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"Hara Kiri" is directly translated as "belly cutting," and is the name best known in the West for Seppuku, a traditional act of suicide that was considered an honorable method of death amongst the Samurai of medieval Japan. To die by Seppuku was a privilege reserved for honorable men, and was formal and ritualized as is common in Japanese tradition. It was an extremely painful way to die, and required absolute will and self-control. Kobayashi Masaki ("Kwaidan," "Samurai Rebellion"), a master director of Samurai films, uses this ritual as the focus of his film "Hara Kiri" (Japanese title "Seppuku.") The stage is set in the late Tokugawa period, a time when centuries of peace had rendered the warrior class moot, and Samurai without a rich lord to serve had nothing but their honor to sustain themselves. Forbidden by law, culture and training to seek their substance through less-honorable means such as farming or trade, the lordless Samurai were expected to starve and die with no word of complaint. One day, a hungry Samurai by the name of Hanshiro Tsugumo arrives at the gate of a local lord, requesting permission to perform Seppuku and end his suffering poverty through honorable means. And then the true story unfolds. Probably his greatest film, Kobayashi dissects what it is to be "honorable," and who is the true possessor of this abstract concept. The rigid code of the Samurai is symbolized through the relentless use of straight lines, as hard and unyielding as the swords which are the supposed soul of a Samurai. The code has long outlived its usefulness, and is a contradiction in the world of peace. Both the code and the men are dinosaurs, needing to either change or die. Hanshiro Tsugumo is played by the legendary Nakadai Tatsuya ("Sword of Doom," "Yojimbo"). He is incredible as Hanshiro, being both the ultimate Samurai ideal and at the same time one who's wisdom and compassion far surpasses those who speak of "honor," relaxing comfortably behind their money and position. Hanshiro's surface is one of acceptance and resolve, a man who has accepted his fate, but underneath is rage and righteous action, hidden and waiting to explode. The pacing is typical of a Kobayashi film, and follows his pattern of a slow, slow build up that explodes with a violent and unexpected climax. "Hara Kiri," like other Kobayashi films, is a slow fuse leading to a large bomb. Hanshiro's story is complex, and he unfolds it delicately, so that all points are clear to the Lord and his men, as well as the viewers. Criterion has recognized both the importance and the excellence of "Hara Kiri," and put forth a DVD worthy of the film. Aside from a beautiful transfer and improved English subtitles, they have assembled video interview with Nakadai Tatsuya and scriptwriter Hashimoto Shinobu, as well as an introduction by Japanese-film expert Donald Richie. In print, there is an essay by film scholar Joan Mellen and a re-print of her Kobayashi interview. Any fan of Japanese film and/or Samurai films simply must see "Hara Kiri." Easily amongst the top 3 or 4 films of the genre, it is a masterpiece by every definition of the word.