Underworld Beauty (1958) English · Blu-ray

Read more

Retrieving the diamonds he stashed before his arrest, thief Miyamoto hopes to help his old partner Mihara, crippled during the heist. Their former boss, crime lord Oyane, offers to mediate with a foreign buyer, but secretly wants the stones for himself. The deal goes awry when gunmen appear on the scene. Mihara swallows the diamonds but dies in the chase, leaving a valuable corpse in the police morgue. Miyamoto forms an uneasy alliance with Mihara's wildcat sister Akiko to keep the gems away from gangsters, cops and even Akiko's greedy boyfriend. This wildly inventive early noir sees Seijun Suzuki (Branded to Kill, Tattooed Life) infectiously playing with genre rules and gender stereotypes.

Extras: Interactive Menu, PCM Mono, Bonus Footage, Commentary: William Carroll (Seijun Suzuki biographer), Interviews: Mizuki Kodama (critic), Short film from Seijun Suzuki: 'Love Letter' (1959); Sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow, Trailers