May 12, 2016

"Belladonna of Grief" 1970s anime Erotica masterpiece gets US theatrical release, Blu-ray, art book

Features like Anomalisa and Sausage Party signal a sea change in America's palate for animated films. Younger audiences who have been raised on the complex storytelling of anime and the adult humor of South Park and The Simpsons demand more from animation nowadays, and U.S. film studios are responding with a growing number of adult-targeted features.

The mood for mature animated offerings in America is so upbeat right now that a 43-year-old erotic art film from Japan, Belladonna of Sadness, is being released in over 30 theaters this spring. The film, never officially released in the U.S., has received a loving 4K restoration, courtesy of Cinelicious Pics, which undertook the project at the urging of The Cinefamily repertory theater in Los Angeles.

Watch the trailer below:

The experimental art film was produced by Osamu Tezuka as part of his Animerama adult trilogy, and directed by frequent collaborator Eiichi Yamamoto. The following synopsis gives some idea of the unlikely elements that comprise the film:

But none of this begins to capture the experience of watching the film itself, which the New York Times calls “one of the most unusual ever made,” “a landmark of animated film,” and “compulsively watchable, even at its most disturbing.”

Following its theatrical run, the new 4K restoration will be released on Blu-ray in July (pre-order on Amazon). The release of the Blu-ray will be accompanied by a separate 160-page art book release (pre-order on Amazon) that includes script outtakes, stills, and other ephemera from the film, as well as a text about the film's restoration and interviews with director Eiichi Yamamoto and other crew members.

Here's the list of theatrical screening dates and theaters that will be showing the film over the coming months: