Is this erotic anime one of the most beautiful… | Little White Lies

Incoming

Is this erot­ic ani­mé one of the most beau­ti­ful films ever made?

08 Apr 2016

Words by David Jenkins

Colourful surreal landscape with flowing red and orange forms, abstract figures, and symbolic shapes in the background.
Colourful surreal landscape with flowing red and orange forms, abstract figures, and symbolic shapes in the background.
Look out for Eiichi Yamamoto’s trans­gres­sive epic from 1973, Bel­ladon­na of Sadness.

There’s no bet­ter feel­ing that when film archivists and restor­ers choose to unearth a lit­tle seen gem from the ground rather than direct their con­sid­er­able skills towards giv­ing some canon­i­cal clas­sic its 17th ser­vice wash. Bel­ladon­na of Sad­ness is a strange, swirling, psy­che­del­ic and trans­gres­sive epic from Japan­ese direc­tor Eiichi Yamamo­to work­ing with along­side one of the high-priests of mod­ern ani­mé, Osamu Tezu­ka. As you can see from the stills below, the art­work used to build the film is insane­ly intri­cate and detailed, and it’s all enveloped in an woozy jazz-rock sound­track from Masahiko Satoh. This vital new restora­tion was under­tak­en by US dis­trib­u­tor Cine­li­cious Pics who are releas­ing the film in the US in mid-May. We’ve got fin­gers, toes and every­thing else crossed that it’s not long before it makes its way to UK screens. For now, check out these amaz­ing stills (cour­tesy of Cine­li­cious Pics) and the trail­er for the cleaned up new version…

Watercolour illustration of 2 figures in white against a vibrant background of pink, red, and green floral shapes.
Illustration of a woman with long, wavy purple hair and a pensive expression. Soft, pastel colours are used, with an ethereal, dreamlike quality to the composition.
Watercolour illustration of a colourful hummingbird-like creature held in a hand. Vibrant pink, purple, and green shapes form the bird's body, with a slender beak.
Illustration of a person reclining on a dark, textured background with abstract patterns and swirls of pink, orange, and blue.
White silhouetted figure against bright red background, with black areas creating contrast.
Vibrant abstract painting depicting a woman's face with floral elements, comprising vibrant hues of green, blue, yellow, and red.
Surreal gathering of fantastical figures in vivid colours, shapes, and patterns; striking visual composition with unusual elements.
A stylised illustration of a woman's face with long, wavy hair framing her and a large green leaf-like shape in the background.

Bel­ladon­na of Sad­ness is released in the US on 16 May, 2016. Vis­it Cine­li­cious Pics for more details.

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