Belladonna of Sadness

Belladonna of Sadness
Theatrical release poster
Japanese name
Kanji哀しみのベラドンナ
Transcriptions
Revised HepburnKanashimi no Beradonna
Directed byEiichi Yamamoto
Screenplay by
Based onSatanism and Witchcraft
by Jules Michelet
Produced by
  • Tadami Watanabe
  • Teruaki Yoshida
  • Makoto Motohashi
  • Keiko Koike[1]
Starring
Narrated byChinatsu Nakayama[1]
CinematographyShigeru Yamazaki
Edited byMasashi Furukawa
Music byMasahiko Satoh
Production
company
Distributed byNippon Herald Films
Release dates
  • June 27, 1973 (1973-06-27) (Berlin)
  • June 30, 1973 (1973-06-30) (Japan)
Running time
86 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Belladonna of Sadness (Japanese: 哀しみのベラドンナ, Hepburn: Kanashimi no Beradonna)[a] is a 1973 Japanese adult animated surrealist art film produced by the animation studio Mushi Production and distributed by Nippon Herald Films. It is the third and final entry in Mushi Production's adult-oriented Animerama trilogy, following A Thousand and One Nights (1969) and Cleopatra (1970). It follows the story of Jeanne, a peasant woman who makes a faustian deal with the devil after she is raped by the local nobility on the night of her wedding day.

Although its initial release was a commercial failure and caused the studio to go bankrupt, the film was considered a cult film in retrospective years.[6] It is notable for its erotic, religious, violent, and psychedelic imagery, with its tackling themes of misogyny, feudal oppression, moral depravity, rebellion, and witch-hunting.[7][8]

  1. ^ a b "哀しみのベラドンナ / Sorrow of belladonna" (in Japanese). Japan Movie Database. Archived from the original on March 19, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2016. 製作=虫プロ=日本ヘラルド 1973.06.30 89分 カラー ワイド / Production = Mushi = Nippon Herald, 1973.06.30 89 minutes color wide.
  2. ^ Opening credits of film
  3. ^ "Belladonna of Sadness". Turner Classic Movies.
  4. ^ "Tragedy of Belladonna". Mushi Productions. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  5. ^ Sharp, Jasper (July 3, 2006). "Round-Up #22: Anime special". Midnight Eye. Archived from the original on July 28, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2008.
  6. ^ "15 Cult Animated Movies You Might Not Have Seen « Taste of Cinema". Tasteofcinema.com. July 27, 2015. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  7. ^ Palacino, Natalia; Gaw, Mick (October 7, 2022). "Off the Radar: 'Belladonna of Sadness' paints a vivid feminist nightmare in watercolor". Washington Square News. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  8. ^ Wilkinson, Alissa. "Belladonna of Sadness movie review (2016)". Roger Ebert. Retrieved July 1, 2023.


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