Harakiri: It’s been called the best movie in history, but very few people know it exists

Most of the time, when we look at the various lists that aim to classify the best films in the history of cinema, we see that the first place is given to Francis Ford Coppola’s godfather, Frank Darabont’s The Runaways (or, well, the top). AlloCiné audiences are concerned, with Robert Zemeckis’ Forrest Gump).

However, sometimes it happens that the top of the podium goes to another film that is less known to the general public, but has been praised by moviegoers around the world for decades. This was the case, for example, in the BFI’s latest Sight and Sound rankings – which named Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman’s drama Jeanne Dielman as the best film – but also. In the Letterboxd Top 250.

Created in 2011, this movie-loving social network, which aims to bring together the opinions of movie lovers around the world, also has a ranking of the best feature films ever made. Even if The Godfather and The Runaways are very high on the list, this is another less-cited masterpiece that’s nearing the top tier.

Neither the godfather nor the runaways…

This is the famous samurai movie Harakiri, directed by Japanese Masaki Kobayashi in 1963. Awarded the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival the year it was released, this thrilling historical drama is set in the 17th century and chronicles the journey of Ronin. Hanshiro Tsugumo, who has lost his samurai status, fallen into poverty and wanderlust, deliberately asks Saito for permission to commit ritual suicide. To support her claim, he then begins to tell her his story.

Warmly received by critics and considered one of the great classics of the genre it belongs to, Harakiri has achieved an average of 4.68 out of 5 on Letteboxd, making it the best film of all time according to social media users.

Just below, in the ranking we find Russian director Elem Klimov’s Requiem for Massacre, Sidney Lumet’s 12 Angry Men, Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai and Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather.

(re)discover this latest movie trailer…