Rent Belladonna of Sadness (1973)
3.6 of 5 from 82 ratings
1h 25min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
One of the great lost masterpieces of Japanese animation. "Belladonna of Sadness" is a mad, swirling, psychedelic light-show of medieval tarot-card imagery with horned demons, haunted forests and La Belle Dame Sans Merci with J.R.R. Tolkien influences. The last film in the Animerama trilogy produced by the godfather of Japanese anime and manga, Osamu Tezuka and directed by his longtime collaborator Eiichi Yamamoto (Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion), 'Belladonna' unfolds as a series of spectacular still watercolor paintings that bleed and twist together. A young woman, Jeanne (voiced by Aiko Nagayama) is assaulted by the local lord on her wedding night. To take revenge, she makes a pact with the Devil himself (voiced by Tatsuya Nakadai, from Akira Kurosawa's 'Ran') who appears as a sprite and transforms her into a black-robed vision of madness and desire. Extremely transgressive, 'Belladonna' is fueled by a mind-blowing Japanese psych rock soundtrack by noted avant-garde jazz composer Masahiko Satoh. - Directors:
- Eiichi Yamamoto
- Producers:
- Osamu Tezuka
- Voiced By:
- Aiko Nagayama, Masaya Takahashi, Masakane Yonekura, Katsuyuki Itô, Shigako Shimegi, Masaaki Tsukada, Hatsuo Yamaya, Reiko Niimura, Akio Hayashi, Masakazu Yamaguchi, Yozo Isozaki, Masashi Ishibashi, Orio Yoshiro, Machiko Ito, Hitoshi Gôko, Kikuchi Kenyukai, Tatsuya Nakadai, Natsuka Yashiro
- Narrated By:
- Chinatsu Nakayama
- Writers:
- Jules Michelet, Yoshiyuki Fukuda, Eiichi Yamamoto
- Aka:
- Kanashimi no Beradonna
- Genres:
- Anime & Animation
- Collections:
- A Brief History of Pantomime Stories on Film: Part 2, A Brief History of Film...
- Countries:
- Japan
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 26/06/2017
- Run Time:
- 87 minutes
- Languages:
- Japanese DTS 5.1
- Subtitles:
- English
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Full Screen 1.33:1 / 4:3
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- New Video Interviews with Director Eiichi Yamamoto, Art Director Kuni Fukai, and Composer Masahiko Satoh
- Red Band Trailer
- Green Band Trailer
- Original Trailer
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 07/02/2022
- Run Time:
- 87 minutes
- Languages:
- Japanese DTS 5.1
- Subtitles:
- English
- DVD Regions:
- Region 2
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Full Screen 1.33:1 / 4:3
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- New Video Interviews with Director Eiichi Yamamoto, Art Director Kuni Fukai, and Composer Masahiko Satoh
- Red Band Trailer
- Green Band Trailer
- Original Trailer
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Reviews (1) of Belladonna of Sadness
Grotesque, gorgeous, and more exhausting than entrancing - Belladonna of Sadness review by griggs
A strange, haunting watch. The plot’s simple enough, but it’s really the style that defines it—like flipping through a psychedelic Art Nouveau picture book set to jazz. Some of the slow pans are pretty striking, though they start to drag after a while. With so little dialogue or narrative drive, it becomes a bit of a slog—especially with subtitles competing for attention against the intense, surreal imagery. You’re always likely to miss something. Grotesque and more unsettling than sexy.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.