Cast: Michitaro Mizushima, Mari Shiraki, Shinsuke Ashida, and Tôru Abe
Region: AB
Label: Radiance Films
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UNDERWORLD BEAUTY (1958) is a Japanese heist-thriller directed by Seijun Suzuki (Branded to Kill, Tattooed Life). Limited Edition blu ray release (only 3,000 copies).
Retrieving the diamonds he stashed before his arrest, thief Miyamoto hopes to help his old partner Mihara, crippled during the heist. Their former boss, crime lord Oyane, offers to mediate with a foreign buyer, but secretly wants the stones for himself.
The deal goes awry when gunmen appear on the scene. Mihara swallows the diamonds but dies in the chase, leaving a valuable corpse in the police morgue. Miyamoto forms an uneasy alliance with Mihara's wildcat sister Akiko to keep the gems away from gangsters, cops and even Akiko's greedy boyfriend.
This wildly inventive early noir infectiously plays with genre rules and gender stereotypes.
New 4K restoration of the film by Nikkatsu Corporation
New interview with critic Mizuki Kodama (2024, 15 mins)
Bonus feature: Seijun Suzuki’s Love Letter (1959, 40 mins)
Audio commentary on Love Letter by Suzuki biographer William Carroll (2024)
Trailers
Newly improved English subtitle translation
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by critic Claudia Siefen-Leitich and an archival review of the film
Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
