Yajû no seishun

Wonderful Blu-ray print of a fabulous turning point film for Seijun Suzuki. Gone suddenly is his slavish adherence to the studio's ritualistic and formulaic demands and here are the lovely colourful street scenes and crazy kaleidoscopic interiors. There are, of course, yakuza and the small matter of fingers going missing but from the start this has something of the humour and duplicity of Yojimbo and Jo Shishido is slipping effortlessly into the role he would make icon a few years later in Branded to Kill. There is no ponderous exposition here as we slip from scene to scene with European style wipes and fades and even semi jump cuts. The simplistic plot is a little hard to follow at times, not because it is complicated but that the tale is being told at such a pace and with such hypnotic visuals we are constantly distracted. Wonderful.

Really good action packed stuff! Hitchcock meets film noir. Could the warped, cat-loving, uber thug lord, Nomoto be the inspiration for Bond nemesis, Blofeld, from You Only Live Twice(1967)? (Hold pinkie to corner of lip). Remember the Godfather also liked to pet his kitty while he plotted mayhem. Are all those characters derived from this film? Watch and decide for yourself. This film has a great jazzy score, too. The high energy music really makes up for the hassle of having to read subtitles and provides a nice upbeat counterpoint to the graphic violence. Definitely a seminal movie for lovers of Coppola, Scorcese, Tarantino, Peckinpaw,and the rest of the directors of the hardboiled visceral films of the later 60's and 70's. I think this film is an essential movie for any action film aficionado.

Joji 'Jo' Mizuno is a tough guy who walks into the lives of two rival crime gangs, playing each against the other for his own financial benefit, both are eager to have him working for them, but both will ultimately regret their decision, when his real motives are revealed. A fascinating crime story based on the novel by Haruhiko Oyabu, that pulls you in instantly, a story that reveals itself only little by little. Suzuki's film is also a pleasure to the eye, the glorious use of colours gives the film a vibrancy that when combined with the demented jazzy score, gives the film an overall pop art feel. The characters are all cool as hell and immaculately well dressed, the Tokyo street scenes are a pleasure to see in full colour, certainly the best use of urban Tokyo I've seen since House of Bamboo. Overall this is a thoroughly entertaining crime flick with pulp overtones, it may not be strong on violence but its certainly not to be missed.

"Yaju no Seishun" ("Youth of the Beast") is, without doubt, one of the greatest Japanese films of the 1960's. It is also, arguably, the best film from the amazing director, Suzuki Seijun. This was Suzuki-sensei's "breakthrough" film; in as much as it was the first film where he truly let his flamboyant, dizzying, artistic sense come forward. Full of intense, innovative, eye-popping visuals, the film never loses its solid narrative flow; thanks, in part, to a great script based on the novel by Hard-Boiled master, Oyabu Haruhiko. What more could one ask for? A great story, brilliant direction, and outstanding performances (especially by Shishido Jo). This is a superior example of the Japanese thriller--and, for that matter, crime cinema of the 1960's in general!

"Youth of the Beast" begins with what appears to be a double suicide--a cop and his mistress. However, this will play an important part in the film later. In the meantime, the ultra-cool Japanese actor, Jo Shishido, plays Jo Mizuno--a guy who is super-tough and wants to join one of the yakuza gangs. Hwever, he obviously has something up his sleeve, as he soon joins the rival gang--and soon he begins pitting them against each other. In many ways, this plays like a non-comedic version of Kurasawa's 1961 classic "Yojimbo"--as a crafty guy manages to gain the trust of both gangs in order to bring them down. The big question is why? Why does J constantly risk his life and what does this have to do with the two dead folks at the film's beginning?

Because there are rival gangs and lots of betrayals, the film can get a bit confusing--especially at the end when everyone seems to be shooting everyone! These scum naturally don't wear uniforms so sometimes I did have a bit of trouble keeping track of who is who. Still, it is a very good gangster film--one that has plenty of action and the usual Shishido level of coolness. Well crafted and exciting--plus learning who was behind everything--that was a pretty fifty twist!