Cruel Story of Youth (1960)
Criterion Collection, Restored, Special Edition

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A scorching tale of toxic love in a toxic world, Nagisa Oshima’s second feature film marked the artistic breakthrough of one of the most radical voices in the history of Japanese cinema. Caught in the dog-eat-dog crucible of postwar Tokyo, teenage lovers Makoto (Miyuki Kuwano) and Kiyoshi (Yusuke Kawazu) turn to a life of crime, entrapping lecherous middle-aged men in order to extort their money. But how long can the wayward youths outrun their fate? Bursting with vivid color, this visually scintillating, furiously nihilistic film howls with rage at a society in which everything—love, sex, and youthful idealism—has been corrupted.

BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
A Town of Love and Hope (1959), director Nagisa Oshima’s first feature film
Tomorrow’s Sun (1959), a short film by Oshima
Interview with film scholar Tony Rayns
Trailer
PLUS: An essay by critic Chris Fujiwara

New cover by Mariam El-Reweny