If someone is asked to identify their favorite war-related films, most likely they’ll name American-made films, not because they’re inherently better but because they are often more prolific. The truth is that war is one of the few concepts that binds us all, so stories of conflict or a person’s response to conflict are not specific to the American experience, though international tales are often connected to American Imperialism. Stories like Gates of Flesh (1988) and Hong Kong 1941 (1984), for instance, speak to the ways in which individuals respond to invasion and external control while Eastern Condors (1987) uses war as a basis for exploring human value. Based upon the Haruhiko Ôyabu novel Yajû shisubeshi and adapted by screenwriter Shōichi Maruyama (Yokohama BJ Blues), filmmaker Tōru Murakawa (The Execution Game) explores the ways in which war corrupts and consumes any who are touched by it, even those tasked with documenting it in The Beast to Die (野獣死すべし), the filmmaker’s last collaboration with actor Yūsaku Matsuda (Black Rain; Yokohama BJ Blues). Via Radiance Films, viewers are invited to experience this dark crime thriller with a brand-new 4K restoration, three new features, and two essays on the emotionally profound title.
On a dark, rainy night, a police officer is attacked by a stranger, killed, and had his pistol stolen from him which is then used in the commission of a theft. This would be the first of several crimes Kunihiko Date (Matsuda) would commit, his reasoning a confluence of annihilated ethics via horrible trauma, his only comfort the classical music concerts he attends and the records he spins at home. But when a random meeting at a lunch with old friends introduces him to a like-minded individual, suddenly the cold and isolated Date has the chance at community but it may lead to their total ruination.
The following review is based on a retail copy of The Beast to Die provided by MVD Entertainment Group.
When it comes to films exploring the impact of war, The Beast to Die would make excellent viewing as a companion piece to Apocalypse Now (1979), Full Metal Jacket (1987), or even Da 5 Bloods (2020) as each film explores the cost of fighting physically and psychologically. In the case of The Beast to Die, the focus is on a war photographer who has seen and experienced such devastating things, borne witness to the depravity of humankind, that he’s completely snapped, unable to feel or engage with people, creating a perpetual icy exterior despite the fervent activity underneath his surface. He longs for connection, as shown by attending concerts or by extending a metaphorical hand to Tetsuo Sanada (Takeshi Kaga), but he disdains actual contact, as shown by his distancing from potential love interest Reiko Hanada (Asami Kobayashi) and the way he engages with the sex worker he hires. Truly, the only times he seems comfortable is when he’s listening to classical music, though one surmises that it may be because the strings and drums might just remind him of the gunshots and explosions of the battlefield, thereby signifying his dysregulated nervous system as perpetually triggered and unable to reach a natural resting state. Murakawa gives the audience no background to understand the violence we witness as Date doesn’t speak for roughly the first 20 minutes or so and the film is absent narration. One can only guess at his reasoning at first, especially given the haphazard methodology Date uses in his crimes. He’s not unintelligent, as we observe from the research process of his second crime which takes up the bulk of the narrative, but his inexperience in participation of violence shows through in his attack of the policeman at the start. It helps that Murakawa shoots the sequence at a distance in a striking long take devoid of style or grace, giving the fight between the two a sense of stark reality against the stylishness of the violence that follows. When everything does eventually come to a head, it almost seems like Date comes to his senses only to realize that his access to the light, metaphorically speaking, is gone, only the darkness will keep him alive. The Beast to Die is a tragedy of many kinds, death and violation, the usurping of righteousness and justice replaced with nihilism, all executed by a man who merely witnessed the horrors of humanity. Image, then, what the experience does to the perpetrators and victims and the failures of systems to provide support.
If this sort of dark and brooding noir is your cup of tea, the bonus features are only going to enhance your appreciation. On the disc are three brand-new, recorded specifically for Radiance, interviews: one with Murakawa, one with Maruyama, and one with novelist/screenwriter Jordan Harper (She Rides Shotgun). The interviews with Murakawa and Maruyama, produced by Tom Mes, average 20 minutes each and offer detailed insight into the film, including context of working relationships. Murakawa specifically discusses his working relationship with frequent collaborator Matsuda (how this was to be their last theatrical release until Matsuda asked Murakawa to direct the actor’s last project before his passing from bladder cancer, a TV film called The Chaser), the adaptation from Oyabu’s novel, and some of the thematic/symbolic elements of Date’s journey into the heart of darkness. Where Murakawa talks about the shooting of the film, Maruyama expectedly discusses the drafting of the script via adapting the novel, the need to understand where Date is coming from, and his own relationship with Matsuda. The last one, the interview with Harper is, obviously, less directly connected to the making of the film, but provides a modern screenwriter’s perspective on the 1980 noir, as well as addresses the cinematic connection between The Beast to Die and American cinema which, Harper implies, is a direct influence.
As is now expected, the deeper exploration of the new Radiance edition doesn’t end with the on-disc materials as there are two essays included in the limited-edition release. The first is a 2004 essay from Mes that focuses on Matsuda in terms of art and artist, exploring the ways in which the actor should’ve been more well-known globally than he is. The second, a 2025 essay from Tatsuya Masuto, explores the film through Masuto’s specific perspective as someone who was in high school at the time of release, detailing the lengths Matsuda went to prepare for the role, as well as Masuto’s own reaction to the complex film (separate from the prior adaptation The Beast Shall Die (1959) and original novel). Particularly of note is the way that Masuto draws parallels not just from the post-Vietnam War perspective the film holds, but from post-war Japan’s point of view that the country still maintained in the same period. Masuto even provides a few honorable mentions for the cast and crew who bring the film to life. The rest of the booklet is the typical cast/crew information, stills from the film, transfer notes, thanks, and credits to help readers know where the restoration came from and who participated in making it.
Regarding the restoration, the booklet states that the transfer to 4K was handled by original studio Kadokawa Corporation, who then passed the high-definition digital file to Radiance Films for duplication. Unfortunately, there’s no clear indication as to what the source materials were for the restoration or the process used to create this restoration. What can be identified is that the video and audio elements (with few exceptions) are as clear and crisp as one could hope for. There are a few sequences, such as the opening montage of Tokyo wherein the grain is heaviest and a song in which the audio gets clips on the high end, where one can see the age of the film, but, otherwise, the colors are rich and deep, the details refined, and the clarity sharp. The aforementioned dark and rainy sequence shot from a distance is supremely easy to follow, even as the frame is comprised of blues, whites, and black, given Seizō Sengen’s (Sailor Suit and Machine Gun) cinematography; whereas the record store Date peruses is shot to capture the natural warmth and neutral tones of the store. The color and clarity are most important as the violence ratchets upward and the cinematography grows tighter on Date, his accomplice, and those around him, moving the violence from something distant and slightly abstract to something entirely distinct and so terrible that we’re unable to look away.
With this initial run of 3,000 copies, the limited edition offers the usual trimmings of past Radiance titles. The clear plastic case enables purchasers to see the new cover art from Time Tomorrow featuring a moment not in the film compared to the back which features one that is. It also includes the standard removeable OBI strip that contains the release and edition information for owners who’d prefer an unobstructed view of the liner. Yes, the liner is reversible, with the inside cover possessing all the same release information that’s on the back of the OBI strip, plus smaller stills from other parts of the film on the left side and a reprinting of the original artwork on the right.
There are plenty of films that get described as “dark and thrilling,” “challenging,” and “hard-boiled,” but too few actually live up to the expectation these words create. The Beast to Die actually does, often because it repeatedly chooses the dark path while, magically, never causing us to totally lose empathy for Date. He’s broken, to be sure, as he slowly turns the streets of Tokyo into the same jungles he fought through in his last assignment in Vietnam, blending the world he knows with the one he can’t escape. To take control of his world through violence, blood, and murder means that he can finally make sense of it by making himself above it all. Except, to raise himself above, he has to go to the darkest parts of humanity, thereby shunning the light. He’s afraid and lashing out at literally everyone, yet not without conscience — not entirely. This is why the film should be talked about in the same breath as other, well-known war pictures, not just for its content but for the performance by Matsuda which grabs you like razor wire and won’t let go.
The Beast to Die Special Features:
- 4K Restoration by Kadokawa
- Uncompressed stereo PCM audio
- *NEW* filmed interview with director Toru Murakawa (2025, 20 mins)
- *NEW* filmed interview with screenwriter Shoichi Maruyama (2025, 23 mins)
- *NEW* Critical appreciation from novelist and screenwriter Jordan Harper (2025, 12 mins)
- *NEW* improved English subtitle translation
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
- Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Tatsuya Masuto and Tom Mes
- Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
Available on Blu-ray July 22nd, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Radiance Films The Beast to Die webpage.
To purchase, head to the official MVD Entertainment Group The Beast to Die webpage.
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Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews
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