Youth of the Beast
When a mysterious stranger muscles into two rival yakuza gangs, Tokyo's underworld explodes with violence.
Critics Sentiment
Film opens in black and white with apparent double suicide
Jo's connection to the call girl operation becomes apparent
The film dips to its lowest point during the middle act when Jo's connection to the call girls emerges, then steadily builds back up through the revelation of his true motives and the twist ending.
Youth of the Beast maintains strong audience appreciation throughout, with particular praise for Suzuki's visual style and the opening black-and-white sequence. While some middle sections suffer from pacing issues and dated action sequences, the film recovers with its satisfying twist ending and stylistic flourishes. Critics consistently praised Suzuki's breakthrough use of color and innovative cinematography even when finding fault with narrative elements.
Full cast
Showing 20 of 38
Joe Shishido
Jôji 'Jo' Mizuno
Misako Watanabe
Kumiko Takeshita
Tamio Kawachi
Hideo Nomoto
Minako Katsuki
Sawako Miura
Daizaburo Hirata
Shibata
Eimei Esumi
Gorô Minami
Eiji Gō
Shigeru Takechi
Akiji Kobayashi
Tatsuo Nomoto
Masao Shimizu
Yôsuke Ishiyama
Nobuo Kaneko
Sôichi Ozawa
Kōichi Uenoyama
Masao Hisano
Yuzo Kiura
Takeo Minegishi
Naomi Hoshi
Keiko
Hiroshi Kōno
Seizô Honma
Shuntaro Tamamura
Shôichi Maeda
Mizuho Suzuki
Detective Hirokawa
Zenji Yamada
Fujita
Yuriko Abe
Ikuko Kimuro
Shirō Yanase
Ken Ishizaki
Crew
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