An Extraordinary Wish in ‘Hari-Kiri: Death of a Samurai’

A samurai (Ebizo Ichikawa) goes to his feudal lord (Koji Yakusho) with a surprising request: He desires an honorable death by ritual suicide in the former’s courtyard.

Taken aback, the lord recounts the tale of another who made such a request and came to a bad end, owing to less than honorable motives.

The samurai won’t take a stern warning for an answer and pursues his quest by any means necessary, setting off the action in Takashi Miike’s “Hari-Kiri: Death of a Samurai.”

Shot in 3D, the Tribeca Film release is available on VOD and is playing in select theaters in the United States, including Four Star Cinema in San Francisco.

Of Hari-Kiri: Death of a Samurai, TM said in production notes, “What excites me about resurrecting this film from the past is being able to feel first-hand the existence of the universal human suffering which "Hari-Kiri: Death of a Samurai" depicts at its core as it transcends time, genres and countries.” In Japanese with English subtitles. (See trailer above).

Hari-Kiri: Death of a Samurai is not rated. Visit http://www.harakiri2012.com to learn more about the film.

'Red Hook Summer' Moving Beyond Borders of New York
SPIKE Lee's "Red Hook Summer" (http://www.ow.ly/cTvf4) is slowly rolling out across the country.

Set in Brooklyn, the film chronicles the multiple culture shocks experienced by a 13-year-old middle-class Atlanta boy who journeys to New York to spend the summer with the religious grandfather he is meeting for the first time. It opens today in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Washington, DC. (SL reflects on "Red Hook Summer" in video).

“Red Hook Summer” is rated R for brief violence, language and a disturbing situation. Visit http://www.redhooksummer.com/ to learn more about the film.