{"id":31692,"date":"2025-07-24T18:45:49","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T01:45:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=31692"},"modified":"2025-07-24T18:45:49","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T01:45:49","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-the-beast-to-die-1980","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=31692","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: THE BEAST TO DIE (1980)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray from Radiance Films is\ncurrently available for purchase.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While I had seen a film or two over the years starring\nY\u016bsaku Matsuda, I certainly never knew of his legendary status and influence on\nJapanese cinema. He lived a remarkably short life, passing away from cancer at\nthe age of 40. But over his brief career, he made an impression. After\nappearing as the lead in the hit TV show Tantei Monogatari, he began appearing\nin films. Films like Detective Story, The Killing Game, The Most Dangerous\nGame, Yokohama BJ Blues, Crest of the Wolf<\/em> and The Family Game<\/em> are\nextremely well-regarded in their homeland because of the actor\u2019s intense\nportrayals of characters. His final role would come as the villain in Ridley\nScott\u2019s 1989 film Black Rain<\/em>, which he shot while suffering from cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another legendary title in the performer\u2019s catalog is The\nBeast to Die<\/em>, aka Yaj\u00fb Shisubeshi<\/em>, which is now arriving from\nRadiance Films as a \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray. This film marked the final\nofficial collaboration between the actor and director Toru Murakawa, who had\npreviously paired on The Most Dangerous Game<\/em> and The Killing Game<\/em>.\nThe pair set up special and interesting rules for their final collaboration\n(which will be detailed later in this review) and the results are quite\nstriking. This is a memorable film that introduced some new approaches to\nJapanese cinema, with another exceptional performance by the star.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Journalist Date (Matsuda) returning home from the Vietnam\nWar is at the center of this tale. Suffering from PTSD and other psychological\nissues, he immediately begins acting out violently. After murdering a police\nofficer, he heads over to an illegal gambling operation, guns down the club\nmanagers and takes their money. He also plans a major bank heist. When he isn\u2019t\nkilling, he has awkward meetings with old acquaintances. While attending a\nclassical music concert, Date does draw the attention of a sweet young woman\nwho could be the answer to his problems. Unfortunately, these potentially\nhelpful relationships never come to fruition, leaving the character on a\ndownward spiral into brutality.  Along the way, he meets a like-minded\nindividual willing to participate in the robbery, but the two never do anything\nto assist each other in dealing with their conditions. In fact, they feed off\nof each other, with their final actions feeling like a traumatizing wartime\nepisode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It’s a very dark movie, but a dynamic one due to Matsuda\u2019s\nimpressive performance. When violence erupts, it\u2019s shocking and anything but\nstylized. The slayings are messy and awkward, While the character is distant\nand his behavior is brutal, he doesn\u2019t come across as a maniac. Viewers\nultimately get more information about Date\u2019s past as the story progresses,\nmaking him a tragic figure. And the actor is charismatic enough to keep viewers\ninterested in his predicament. There are also a couple of moments of quiet\nreflection from the character that do help to make his story a little more\nrelatable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Additionally, it is intriguing to see others try (in\nparticular, his potential love interest) attempt to reach out and make a\nconnection, only to ultimately be politely rebuffed. These scenes are handled\nvery well, with one brief relationship leading to a heartbreaking outcome. The\nmovie subtly says a lot about war trauma and serious psychological issues not\nbeing acknowledged or treated by the country. And the unusual finale outside\nthe concert hall lingers in the mind long after the credits roll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Much of the film takes place in interior environments, dark\nstreets and clubs, and the picture benefits from the shooting style. This is a\nvery nice-looking transfer with natural grain and no visible damage or problems\non the source material. Apparently, the film was transferred in 4K from the\nJapanese production company for this release, and they\u2019ve done a stellar job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The discussion with director Toru Murakawa is extremely\nenlightening and details the production process. After working together twice,\nthe two felt that this film should be their final collaboration. The filmmaker\nand Matsuda made a deal. He wouldn\u2019t tell the actor how to interpret the\ncharacter, and the performer wouldn\u2019t comment on his shot set-ups and\nstorytelling technique. Apparently, the approach worked efficiently for the\ntwo. Murakawa also talks about the ending, which is vague enough that it can be\ninterpreted differently by viewers. The two agreed that they didn\u2019t care for\nthe script\u2019s shootout- oriented finale and wanted to try something different.\nThey came up with what appears in the movie, involving the character waking up\nin an empty music hall after his final acts of rampage in the night. He\nessentially does get injured and, rocking his body around on a stairwell,\nalmost appears to also fall prey to the literal light of the world outside.\nBoth were pleased and the ending does make a lasting impression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is an interview with the screenwriter, who explains\nsome of the themes of the movie. He and other bonus interviewees note that the\ncharacter is, to a degree, acting out against the rigidity of normal life in\nJapan, where everything was ordered to the point where personal freedom didn\u2019t\nseem to exist. Some of Date\u2019s bizarre acts are committed randomly with the\nintent of just trying to feel something while living in a world he no longer\nfeels connected to. Due to the unique partnership between the lead and\ndirector, the writer also details what elements of his story were changed, and\nwhat remained the same. Naturally, the interpretive ending was not his, and he\noffers a couple of ideas of how others may have read it. In the end, he admits\nthat while it wasn\u2019t what he intended, it does work well in the end and manages\nto keep audiences thinking after the credits roll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, there is a discussion with a film expert on\nthe title and what makes it so striking to him. He notes that there are a lot\nof similarities between American crime and noir films and Japanese efforts. The\nspeaker mentions many of the film’s notable scenes and how they play off of\ngenre conventions in a fresh way. The speaker makes a very convincing case that\nthese types of films from both countries make for some of the genre\u2019s best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, this is another great presentation of a little known (in\nNorth America) Japanese film that pushes boundaries and delivers a chilling\nportrait of a broken mind. The presentation is excellent and the bonus features\nhelp one get an even clearer picture of the film\u2019s subtext, deeper meanings and\nhow it fits into the crime film genre. The Beast to Die<\/em> is a very strong\nfilm and this disc is highly recommended.
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray from Radiance Films is currently available for purchase. While I had seen a film or two over the years starring Y\u016bsaku Matsuda, I certainly never knew of his legendary status and influence on Japanese cinema. He lived a remarkably short life, passing away from cancer at the age of 40. But […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":31696,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[111,2923,4910,4911,4983,7528,10385,16584,20004,20005,20006,23131,24701,24702],"class_list":["post-31692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-111","tag-blasts-from-the-past","tag-crime","tag-crime-film","tag-cult","tag-film-noir","tag-japan","tag-radiance-films","tag-the-beast-to-die","tag-the-beast-to-die-blu-ray-review","tag-the-beast-to-die-review","tag-toru-murakawa","tag-yusaku-matsuda","tag-yusaku-matsudo"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31692\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}