Based on the same Lafcadio Hearn “Yuki Onna” story told in Masaki Kobayashi’s classic film “Kwaidan”, but otherwise unrelated (despite Tom Weisser’s typically misinformed and erroneous write-up in multiple editions of his books – different studio, different director, different actors, different soundtrack, different year of release), Kaidan Yuki Jorou features one of the most beautiful and unforgettable female monsters in all of Japanese cinema.Read More »
A very early example, perhaps the first ever, of Japanese “pink” cinema from infamous director Tetsuji Takechi. A woman visits the dentist and ends up descending into a world of surreal S&M fantasies…Read More »
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Following the collapse of his clan, an unemployed samurai (Tatsuya Nakadai) arrives at the manor of Lord Iyi, begging to be allowed to commit ritual suicide on the property. Iyi’s clansmen, believing the desperate ronin is merely angling for a new position, try to force his hand and get him to eviscerate himself—but they have underestimated his beliefs and his personal brand of honor. Winner of the Cannes Film Festival’s Special Jury Prize, Harakiri, directed by Masaki Kobayashi is a fierce evocation of individual agency in the face of a corrupt and hypocritical system.Read More »
New, restored high-definition digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
Following the collapse of his clan, an unemployed samurai (Tatsuya Nakadai) arrives at the manor of Lord Iyi, begging to be allowed to commit ritual suicide on the property. Iyi’s clansmen, believing the desperate ronin is merely angling for a new position, try to force his hand and get him to eviscerate himself—but they have underestimated his beliefs and his personal brand of honor. Winner of the Cannes Film Festival’s Special Jury Prize, Harakiri, directed by Masaki Kobayashi is a fierce evocation of individual agency in the face of a corrupt and hypocritical system.Read More »