Label: Radiance Films
Region Code: A,B
Rating:
Duration: 95 Minutes 40 Seconds
Audio: Japanese PCM 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)
Director: Yuzo Kawashima
Cast: Ayako Wakao, Yunosuke Ito, Hisano Yamaoka, Yuko Hamada, Eiji Funakoshi, Kyû Sazanka, Manamitsu Kawabata, Shôichi Ozawa, Hideo Takamatsu, Chôchô Miyako
Director Yûzô Kawashima's single-location apartment-comedy Elegant Beast (1962), which was adapted by Kaneto Shindo (Onibaba) from his own stage play, largely takes place in a small 2-room urban concrete block apartment in Tokyo where the greedy Maeda family, a seemingly tight-knit group of swindlers and grifters lead by patriarch Tokizo Maeda (Yūnosuke Itō, Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance), an ex-naval officer and his wife Yoshino (Hisano Yamaoka, The House of Sleeping Virgins). Tokizo lived a life of poverty during the WWII and now that Japan is in a period of unprecedented economic growth he has vowed never to live poor again. To that end he has taught his daughter Tomoko (Yūko Hamada, The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch) and son Minoru (Manamitsu Kawabata) to grift and connive in ways that help line his family's pockets with cash and to keep them living in the modest lap of luxury. He has arranged for his daughter Tomoko to be the mistress of a bestselling erotic author Shuntaro Yoshizawa (Kyū Sazanka), who has not only paid for the family's apartment but from whom the father regularly takes loans from, while their son Minoru embezzles funds from the talent agency that employs him, which also gets funneled back into the family coffers.
At the start of the film the mother and father are quickly hiding the more valuable items around their apartment, trying to make it appear as humble as possible before the arrival of Minoru's employer Ichiro (Hideo Takamatsu, The Last Emperor), who has come to report that their son has been stealing money; of course they realize that this is the truth, but they play it off as something they could never imagine their son doing having done. Throughout the day with each new knock at the door the Maedas' schemes seem to be piling up against them, as employers, irate crooners, accountants and the author arrive to voice their concerns over their children's malfeasance, but in a wonderful cat and mouse game of one upmanship the family always manage turn it back on the other parties, all of whom were carefully chosen for having their own secret criminality or fear of public shame if the truth were to ever get out.
However, the family might have finally met their match in Minoru's ever-smiling, cool-nerved lover Yukie (Ayako Wakao, Red Angel), the bookkeeper at the talent agency, who has her own secretive multi-faceted agenda, and who's been playing 3-dimensional chess with not only Minoru, but also with his boss, and public tax collector Eisaku (Eiji Funakoshi, Gamera: The Giant Monster). When it is revealed that his son has been helping Yukie embezzle money to fund the construction of her own inn he is none too pleased. That's money that not only is not coming to the family, but is large enough to threaten to attract unwanted attention and possible legal repercussions.
This single-location apartment comedy delivers a biting satire on Japan's post-war economic boom, shot with inventive lensing with uneasy skewed angles that highlight the cramped 2-room apartment's claustrophobic design, with family members eavesdropping on each other from behind walls and corners, after all, it's hard to keep secrets in a 2-room apartment. This is quite an entertaining watch with comical tension and verbal-sparring that had me in stitches from start to finish. Incredibly well-crafted and superbly acted this is a real gem of a comedy, the entire cast is pitch-perfect but it's Ayako Wakao as Yukie that steals the show as the ever-smiling schemer who takes the art of the grift to the next level.
Audio/Video: Elegant Beast (1962) makes it's worldwide Blu-ray debut from Radiance Films in 1080p HD framed in 2.35:1 widescreen, advertised as a new 4K scan, but no mention of the source elements. Regardless I thought this looked quite pleasing, grain is course but looks natural, fine detail and textures are never less than pleasing, and the color-grading is solid. The source elements whatever they may be look solid, there's what looks to be a bit of fading in spots but overall a terrific presentation. Audio on the disc is Japanese PCM 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles, the track is clean and well-balanced, not overly dynamic, but it does the job, with clean dialogue and the Sei Ikeno (Zatoichi's Flashing Sword) score coming through nicely.
This release is well-stocked in the extras department, we get the 16-min The Cool Elegance of Yuzo Kawashima: Interview with film critic Toshiaki Sato; 14-min Elegant Beast: An Appreciation by filmmaker Toshiaki Toyoda; 12-min The Age of the Danchi: Post War Housing in Japanese Cinema by critic Tom Mes, and a 2-min Trailer.
The single-disc release arrives in a clear full-height Scanavo packaging with a Reversible Sleeve of Artwork, plus Radiance's signature Removable OBI Strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings if you so wish. Tucked away inside is a 24-page Limited Edition Illustrated Booklet featuring new writing by Midori Suiren and contemporary archival writing, plus cast and crew info, transfer notes, acknowledgement and release credits.
Special Features:
- The Cool Elegance of Yuzo Kawashima: Interview with film critic Toshiaki Sato (16:34)
- Elegant Beast: An Appreciation by filmmaker Toshiaki Toyoda (14:21)
- The Age of the Danchi: Post War Housing in Japanese Cinema by critic Tom Mes (11:38)
-Trailer (2:16)
- Reversible sleeve of Artwork
- 24-Page Limited Edition booklet featuring new writing by Midori Suiren and contemporary archival writing
Extras:
- The Cool Elegance of Yuzo Kawashima: Interview with film critic Toshiaki Sato (16:34)
- Elegant Beast: An Appreciation by filmmaker Toshiaki Toyoda (14:21)
- The Age of the Danchi: Post War Housing in Japanese Cinema by critic Tom Mes (11:38)
-Trailer (2:16)
- Reversible sleeve of Artwork
- 24-Page Limited Edition booklet featuring new writing by Midori Suiren and contemporary archival writing
Screenshots from the Radiance Films Blu-ray:
