Belladonna of Sadness
The last film produced by Mushi Production. They went bankrupt shortly after its release.,The end of the film references the French Revolution of 1789, but then an image is shown of Eugène Delacroix's famous painting "Liberty Leading the People." That painting - "Liberty Leading the People" - depicts the July Revolution of 1830, not the French Revolution of 1789.,Jeanne: Your Ladyship, have pity!,There are no ending credits or a 'THE END' title; all the credits are at the beginning. The opening theme is reprized over a blank screen after the final scene. The 2015 restoration adds a copyright byline and credits for the restoration.,According to the liner notes booklet contained with the Japanese DVD of the film, there are six known versions of the film.
The first was a draft version that was hastily created to meet a deadline that the film had to be shown to the distributor, Nippon Herald, for their perusal by August 1972. This version, which contains temporary placeholder shots made by a team separate from the main crew, has never been shown to the public.,Follows A Thousand & One Nights (1969),Inside the Pale Mirror
Lyrics by Chinatsu Nakayama
Music by Masahiko Satô
Performed by Chinatsu Nakayama,This film is a masterpiece. There are very few animation films that cross the territory into high art, but this is one. Calling it anime is kind of a disservice as it is more rooted in animated art films than it is anime. This may be Japans first animated masterpiece. But it was not done in a style many of us understand to be anime. It is deeply surrealistic in both imagery and approach. While some scenes are not animated, but rather hand painted still frames which are panned and edited together, but this never detracts from the overall context of the film. The animation itself is a blend of styles throughout the film, but the heavy use of watercolor lends well to the new 4K restored version.

This is a very adult film. It is highly sexual in nature. As an art film though from this era, it is actually not out of bounds. With that being said, art films, especially foreign ones, are not for everybody.

This is a feminist film, but it may be a difficult film to watch for some. So a bit of a trigger warning for those who care. The themes do deal deeply with sexual trauma and violence, and recovering from it. It is also though about finding independence in a patriarchal system, and ownership of ones own sexuality.

So beyond all that, if you do want to experience something different and beautiful, this film is something to behold. Everything from the great psychedelic rock, and free jazz soundtrack, to the mix of animation and artistic styles, we have a film that stands out even to this day. It is unique in what it offers. It's restoration should be celebrated.

On a side note, I have to credit AFI Silver in Silver Spring, MD for screening this film. It remains one of the best cinema's in the country as otherwise forgotten films find new audiences. This really has not been screened much in the US.

My hope is this does make it to blu-ray or some other media format. For now the credit is to the new distributors, but also arts cinemas like AFI Silver that are currently screening the film. It is a rare treat to see a film like this.,