The Beast to Die

Action star Yusaku Matsuda started his journey towards melding arthouse film and pop in this mesmerizingly stylized and Nietzschean heist film about a war reporter planning to rob a bank. Scriptwriter Shoichi Maruyama became an overnight sensation for his unique mix of the surreal and hard-boiled realism. Haruki Kadokawa used the film to embark on a new kind of small-scale blockbuster that emphasized artistic freedom. Though based on a bestseller by Haruhiko Oyabu, Kadokawa told Maruyama: "All I want is the novel’s title and your modern sensibility." Foreshadowing the self-reflexive play of Japan’s bubble era, the film tackles the insecurities of an increasingly international Japan. New 4k restoration!

1980, 119 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with live English subtitles. Directed by Toru Murakawa. With Yusaku Matsuda, Takeshi Kaga, Hideo Murota.

Part of Pop! Goes Cinema: Kadokawa Film & 1980s Japan.

Tickets: $13/$10 seniors & students/$9 Japan Society members

Special Offer: Purchase at least 3 tickets in the same transaction and receive $2 off each ticket. (Not available online for Corporate Members—please call the Box Office at 212-715-1258 to make arrangements.)

18+. This film is unrated, but may only be viewed by persons 18 years of age and older.

The Beast to Die © 1980 Kadokawa Corp.

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