Youth of the Beast Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Youth of the Beast Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 29, 2014

Seijun Suzuki's "Youth of the Beast" a.k.a. "Yajû no seishun" (1963) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an original Japanese trailer for the film and video introduction by film critic and writer Tony Rayns. The release also arrives with a 36-page booklet featuring a new essay by Frederick Veith, and rare archival imagery. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

"You want to look like a bamboo blind too?"

Violent thug Jo Mizuno (Jô Shishido, Branded to Kill, A Colt is My Passport) is summoned by the prominent yakuza boss Nomoto (Akiji Kobayashi, Harakiri) after he wrecks havoc in his fancy night club. Instead of punishing Jo, however, Nomoto hires him to work for his organization. Jo quickly impresses Nomoto.

Soon after, Koichi Takeshita (Ichiro Kijima, Lady Snowblood), a corrupt police detective with a soft spot for beautiful girls, is found dead. When Nomoto discovers that years ago he and Jo were partners, he orders his men to keep an eye on him.

Around the same time another Yakuza boss invites Jo to join his organization. With the invitation comes a hefty cash bonus, which makes Jo’s decision easy. The members of the two yakuza organizations then begin clashing, while Jo provides their bosses with valuable information and gets paid for his services.

This quite colorful film from Japanese auteur Seijun Suzuki clearly favors style over substance. Its narrative is uncharacteristically fractured -- though as far as Suzuki’s body of work is concerned this is hardly a major surprise -- and a number of the key relationships in it appear somewhat underdeveloped. As a result, it takes some time to get used to its rhythm and figure out precisely what its message is.

The film has a very distinctive Western look and feel. There is plenty of talk about drugs (very much a taboo subject in post-war Japan), prostitutes, guns, and booze which is delivered with an attitude one would typically expect from American and French crime films from the same era. (In fact, Youth of the Beast very much reminds of Jean-Pierre Melville’s similarly uneven film Magnet of Doom, in which Jean-Paul Belmondo’s ex-boxer at times looks just as awkward in New Orleans as Shishido’s handsome ex-cop does in Tokyo). On the other hand, its visual design, and specifically its preference for lush and vibrant colors, feels far more appropriate for an Italian psychedelic film than a gritty yakuza crime drama. (See the odd action sequence with the dry yellow wind).

This very unusual blending of styles is what makes Youth of the Beast so fascinating to behold. Indeed, there is a part of it that looks raw, gritty and utterly uncompromising, but there is another part that has a distinctively kitschy edge which gives the film a very exotic flavor. The two coexist rather nicely, but anyone looking for an equal dose of substance to go with them will likely be disappointed.

The acting is as uneven and unpredictable as the narrative. Shishido is likeable, but some of his angry outbursts are so over the top that they never feel real (a good number of them appear in some of the kitschy sequences). There are various supporting actors that have small but memorable roles, such as Eimei Esumi, who plays the kooky gangster Minami.

Suzuki shot Youth of the Beast with his regular cinematographer Kazue Nagatsuka. The two also collaborated on Story of a Prostitute, The Flower and the Angry Waves, and Branded to Kill.

The film was edited by award winning editor Akira Suzuki (Kinji Fukasaku’s Day of Resurrection, Suzuki’s Gate of Flesh).

Youth of the Beast Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Seijun Suzuki's Youth of the Beast arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment.

Including some minor color instability and a few tiny flecks popping up here and there, the film looks lovely in high-definition. Indeed, well-lit close-ups boast very good and clarity (see screencapture #1), while large panoramic shots impress with strong fluidity (see screencapture #19). Contrast levels remain stable throughout the entire film. Colors are stable, well saturated and natural. There are no traces of problematic degraining corrections. Sharpening adjustments have not been applied either. Rather predictably, the film has a pleasing and convincing organic appearance. Overall image stability is very good. Finally, there are no encoding anomalies to report in this review. All in all, while there is some room for minor improvements, this is a very good organic presentation of Youth of the Beast that should appeal to its fans. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Youth of the Beast Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Japanese LPCM 2.0. For the record, Eureka Entertainment have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The film is complimented by a very interesting jazzy soundtrack which breathes quite easily -- balance is good and dynamic movement natural. The dialog is stable, clean, and easy to follow. The overall range of nuanced dynamics is limited, but this is hardly surprising for a Japanese film from the early '60s. There are no pops, cracks, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report in this review.

Youth of the Beast Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Tony Rayns - in this video piece, film critic and writer Tony Rayns discusses Seijun Suzuki's career, the socio-political climate in Japan during the 60s, Youth of the Beast and some of its unique qualities. In English, not subtitled. In English, not subtitled. (26 min).

• Trailer - original Japanese trailer for Youth of the Beast. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (5 min).

• Booklet - 36-page booklet featuring a new essay by Frederick Veith, and rare archival imagery.

Youth of the Beast Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I think that fans of Japanese auteur Seijun Suzuki will be very pleased with Eureka Entertainment's presentation of his Youth of the Beast. The Blu-ray release represents a strong upgrade in quality over existing DVD releases and there is a very informative video introduction on it by Tony Rayns. Hopefully, Eureka Entertainment would consider similar upgrades of Gate of Flesh, Story of a Prostitute, and Tattooed Life. RECOMMENDED.