Synopsis
A promising post-graduate literature student is transformed into a psychotic killer following the suicide of his father and a sleazy affair by his mother with a younger man.
The Beast Shall Die
1959 ‘野獣死すべし’ Directed by Eizō Sugawa
Cast
Tatsuya Nakadai Hiroshi Koizumi Reiko Dan Yumi Shirakawa Makoto Satō Eiko Miyoshi Michiyo Yokoyama Ichirō Shimizu Yoshio Shirasaka Nobuo Nakamura Eijirō Tōno Yûsuke Takita Toru Takeuchi Haruya Katō Nadao Kirino Yutaka Sada Akira Sera Tetsu Nakamura Kenzō Tabu Akira Tani Yasuhisa Tsutsumi Shirō Tsuchiya Shōichi Hirose Kyoko Mori Kôji Uno Gorô Sakurai Fumindo Matsuo Etsuo Saijo Mitsuo Tsuda Show All…
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Alternative Titles
Morte à Fera, Yajū shisubeshi, Frenesia di uccidere, 野兽之死, 야수는 죽어야 한다, Зверь должен умереть
Releases by Date
Theatrical
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Japan
Releases by Country
Japan
09 Jun 1959
- Theatrical
Popular reviews
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When a film opens with Robbie the Robot you know it is gonna be good.
Slick, sexy and sublime - a gorgeous looking black and white Japanese noir, with angles and lifts to die for. This is stupidly well shot and is visually exciting throughout. A fantastic performance from Tatsuya Nakadai, as the highly charisma, unhinged psycho youth, striking back - possibly a top ten role, in a career full of outstanding performances. I know i shouldn't, but the ending did leave a smile on my face
Also the use of the jazz score is sublime, using it in certain action scenes to highlight the drama and enhance the sound and tone, to give the impression of "shrieks".
I find…
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Antecipates a lot of what's best about 60s Japanese New Wave influenced thrillers while combining tight formal control and terrific early Nakadai performance. Eizo Sugawa directs and he remains high under the subject for futher research for western cinephiles the days his movies become more widely available.
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There's always that chance of a literature student turning into a psychotic killer but that chance is even higher in a chaotic, corrupt, nihilistic post-war society. This here is very good stuff. Some interesting ideas, it's efficient, it's exceptionally well directed by Sugawa and the b/w photography is very good. But the whole thing is elevated by a truly brilliant Tatsuya Nakadai performance, one of my favourites from him.
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Who would have guessed the Japanese had their very own Joker in the 50s, portrayed by none other than Tatsuya Nakadai himself? Thinking about it, it makes perfect sense! Nakadai plays a young student who is fed up with society and turns into a ruthless killer out for his own benefits, using companions as literal shields against bullets to flee his pursuers. It's also strongly hinted at Nakadai's character being bisexual which feels very progressive for a film that is 62 years old. What spices things up even more is the fact that Nakadai's character is actually someone who profits from society but still despises it.
Suspenseful crime-noir with an electrifying performance from Tatsuya Nakadai that I strongly recommend checking out.
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96 mins of funride n very classy sassy,btw who told Nakadai to be so sexy in this film.
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Unleashing the beast. Nakadai living it up. Too cool for school, too wild to contain: doing what God forbids. He is as slick as can be in the evil games he plays. And it’s fascinating to watch.
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The only other Eizo Sugawa film I’ve seen is the colourful (literally and figuratively) bubbly musical You Can Succeed, Too and there’s little here to resemble that one. This film is an odd mix - equal parts post war sun-tribe teen malaise and rebellion, trashy genre crime film and an early exercise in the nihilistic side of the budding new wave. There’s a lot here that will translate to the current state of youth dissatisfaction with a story featuring a student population struggling with funding their overpriced tuition backdropped by the obstacles presented by a smug privileged older generation. The fly in the ointment here is young academic sociopath named Kunihiko Date, played by versatile Japanese superstar Tatsuya Nakadai (in…
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In addition to being violent, dark and pessimistic, this picture manages to be constantly surprising and original until the end.
A violent and nihilistic portrait that contains details that we will see later not only in Japanese cinema.
Remarkably stylized visually, music and performances also stand out. -
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The Beast Shall Die (1959) by Eizô Sugawa is a very fine work that explores the bestial and dexterous mind of a psychopath; brilliantly played by Tatsuya Nakadai. Though there aren't any exceptional shots in the film, it felt to me like the film wouldn't have looked half decent if it were made in colour. There are lots of instances in which we are reminded of the old Japanese morals, practices which needed to be changed dynamically according to the ultra fast modern world. Maybe this was a huge statement by the new wave director. The film is fast paced & there are no shortage of dialogues for concepts like: how a modern man ought to behave, survival of the fittest, not to waste youth, or some random philosophies etc. Apart from Nakadai, there are no standout performances by any of his co-stars. In a way, it fitted aptly to the theme the director wanted to convey to us.
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Nihilistic Nakadai exquisitely directed by Sugawa, a director I must admit to never having heard of before. The script isn’t necessarily anything special, but that kind of works in its favor. It’s a straightforward flick, and with its quick pacing and some cool shots it goes down very smooth indeed.
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I don’t think I would have hated this had it not starred Tatsuya Nakadai, but he’s so good it makes me feel like I need to give it a 3.5/5 default. He plays an unfeeling criminal sociopath so well here I’d swear he was one, had I not seen so many of his movies prior to this.
As for all the other parts of this movie, they’re pretty decent. It’s paced alright and has some nice black and white visuals. Story is somewhat interesting too, but Tatsuya Nakadai really does elevate it all.