Underworld Beauty

Pretty Interesting
Visionary Japanese Director Suzuki Seijun got pretty far out there later in his career. But this 1950’s Yakuza flick should be pretty accessible by most audiences. It provides a glimpse of post-war Yokohama and the Yakuza underworld, and of a talented director who would later rise to esoteric genius.

and Suzuki moves this crime noir along at a pretty steady pace
Underworld Beauty (1958) directed by Seijun SuzukiA dark look at the yakuza underworld, where a boyfriend will cut the stones out his freshly dead girlfriend’s brother just to get rich!Miyamoto (Michitaro Mizushima) upon being released from jail, retrieves three diamonds from a robbery that put him there, only to tell the yakuza boss he’s giving them to his partner, who lost a leg in the crime, kept his mouth shut, and is living in poverty. They’re not keen on that idea. The beauty here is Akiko (Mari Shiraki), his partner’s younger sister, who’s more interested in partying and posing nude for a local mannequin maker, who she also dates.The sets are impressive, the blacks are as jarring as I’ve ever seen them in a B&W film, and Suzuki moves this crime noir along at a pretty steady pace, already showing some of his interesting touches. His juxtaposition between the young teens dancing at the soda shop and the dark world of the yakuza is interesting… the pure joy and sexuality in their behavior against everyone trying to get their hands on the diamonds in their miserable dark spaces…It’s not a film without it’s flaws – at times it looks so good, it’s easy to forget it was put together cheaply and quickly, but it’s worth seeing especially for an early look at Suzuki’s work.

Yakuza-noir from a Japanese master
Seijun Suzuki’s reputation is for weirdness, like the rice-sniffing killer of “Branded to Kill,” mixed into violent Yakuza thrillers. His directorial style was shaped over a long career, and his influence on modern film directors such as Quentin Tarentino is vast. “Underworld Beauty” (“Ankokugai no Bijo”) is a much-earlier film, his seventh to be precise, and, while a more straight-forward film than his surreal style to come, still shines with a spark of something different.The plot is pure noir goodness, a complicated stewpot of intrigues. Two gangsters comit a daring diamond robbery. One, Mihara, is permanently maimed, one, Miyamoto, goes to jail. Fresh from jail, the Miyamoto wants to donate his share of the diamonds to Mihara, so he can retire peacefully. Their former gang boss, Oyane, thinks that is a pretty bad idea and wants the diamonds for himself. Mihara swallows the diamonds before being killed, and goes to the morgue with a belly full of treasure. Enter his sister Akiko, the titular underworld beauty. Her corrupt artist boyfriend cuts the diamonds from her brother’s body, and then attempts a sale to Oyane. Miyamoto intervenes to protect both Akiko and restore the diamonds to her.The diamonds, of course, are a classic McGuffin, leading the dangerous characters into conflict. Miyamoto is a hard-boiled anti-hero, tough as nails and a cool head in any situation. Akiko is gorgeous, both wild and innocent she is one minute frustrating and the next endearing. The actors for these lead characters are excellent, giving solid performances. Suzuki sets the climax in a sculptor’s studio, allowing for body parts and mannequins to obfuscate the action as bullets go flying. (Bullets spat from the single most unrealistic machine gun I have ever seen!)Suzuki is one of the true masters of Japanese film, and it is great to see his able hand doing something as unusually straight-forward. While not a great film, not up to the standards of “The Maltese Falcon” or “Touch of Evil,” “Underworld Beauty” is still a fun flick for noir fans and Japanese film fans alike.

I enjoy the Radiance releases but ignore the sleeve about subversive gender stereotypes and the artwork featuring the main female character holding a weapon which never happens in the film. It’s a movie about violent men. Also the 15 rating for “strong nudity” makes no sense.