and ridiculous associations, to see straight into the heart of the tragic mode and make it palpable and alive in the twentieth century. That is not all: the black and white cinematography is both formally assured and often outrageously daring; the soundtrack is one of the finest efforts of the greatest Japanese composer of the 20th century (or any century for that matter); the acting is demonically inspired; and the narrative is relentlessly gripping and involving. The film illuminates the relationship between the individual and society and between society and history. It is a tender meditation on familial love and the ties of friendship that transcend even death. This film will cut open your bowels, pull your soul out, and force you to stare it in the face. There may be other films that attain similar heights, but I cannot imagine any film, ever, being more perfect. Forget Citizen Kane, Seven Samurai, the Godfather, etc. etc. all of those commodified canonical works that everybody raves about because everybody else is raving about them. Don't get me wrong, they're fine--but this stuff is 200 proof. See it today. Buy it yesterday.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Seppuku (1962)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Know any similar Samurai movies? nathang-1
Top 250? Bellator86
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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Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
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