Ichimei (2011)

An tale of revenge, honor and disgrace, centering on a poverty-stricken samurai who discovers the fate of his ronin son-in-law, setting in motion a tense showdown of vengeance against the house of a feudal lord.

Director:

Takashi Miike

Writers:

Kikumi Yamagishi (screenplay), Yasuhiko Takiguchi (novel)

Stars:

Kôji Yakusho, Munetaka Aoki, Naoto Takenaka

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Kôji Yakusho	...	Kageyu
Munetaka Aoki	...	Hikokuro Omodaka
Naoto Takenaka	...	Tajiri
Hikari Mitsushima	...	Miho
Eita	...	Motome Chijiiwa
Ebizô Ichikawa	...	Hanshirô Tsugumo
Hirofumi Arai	...	Hayatonosho Matsuzaki
Kazuki Namioka	...	Umanosuke Kawabe
Takashi Sasano	...	Sousuke
Ayumu Saitô
Goro Daimon	...	Priest
Takehiro Hira	...	Naotaka Ii
Baijaku Nakamura	...	Jinnai Chijiiwa
Yoshihisa Amano	...	Sasaki
Ippei Takahashi

Storyline

An tale of revenge, honor and disgrace, centering on a poverty-stricken samurai who discovers the fate of his ronin son-in-law, setting in motion a tense showdown of vengeance against the house of a feudal lord.

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Plot Keywords:

revenge | samurai | 3 d | one word title | jidai geki | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [jp]

Country:

Japan UK

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

20 July 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$10,920 (USA) (20 July 2012)

Gross:

$60,201 (USA) (31 August 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Recorded Picture Company (RPC), Sedic International, Amuse Soft Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (3D Stereoscopic) Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first 3D title ever to be shown in official selection at the Cannes Film Festival.

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Goofs

As the wooden wakizashi is pushed into the stomach (after the tip snapped off), you can see that the blade is sliding into the handle.

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Connections

Version of Harakiri (1962)

User Reviews

How The Mighty Have Fallen

Where does mercy fit in with the esprit de corps of a warrior class? Can there be honor without it? These are interesting questions raised in director Takashi Miike's poignant remake of the 1962 classic "Harakiri". This film may not satisfy the audience for slashing, body-count samurai movies because the emphasis is on mood and character but there are a number of things to recommend this film. "Hara-Kiri:Death of a Samurai" is beautifully photographed by Nobuyasu Kita and has laudable performances. Ebizo Ichikawa is Hanshiro a samurai with a young daughter of marriageable age. Hanshiro has adjusted to living in a time of peace. He isn't a wealthy man but seems happy and content making a living doing the odd job here and there. Ichikawa is wonderful in this role giving great weight and humanity to the character. He is a memorable samurai. Eita is Motome a young samurai who hasn't adjusted as well. He has been unable to find employment and so enters the house of a great lord asking for permission to commit harakiri in the courtyard and thus achieve an honorable death. Hikari Mitsushima is very affecting as Hanshiro's daughter, Miho. When I approached the theater showing this film I noticed someone walking away with teary eyes. I can't recall the last time that happened but after seeing "Hara-Kiri:Death of a Samurai" I understood why someone would be so moved.