Why has Japanese director Yasuzo Masumura been so completely and utterly ignored in the West? Although credited with sparking off the Japanese New Wave in the 1960s, and recognised as a major influence on directors such as Nagisa Oshima and Shohei Imamura, over here Masumura has remained little more than an obscure curio. The stunning audacity and hysterical beauty of his work certainly deserves a closer look and the release of some of his major films on DVD – for the first time in the UK – provides us with the perfect opportunity. Last month we reviewed Manji, this month we have Red Angel and Blind Beast.