Just seeing him having to repeatedly jab that miserably dull blade into himself and then pulling it way too slowly across his stomach with this look of pure ungodly agony on his face the whole time. Oh god, it almost felt like my own bowels were slowly being ripped out. A truly horrific scene (in a good way). Most modern gory torture scenes didn't have anywhere near that effect on me. Very well done!
shareIt would honestly very easily be among the most unsettling scenes I have ever witnessed in a film. It made me tear up, either from watching the intense anguish and agony, or from merely the shocking brutality.
shareYes, it's extremely intense. I was shocked (and especially they could do it so well and naturalistic in such an old movie). I have read the short story before, but seeing it was much more horrifying.
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Valar morghulis
I think it is the most emotionally intense I have ever experienced in cinema. The action of committing harakiri with a bamboo sword is awful enough; the sequence of events leading up to this act of desperation makes it exponentially worse.
On trying to market this movie to friends, I have described this scene in detail, describing how hard it is to watch. This never has the effect I had hoped. It's a scene that makes me feel as if my guts are being twisted and all the innocents in the world have just been damned to hell, but I wouldn't trade its dramatic intensity for anything.
That scene was indeed brutal.
DISPLAY thy breasts, my Julia!
You said it. I had a cold sweat going and started getting woozy. I needed to take a mental break before starting to watch it again. The crazy thing is that it's not just because of the graphic impact of the visuals and sound, your emotions are completely assaulted by this scene and several in this film.
shareI always hear people say they can't watch scenes with needles, but that's never really bothered me. The bamboo blade scene, on the other hand, I find impossible to watch without gritting my teeth and wincing. Absolutely impossible.
shareThis was painful for me, but nothing like a needle actually going into the skin. Partly because as a Corpsman, I had to learn how to take blood and give shots, which is why I scurried into the pharmacy to hide. It's a different level somehow.
shareI have watched some pretty gruesome/bloody/violent films in my time, but very few come close to the Bamboo Blade scene here!
The look of desperation on his face; the sweating, the tension, the useless blunt sword making the job of a swift horizontal cut across the belly even more difficult... and the flowing of blood along the sword handle and over his hands..... Jeez, I think I was struggling for breath trying to get through that scene! A scene that seemed to last for hours rather than just a few minutes.
Who need graphic visuals when just ramping up the psychological tension & implication can be just as effective - if not more so!
Great direction, editing and camerawork, not only for that particular scene but for the film in general.
Moreover, I have a far more healthy respect for the act of Seppuku now!
โWhen is old news gonna be old news?โ
โ Arnold Vinick (The West Wing)
It was an incredibly cruel self-torturous act to make anyone do which made mockery of the bushido code. They never bothered to ask him his story and what happened. At this poiint, we do not know the circumstances either, but this turned me against that clan. One can't let a fellow samurai (soldier), let alone a fellow human die like this even if he did sell his blade for money. He was still wearing his swords when trying to get a job due to the code. He had no choice in what he had to do and he had to kill himself the only way he could. This movie was very slow in pace, but yet had a hypnotic effect because of the way the story was told, acted and scenes unfolded. It took me a while to finally get around to seeing this movie after hearing it was a must see. I won't forget the impact it made. There is honor in upholding a military code, but not when it is hypocritical, unbending and uncaring such as what happens in Harakiri.
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