Rent The Sleeping Beast Within / Smashing the O-Line (1960)
3.1 of 5 from 50 ratings
2h 55min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Double bill of Japanese classic crimes by Seijun Suzuki.
The Sleeping Beast Within (1960)This gritty Nikkatsu Noir sees Suzuki at his most nihilistic, as newspaper reporter Shotaro goes in search with his girlfriend Keiko for her father Junpei, a trading company employee who mysteriously vanishes shortly after returning to Japan from a two-year work placement in Hong Kong. Junpei's abrupt reappearance, however, leaves many questions unanswered, and sensing all is not as it seems, Shotaro continues in his attempts to find out what actually happened. The quest leads from sleazy drinking holes into the dark heart of the criminal underworld of Yokohama's Chinatown, as he encounters a string of mysterious love suicides, a vampish bar hostess and the eerie Sun God religious sect on the way.
Smashing the O-Line (1960)
Close buddies and journalists for rival newspapers, Nishina and Katori use very different methods as they compete to get to the roots of a notorious drug and human trafficking operation. The unscrupulous Katori will stop at nothing when it comes to getting a scoop, including exploiting both family and personal connections and shopping his own girlfriend. Nevertheless, his ruthless methods soon drive a wedge between him and his friend, leading him on a journey into his own heart of darkness.- Actors:
- Hiroyuki Nagato, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Shinsuke Ashida, Kinzô Shin, Kôjirô Kusanagi, Keisuke Noro, Kô Nishimura, Shôichi Ozawa, Hisano Yamaoka, Yûko Kusunoki, Tsutomu Shimomoto, Yuji Kodaka, Sanae Nakahara, Mayumi Shimizu, Tomo'o Nagai, Kaku Takashina, Emiko Azuma, Ryôhei Uchida
- Directors:
- Seijun Suzuki
- Producers:
- Takiko Mizunoe, Shôzô Ashida
- Writers:
- Ichirô Ikeda, Goro Tanada, Yasuro Yokoyama
- Aka:
- Kemono no nemuri / Mikkô zero rain
- Studio:
- Arrow Films
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Classics, Drama, Thrillers
- Countries:
- Japan
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 16/04/2018
- Run Time:
- 175 minutes
- Languages:
- Japanese Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono
- Subtitles:
- English
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 2.35:1
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Audio commentary by critic and author Jasper Sharp on 'Smashing the 0-Line'
- Tony Rayns on the Crime and Action Movies - the critic and historian discusses the background to the films, their place within Suzuki's career and the talent involved with them
- Stills gallery
