--- title: "Harakiri" year: 1962 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/harakiri" fi1m_id: "harakiri" imdb_id: "tt0056058" tmdb_id: 14537 wikidata_id: "Q1584406" fi1m_score: 91 critics_score: 86 critics_reviews: 7 published: "2026-09-15" updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:33.072906+00:00" region: "AU" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Harakiri (1962) Directed by Masaki Kobayashi · 2h 15m · Action, Drama, History ## Identity Harakiri - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/harakiri - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** harakiri - **IMDb ID:** tt0056058 - **TMDB ID:** 14537 - **Wikidata ID:** Q1584406 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056058/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/14537, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1584406 **Fi1m score: 91** · Critics 86 from 7 reviews *In a sentence:* The samurai have rules for everything except treating people decently > Masaki Kobayashi’s *Harakiri* is a harrowing samurai drama, with Tatsuya Nakadai holding our attention through its patient, sometimes demanding storytelling. Its anger at cruelty dressed up as honour is precise, persuasive and difficult to shake. ## Synopsis Hanshiro Tsugumo (Tatsuya Nakadai) is a ronin caught in a confrontation over samurai honour. His story unfolds through formal encounters and flashbacks, bringing the demands of the code up against the suffering it permits. Akira Ishihama plays Motome Chijiiwa, with Shima Iwashita as Miho Tsugumo and Tetsuro Tamba as Hikokuro Omodaka. As the past comes into view, questions of duty, obedience and personal responsibility shape the conflict. Masaki Kobayashi directs a samurai drama about the people expected to live by these rules and those with the authority to enforce them. ## Review Masaki Kobayashi’s *Harakiri* is a samurai drama we would recommend even to someone with little interest in samurai films. It asks what happens when obedience matters more than the person required to obey, and it follows that question with a severity that feels earned. The storytelling takes its time, occasionally more than it needs, but the anger behind it keeps us attentive. Shinobu Hashimoto’s screenplay makes the code of honour something its defenders must answer for. Tatsuya Nakadai plays Hanshiro Tsugumo, the ronin at the centre of the confrontation. His performance gives the measured exchanges enough pressure that we keep attending to them even when the story seems reluctant to move. His restraint makes us study him, searching for the feeling underneath the controlled manner. Kobayashi allows that performance to hold our attention through the ritual formality, trusting Nakadai with passages that could otherwise become forbidding. Yoshio Miyajima’s widescreen cinematography gives that formality a visible shape. The width of the frame makes the arrangement of people impossible to ignore. We are encouraged to notice where they are placed in relation to one another and who seems entitled to command the space. The staging makes the code’s defenders look convincing in their own eyes, which matters: simple villains would be easier to dismiss. Kobayashi gives their confidence time to become disturbing. Hisashi Sagara’s editing puts that ceremonial order alongside flashbacks of suffering, with Akira Ishihama’s Motome Chijiiwa giving the cruelty a particular human cost. We were horrified by those passages, because the pain comes with rules and people prepared to observe them. The film makes us sit with the consequences of the obedience its characters are so ready to defend. Tōru Takemitsu’s music adds to the unease without making that suffering feel grand. Kobayashi’s severity leaves little room for relief. The cost of this patience is real. Some stretches move slowly enough that we become conscious of waiting for the next piece of information, and the route through the story is not always immediately clear. Hashimoto’s screenplay asks for concentration before all the reasons for that concentration are apparent. A little less insistence in the measured exchanges would make the film easier to enter, although rushing through the flashbacks would damage the force they gather. Kobayashi’s approach to the samurai film makes the code itself a source of dread. The anger is easy to recognise whenever a cruel decision is defended as proper procedure. At 135 minutes, *Harakiri* requires a willingness to sit with formal exchanges and painful recollections, and we would give it that time. The performances reward close attention, even when the telling becomes demanding. Give it an evening without distractions, and do not choose it for comfort. *Fi1m score 91, published 15 September 2026.* ## What the critics say The reviews are unanimous in their approval, and the praise settles on the same two things. Nearly every critic reads the film as an attack on the samurai code, exposing the cruelty and hypocrisy beneath its rituals, and most find that argument as sharp now as it was on release. Tatsuya Nakadai’s performance as the ronin Hanshiro Tsugumo is singled out again and again, and several critics point to Kobayashi’s control of the widescreen frame and to the way the flashbacks are laid against the present-day ritual so that the tension keeps tightening. Takemitsu’s score gets a mention as well. The spread is narrow. The one real reservation comes from The New York Times, whose critic admires the visual style and the irony of the revenge but finds the storytelling slow and at times obscure. Variety, otherwise admiring, warns that it is not for the squeamish. Nobody disputes what the film is doing; the only question raised is pace. ## Straight answers **Is Harakiri worth watching?** *Harakiri* is worth watching for anyone prepared to give a slow, formal samurai drama an evening of full attention, and we scored it 91. Tatsuya Nakadai holds the long, measured exchanges together, and the flashbacks of suffering horrified us. Some stretches move more slowly than they need to, so do not choose it for comfort or for a distracted night. **How long is Harakiri, and what is it rated?** *Harakiri* runs 2h 15m. It is an action and drama film. **Where can I watch Harakiri in Australia?** *Harakiri* is not on any streaming or rental service in Australia at the moment. It is available in 9 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How does Harakiri compare to Paths of Glory?** *Harakiri* and [*Paths of Glory*](https://film.one/film/paths-of-glory) are both furious films about obedience, in which cruelty is defended as proper procedure. Kobayashi’s film is the slower and more formal of the two, asking for patience before its anger becomes clear, while Kubrick’s is more direct and occasionally presses its speeches too hard. We recommend both, and *Paths of Glory* is the easier to enter. **Is Harakiri based on a true story or a book?** *Harakiri* is based on a novel by Yasuhiko Takiguchi, not on a true story. Shinobu Hashimoto’s screenplay makes the samurai code of honour something its defenders must answer for, and the film stands entirely on its own. You do not need to know the book, or anything about samurai films, to follow it. **What should I watch after Harakiri?** After *Harakiri*, try [*Paths of Glory*](https://film.one/film/paths-of-glory) (1957, Fi1m 93): Military ceremony and official cowardice meet in another furious examination of obedience. Then [*The Ascent*](https://film.one/film/the-ascent) (1977, Fi1m 88): A wartime ordeal that tests conscience without making suffering comfortable to watch; and [*A Separation*](https://film.one/film/a-separation) (2011, Fi1m 93): Competing duties and carefully withheld information turn a family dispute painfully consequential. ### Reviews we read (7) - **RogerEbert.com** (90/100, inferred): The critic calls Kobayashi’s film the greatest anti-samurai movie ever made, praising its exposure of the hypocrisy and emptiness behind the samurai code and its enduring relevance as an anti-establishment work. They single out the powerful, symbolic imagery—especially the opening and closing shots of an empty suit of armor—and Tatsuya Nakadai’s commanding performance as the ronin Hanshiro Tsugumo. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/far-flung-correspondents/why-harakiri-is-the-greatest-anti-samurai-film-ever-made) - **Sight and Sound**, Michael Brooke (90/100, inferred): The critic calls Harakiri one of the greatest Japanese films for its fierce critique of the hypocritical samurai code of honour. Kobayashi's masterful control of widescreen compositions and tension is singled out, with the ritual staging contrasted against harrowing flashbacks. [Read](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/6504) - **The New Yorker**, Michael Sragow (90/100, inferred): The film exposes the cruelty and hypocrisy of the samurai code through a hypnotic story of a ronin seeking vengeance; Nakadai’s performance and Takemitsu’s music are highlights. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/harakiri) - **Variety**, Variety Staff (90/100, inferred): A stunning somber tragedy raging against militarism and rigid systems; Kobayashi directs with assurance in a technically audacious film with strong acting, though not for the squeamish. [Read](https://variety.com/1961/film/reviews/seppuku-1200420111/) - **Slant Magazine**, Budd Wilkins (85/100, inferred): The critic describes Kobayashi’s film as a riveting and ruthless critique of the corrupt samurai honor code from its inception, praising its intricate structure with present-past flashbacks that build tension like time bombs and its powerful social commentary. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/harakiri/) - **The New York Times** (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a somber, measured samurai tale with ironic revenge and striking visual style, though the narrative can be slow and obscure. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1964/08/05/archives/screen-samurai-with-different-twistkobayashis-harakiri-arrives-at.html) - **Collider**, Andre Dellamorte (90/100, inferred): The critic praises Kobayashi’s film as a gripping, master-class samurai epic that builds tension through flashbacks and delivers a powerful climax. It stands out for its riveting storytelling and intense action, far surpassing many contemporaries in the genre. [Read](https://collider.com/carlos-harakiri-kuroneko-criterion-blu-ray-revieww/) ## Details - **Director:** Masaki Kobayashi - **Director:** Masaki Kobayashi - **Screenplay:** Shinobu Hashimoto - **Novel:** Yasuhiko Takiguchi - **Cinematography:** Yoshio Miyajima - **Editor:** Hisashi Sagara - **Music:** Tōru Takemitsu - **Costume design:** Mitsuzô Ueda - **Producer:** Tatsuyo Hosoya - **Cast:** Tatsuya Nakadai as Hanshiro Tsugumo; Akira Ishihama as Motome Chijiiwa; Shima Iwashita as Miho Tsugumo; Tetsuro Tamba as Hikokuro Omodaka; Masao Mishima as Tango Inaba; Ichirō Nakatani as Hayato Yazaki; Kei Satō as Masakazu; Yoshio Inaba as Jinai Chijiiwa - **Runtime:** 2h 15m - **First release (Japan):** 15 September 1962 - **Genres:** Action, Drama, History - **Box office:** $15,000 ## Where to watch in Australia Not streaming, renting or buying in Australia at the last check. Also available in: CA, DK, ES, FI, FR, JP, NO, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Samurai Rebellion* (1967): Another household finds samurai obedience intolerable once the rules become personal - *Paths of Glory* (1957), Fi1m 93: Military ceremony and official cowardice meet in another furious examination of obedience — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/paths-of-glory.md) - *The Ascent* (1977), Fi1m 88: A wartime ordeal that tests conscience without making suffering comfortable to watch — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-ascent.md) - *A Separation* (2011), Fi1m 93: Competing duties and carefully withheld information turn a family dispute painfully consequential — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/a-separation.md) - *The White Ribbon* (2009), Fi1m 86: Rigid authority shapes everyday cruelty in a community certain of its own virtue — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-white-ribbon.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. 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