John Woo’s ‘Beast’ will have its day!

"Youth of the Beast" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Can’t say I ever saw this coming. John Woo is reportedly planning to direct a remake of Seijun Suzuki’s 1963 film Youth of the Beast. Woo’s version will carry the title Day of the Beast. Here’s where things get crazy (and multi-national): the remake is set in Tokyo and sees a Western outsider become involved in a turf war between the Yakuza and the Russian mob. Day of the Beast will be shot in English with an eye on making sure the movie has international appeal.

Director Seijin Suzuki is perhaps best known for movies like Branded to Kill (1967) and Tokyo Drifter (1966), both of which are available from the Criterion Collection. John Woo claims he has been wanting to remake Youth of the Beast for 10 years but only now has he secured the rights from the Nikkatsu company.

Even if the premise and title are a deviation from Suzuki’s original, I’m just looking forward to seeing John Woo behind the camera again for a modern day gangster picture. Let’s hope this ends up being one hell of a ‘pistol opera.’

Update: It’s been 2 long years since we updated this article. For a while, we thought Day of the Beast was cancelled, but in a recent interview with Jaynestars, John Woo says it’s still on the horizon. Woo has just wrapped up his upcoming film, The Crossing. After the completion of his next film, Flying Tigers, he will finally start production on Day of the Beast, followed by an untitled action film with Tsui Hark. – Thanks to DiP!