Film Still

Youth of the Beast

Seijun Suzuki

Japan

1963

92 minutes

Color

2.35:1

Japanese

268

Synopsis

When a mysterious stranger muscles into two rival yakuza gangs, Tokyo’s underworld explodes with violence. Youth of the Beast (Yaju no Seishun) was a breakthrough for director Seijun Suzuki, introducing the flamboyant colors, hallucinatory images, and striking compositions that would become his trademark. The Criterion Collection proudly presents the film that revitalized the yakuza genre and helped define the inimitable style of a legendary cinematic renegade.

Cast

Joji MizunoJoe Shishido
KumikoMisako Watanabe
Hideo NomotoTamio Kawaji
Koichi TakeshitaIchiro Kijima
HirokawaMizuho Suzuki
Tatsuo NomotoShoji Kobayashi
Shinsuke OnoderaKinzo Shin
Shigeru TakechiEiji Go

Credits

DirectorSeijun Suzuki
CinematographyKazue Nagatsuka
Production DesignYoshinaga Yokoo
ScreenplayIchiro Ikeda and Tadaaki Yamazaki
Based on a novel byHaruhiko Oyabu
MusicHajime Okumura
ProducerKeinosuke Kubo

Disc Features

  • New, restored high-definition digital transfer
  • Video interviews with director Seijun Suzuki and actor Joe Shishido, made by Nikkatsu in 2001
  • Original theatrical trailer
  • New and improved English subtitle translation
  • PLUS: A new essay by film critic Howard Hampton

From the Current

Youth of the Beast: Screaming Target

by Howard Hampton Jan 10, 2005

“Just shut up and watch!”So snarls a frenzied gangster-pimp to baby-faced tough Joe Shishido as the creep whips a prostrate prostitute. There’s plenty for the naked eye to absorb: the delicate calligraphic detail of the bloody lash marks, set off by her tasteful black cocktail dress...

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Available Editions

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DVD

1 Disc

SRP: $29.95

Criterion Store price

$23.96