Elegant Beast aka The Graceful Brute is a 1962 comedy/ thriller from director Yuzo Kawamashima (The Temple of Wild Geese, Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate and The Balloon), adapted from his own stage play by acclaimed writer/director Kaneto Shindo (Onibaba, Kuroneko and Children of Hiroshima) and starring Ayako Wakao (Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo, Seiasku’s Wife and A Wife Confesses), Yunosuke Ito (Sanjuro, Ikiru and Ninja, A Band of Assassins) and Yuko Hamada (The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch, Baby Cart to Hades and Zatoichi the Outlaw).

Elegant Beast follows the fortunes or should that be the misfortunes of the Maeda family. Tokizo Maeda (Ito) is an ex-naval officer and he and his family lead what is an outwardly humble existence in a small flat, however, the truth may be somewhat different. In the opening scene, Tokizo and his wife hide all of their valuable possessions around the flat before their son Minoru’s boss, Ichiro Katori (Hideo Takamatsu, from The Last Emperor, Shogun and Typhoon Reporter) and his accountant arrive to pay a visit. It appears Minoru has been embezzling money from the company to the tune of one million yen. Father and son both have ideas about how best to invest the money, Tokizo is investing money in a host of different military projects, while Minoru (Manamitsu Kawabata) spends it frivolously on his girlfriend, Yukie (Wakao), who just so happens to be Katori’s book-keeper. On top of all this, the family’s daughter Tomoko (Hamada) is the mistress of a wealthy author, from whom she keeps borrowing money for the family. Slowly all their plans and schemes start to unravel as we discover that Yukie has also been sleeping with Katori and his tax collector, played by Eiji Funakoshi (Gamera: The Giant Monster, The Blind Beast and The Unfettered Shogun). Yukie quits her job and with all of the money she has gratefully received from the three men plans to open an inn. 

Whilst the plot of the movie is complex, it’s also very well written by Kaneto Shindo. The family’s schemes and plans are well plotted out and a lot of the movie’s comedy arises from their ability to talk their way out of the many difficult situations they find themselves in. The cast is excellent across the board,  however, special attention should be given to Ito, Kawabata and Wakao who are the standout performers. 

The entire movie takes place within the family’s apartment, a difficult premise to make work effectively, however, the superior writing of Kaneto Shindo and the excellent performances of the cast are enough to ensure that it never gets boring, overindulgent or one-dimensional. It’s an interesting study of greed and the lengths people will go to, to achieve great wealth.

The disc itself is beautifully presented with a lovely new 4k restoration of the movie that means it has never looked better and a host of interesting bonus materials including an interview with film critic Toshiaki Sato, an appreciation by film-maker Toshiaki Toyoda and a video essay on post-war Japanese architecture in cinema by Tom Mes alongside a beautifully compiled booklet with stills and essays by Midori Suiren and Yasunari Takahashi.

Overall this is a beautifully packaged set for an underrated classic of Japanese cinema and another excellent addition to the Radiance films collection. If, however, this is your bag, you may want to grab it quickly as the set is strictly limited to 3,000 copies and I’m sure it will sell very quickly.