Belladonna of Sadness (1973)

Name: Belladonna of Sadness (1973)
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Animation
Released: May 6, 2016
Duration: 93 min
Rating: 70

2016

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Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews

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Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Ratings

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7.1	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Ratings

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Belladonna Of Sadness (Explicit Trailer)

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Movie Details & Credits

Cinelicious Pics | Release Date: May 6, 2016 | Not Rated

Summary: 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, equal parts J.R.R. Tolkien and gorgeous, explicit Gustav Klimt-influenced eroticism. The last film in the adult-themed Animerama trilogy produced by the godfather of Japanese animeBelladonna 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, equal parts J.R.R. Tolkien and gorgeous, explicit Gustav Klimt-influenced eroticism. The last film in the adult-themed Animerama trilogy produced by the godfather of Japanese anime & manga, Osamu Tezuka and directed by his long time 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. An innocent young woman, Jeanne (voiced by Aiko Nagayama) is violently raped by the local lord on her wedding night. To take revenge, she makes a pact with the Devil himself (voiced by Tatsuya Nakadai) who appears as an erotic sprite and transforms her into a black-robed vision of madness and desire. [Cinelicious Pics]… Expand

Director: Eiichi Yamamoto

Genre(s): Drama, Fantasy, Animation

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 93 min

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Critic Reviews

Oleg Ivanov

May 2, 2016

Eiichi Yamamoto's cult anime strikes a perfect balance between midnight-movie enchantment and arthouse sophistication. Read full review

Ignatiy Vishnevetsky

May 5, 2016

Perhaps too ambitious for its own good (or at least its budget), the film is impossible to dismiss, even if it exhausts its reserve of ideas. Read full review

IndieWire David Ehrlich

May 5, 2016

There's an undeniable genius at work here, strong enough to survive the psychedelic sleaze that's been baked into every frame. Read full review

The Film Stage Amanda Waltz

May 7, 2016

For all its overindulgence in depravity, Belladonna stands as both an important forebear to a now-beloved genre and a confused, albeit earnest tribute to those who dare defy authority in order to elevate themselves. Read full review

Soren Andersen

Jun 23, 2016

A virgin, defiled. A pact with the devil, consummated. Erotomania, running wild. It’s Belladonna of Sadness, and in it there will be blood. And watercolors. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Alissa Wilkinson

May 6, 2016

That mashup — of feminine beauty and insanity-inducing toxicity —is a good cipher for everything about Belladonna of Sadness (“Kanashimi no Balladonna”). Read full review

Simon Abrams

May 5, 2016

You can fully enjoy Belladonna of Sadness if you either overlook or participate in the objectification of a gorgeous victim. Read full review

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User Reviews

EpicLadySponge

Jul 13, 2016

Personally, I think the whole 'anime' thing is overrated, but does that even affect movies or TV shows that have the same flaw? Nope, and I can guarantee you that no cliché will be in the way while watching this.

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Quantumcroquet

Nov 23, 2020

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. If it weren't for the content of the movie itself, the artwork deserves 10 stars. It's beautifully created, very trippy movie - on par with "Fantastic Planet" and "Yellow Submarine". There is no resolution to this movie, however. It consists of a poor woman who gets married, forcefully and vividly raped by a warlord, attacked by her husband, outcast from her village, and the entire theme throughout the movie is her being raped by different individuals, including the devil. She then gets turned into a sex object basically, and then at the end gets burned at the stake. She is vilified for being a beautiful woman and tortured for it, with no one expressing true love or compassion for her. Yes, this is the actual content of the movie… Expand

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