Elegant Beast (1962) (Radiance Films)

[MifuneFan]

Radiance Films will be releasing Yuzo Kawashima's Elegant Beast (1962) on December 18th!

Elegant Beast (1962) (UK / US / CA)

https://www.radiancefilms.co.uk/prod...egant-beast-le

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• New 4K restoration
• Uncompressed mono PCM audio
• Interview with film critic Toshiaki Sato (2023)
• Appreciation by filmmaker Toshiaki Toyoda (2023)
• Visual essay by critic Tom Mes on post-war architecture in Japanese cinema (2023)
• Trailer
• New and improved English subtitles
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork
• Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Midori Suiren and contemporary archival writing
• Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings

Elegant Beast

In their humble two-room apartment, the Maeda family seem ever so self-effacing - but their modest façade hides another truth. Daughter Tomoko is the mistress of a bestselling author with well-lined pockets. Son Minoru embezzles funds with his lover Yukie (Ayako Wakao, Red Angel), who has her own hidden agenda. And father Tokizo (Yunosuke Ito, Ikiru, Lone Wolf and Cub) is a former military man who swears he will never return to the poverty he knew during the war, no matter what the cost. One after another, those affected by the Maedas’ schemes show up on their doorstep. But these visitors all have their own duplicitous agendas. With each knock on the door, the gamesmanship reaches a whole new level. Elegant Beast was adapted by Kaneto Shindo (Onibaba, Naked Island) from his own stage play. Director Yuzo Kawashima, mentor of Shohei Imamura and a major influence on the Japanese New Wave, makes magnificent widescreen use of the single apartment setting to deliver a ferocious satire on Japan’s post-war economic miracle.

[DukeTogo84]

I've not seen this one, but very excited to check it out. This also indicates that Radiance has a deal with Kadokawa.

[DukeTogo84]

Watched this last night. The film is 96 minutes, but when it was over it felt like it was 30. It goes by fast, which is a good thing for the most part, and the entire film takes place within two rooms over the course of two days.

The writing and acting all exceptional, but when the film was over, I felt somewhat angry? I'm not sure. The film has ZERO moral compass to it. Every single character is motivated by greed and self-preservation. There are no characters you really root for and when you think a character can't sink any lower, another character tops them.

Ayako Wakao steals the show as an accountant who uses her body and wits to manipulate men and twist them around her fingers. This is a very tough film to describe as I really felt like it was entertaining, but entertaining in a way where you can't take your eyes of a car wreck. You want to see if these characters are redeemable by the end or to see how much worse they become.

Either way, essential viewing, but if I watched these character for maybe another 30 minutes, I'm not sure if I would have been able to take it.