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Belladonna of Sadness aka "Kanashimi no Beradonna" [Blu-ray]
(Eiichi Yamamoto, 1973)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Nippon Herald Films Video: Cinelicious Pics
Disc: Region: 'A' (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player) Runtime: 1:27:18.750 Disc Size: 41,276,465,312 bytes Feature Size: 22,538,944,512 bytes Video Bitrate: 29.66 Mbps Chapters: 12 Case: Transparent Blu-ray case Release date: July 12th, 2016
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.33:1 Resolution: 1080p / 24 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio Japanese 1044 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1044 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit) DTS-HD Master Audio Japanese 1800 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1800 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles: English, None
Extras:
• New Video Interviews with Director Eiichi Yamamoto (23:20), Art
Director Kuni Fukai (16:51,) and Composer Masahiko Satoh
(27:20)
Bitrate:
Description: One of the great lost masterpieces of Japanese animation, never before officially released in the U.S., 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 & 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. The film has been newly restored by Cinelicious Pics using the original 35 mm camera negative and sound elements and including over 8 minutes of surreal footage cut from the negative. On par with Rene Laloux's FANTASTIC PLANET and Ralph Bakshi's WIZARDS as an LSD-stoked 1970s head trip, BELLADONNA marks a major rediscovery for animation fans. If Led Zeppelin had a favorite film, this would be it. In other words, Stairway to Hell.
The Film:
To summarize this film is to present a solid argument
that it’s one of the most unusual ever made: “Belladonna
of Sadness,” making its New York premiere on Friday,
is a 1973 Japanese erotic animated musical inspired by
the 19th-century French historian Jules Michelet’s
account of witchery in the Middle Ages. Excerpt from the NY Times located HERE
But for all its outré female sexuality/empowerment/critique of materialism tropes that may seem dated, it is how the narrative gets there – well, that is where the rubber meets the road. Visually, the film blends intricate, phantasmagoric, acid-trip animation with camera pans over gorgeous, watercolor-infused static paintings. Aurally, it gets even better with Masahiko Satô’s amazing psych rock/free jazz score coupled with a number of original songs that propel the plot. And then there’s the sex: orgies, numerous couplings with the Devil, a snail having congress with a clam, bunnies shooting out of anuses, penises erecting into literal giraffes. And that is just off the top of my head. I would caution those with a tendency to clutch their pearls at the sight of impropriety that, even by contemporary standards, there are some pretty transgressive episodes. But for those up for an adventure into the LSD-influenced world of counterculture animation, Belladonna of Sadness is a curious artifact that, after 43 years, remains a glorious mindfuck. Excerpt from The Austin Chronicle located HERE
Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. The dual-layered Cinelicious Pics Blu-ray of Belladonna of Sadness is from a recent 4K restoration and looks marvelous in 1080P. Not only are colors vibrant but the higher resolution has assisted in capturing the film's unique style and grace. It has a very high bitrate and looks superb in-motion with all the film's quirks and experimental shifts. It's clean with no noise and hints of texture (original 35mm elements) are prevalent. This Blu-ray gave me a very watchable, and occasionally jaw-dropping, viewing in regards to the picture quality.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio :Cinelicious Pics use a DTS-HD Master mono track at 1044 kbps or the option of a more robust stereo DTS-HD - both in original Japanese and both 24-bit. Dialogue is minimal and the film is "fueled by a mind-blowing Japanese psych rock soundtrack by noted avant-garde jazz composer Masahiko Satoh". It sounds excellent - with due credit to Satoh - some very odd chords but it seems to work beautifully with the film. There are optional English subtitles offered and my Oppo has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked.
Extras : Cinelicious offer some solid extras with new video interviews (over an hour's worth!) with director Eiichi Yamamoto (23:20), art director Kuni Fukai (16:51,) and composer Masahiko Satoh (27:20) - all aged and classy describing their lives and careers plus we get trailers and a liner notes 16 page booklet included.
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze July 5th, 2016
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About the Reviewer: Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out new film experiences. I currently own approximately 9500 DVDs and have reviewed over 5000 myself. I appreciate my discussion Listserv for furthering my film education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver. Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our Amazon links.
Although I never wanted to become one of those guys who
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find HD is swiftly pushing me in that direction. 60-Inch Class (59.58” Diagonal) 1080p Pioneer KURO Plasma Flat Panel HDTV PDP6020-FD
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