Eiichi Yamamoto's Belladonna of Sadness (1973) from Osamu Tezuka's Mushi Pro studio.
Super rare and breathtaking animation loosely based on the story of Joan of Arc. Junno, a young woman, sells her soul to the devil, is violently and repeatedly raped by the king and satan, obtains the power to save her village from the black death, whips the villagers into an orgy, and is finally burned at the stake. The animation displays all of the trademarks of anime, many of which were developed by Tezuka (still images over which the camera pans, floating figures, and stylized, fluid, motion animation) however, it remains completely unique and revolutionary. The illustration style is somewhere between Klimt, the Triplettes of Belleville, and Junko Mizuno, and is at times devastating. Due to the limited availability of the film, the subtitling is sub-par, but it is the illustration and animation of this film that leave a real visceral impact on the viewer. Films that this film has clearly influenced include Disney's Sleeping Beauty, the Triplettes of Belleville, and Mind Game by Masaaki Yuasa. A powerful, beautiful, psychedelic art-house sexploitation masterpiece. Required viewing. Note: At the beginning of the file is a preview for the feature which is not subtitled, do not despair, the film is subtitled, just wait for it.
Available to download at http://www.secret-cinema.com/library.php
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4 comments:
The most interesting thing about all this is the connection of sexploitation with Ozamu Tezuka (even tho' it's his studio), whom I pretty much associate with Astro Boy, although I know he's done lots more. Also, that Astro Boy style of drawing is in my head, so that also is jarring. Although, mentioning Junko Mizuno helps, because I've seen some of his zombie Cinderella manga, which is a nice segue, I think, visually, from Astro Boy to 70s Ralph Bakshi.
Anyways, your recent discussion of Tezuka and his use of fantasy, plus other pointed remarks about the use of fantasy (TERRIFYING GIRLS SCHOOL) is really interesting. I don't know what to totally make of it, though.
Still processing this...
For a more coherent discussion of this 'fantasy space' that I think is such an important part of Japanese film see Takashi Murakami's article 'superflat' which is pretty much where I'm getting this from. He also has a lot to say about kawaii and otaku culture that's pretty interesting.
How could this be influencing Sleeping Beauty when that movie came out years earlier?
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