Director Seijun Suzuki will likely always be best known for his genre-defying, hyper-stylized masterworks, Tokyo Drifter and Branded to Kill, but his early work for Nikkatsu was notable as well. In his seventh turn in the director’s chair, he crafted this 1958 black and white crime drama that bears all the hallmarks of a conventional noir film, but assembles them so effectively that they feel fresh. He also skewers the formula by featuring unconventional female co-star Mari Shiraki, here playing a hard-partying, uninhibited “it girl” who refuses to be a damsel in distress, doling out retribution with all the fury of the lead, Michitaro Mizushima.
Buy Underworld Beauty Blu-rayMizushima plays a virtuous ex-con who retrieves diamonds he stashed before his arrest, hoping to broker a quick sale through his yakuza boss in return for his silence during his incarceration. He doesn’t want the cash for himself, instead hoping to give the proceeds to his friend who was crippled during the original diamond robbery. Unfortunately, the boss would rather have the diamonds, leading to a struggle that ultimately results in the crippled friend swallowing the diamonds before falling to his death. Even more unfortunately, the diamonds are still very much in play, as various parties attempt to outmaneuver each other to retrieve and hide the corpse treasure without detection.
Aside from the fascinatingly morbid plot turn, the film looks and feels like a classic noir, enhanced by stunning black and white cinematography by Toshitaro Nakao. The assorted underworld crooks exist in a Westernized post-war metropolis, adopting all the fashion and nightlife of Hollywood. Shiraki’s character heralds the impending arrival of women’s liberation, firmly marching to the beat of her own impulsive drum in the style of brassy Hollywood dames. Mizushima functions as a typical noir leading man, reserved and principled even while dropping the hammer on his rivals. While Suzuki exhibits some hints of his later iconoclastic directorial style, he’s mostly content here to color within the noir lines, making the most of the project without making it all about him.
The film has been restored and transferred in 4K by Nikkatsu and supplied to Radiance Films as a high-definition digital file for this Blu-ray release. Sound is uncompressed mono PCM. The transfer is superb, showcasing the brilliantly lit black and white photography with crisp detail only slightly marred by some remaining specks.
The disc includes a fantastic bonus for Suzuki fans: a 40-minute film he made the year after Beauty called Love Letter. Here Suzuki explores romantic melodrama, tracking a long-distance relationship between a beautiful pianist and a forest ranger permanently stationed in remote wilderness. When their correspondence slows to a trickle, she ventures out to find him, only to discover a startling revelation that leads to a reevaluation of their future. Also included is a new audio commentary track for the short film, as well as an interview with a film critic about the feature film.
