After being raped by an evil feudal lord and subsequently getting banished from her village, a peasant girl makes a pact with the Devil to gain magical powers and take her revenge.After being raped by an evil feudal lord and subsequently getting banished from her village, a peasant girl makes a pact with the Devil to gain magical powers and take her revenge.After being raped by an evil feudal lord and subsequently getting banished from her village, a peasant girl makes a pact with the Devil to gain magical powers and take her revenge.
- Director
- Writers
- Jules Michelet(novel "La sorcière")
- Yoshiyuki Fukuda
- Eiichi Yamamoto
- Stars
- Aiko Nagayama(voice)
- Chinatsu Nakayama(voice)
- Masaya Takahashi(voice)
Top credits
- Director
- Writers
- Jules Michelet(novel "La sorcière")
- Yoshiyuki Fukuda
- Eiichi Yamamoto
- Stars
- Aiko Nagayama(voice)
- Chinatsu Nakayama(voice)
- Masaya Takahashi(voice)
- Awards
- 2 nominations
Aiko Nagayama
- Jeanne
- (voice)
- …
Chinatsu Nakayama
- Narrator
- (voice)
Masaya Takahashi
- The Lord
- (voice)
Masakane Yonekura
- The Priest
- (voice)
Katsuyuki Itô
- Jean
- (voice)
- (as Katsutaka Ito)
Masaaki Tsukada
- Walla
- (voice)
Hatsuo Yamaya
- Walla
- (voice)
Reiko Niimura
- Walla
- (voice)
Akio Hayashi
- Walla
- (voice)
Masakazu Yamaguchi
- Walla
- (voice)
Yozo Isozaki
- Walla
- (voice)
Masashi Ishibashi
- Walla
- (voice)
Orio Yoshiro
- Walla
- (voice)
Machiko Ito
- Walla
- (voice)
Hitoshi Gôko
- Walla
- (voice)
Kikuchi Kenyukai
- Walla
- (voice)
Tatsuya Nakadai
- Devil
- (voice)
- Director
- Writers
- Jules Michelet(novel "La sorcière")
- Yoshiyuki Fukuda
- Eiichi Yamamoto
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe last film produced by Mushi Production. They went bankrupt shortly after its release.
- GoofsThe end of the film references the French Revolution of 1789, but then an image is shown of Eugène Delacroix's famous painting "Liberty Leading the People." That painting - "Liberty Leading the People" - depicts the July Revolution of 1830, not the French Revolution of 1789.
- Crazy creditsThere are no ending credits or a 'THE END' title; all the credits are at the beginning. The opening theme is reprized over a blank screen after the final scene. The 2015 restoration adds a copyright byline and credits for the restoration.
- Alternate versionsAccording to the liner notes booklet contained with the Japanese DVD of the film, there are six known versions of the film.
- The first was a draft version that was hastily created to meet a deadline that the film had to be shown to the distributor, Nippon Herald, for their perusal by August 1972. This version, which contains temporary placeholder shots made by a team separate from the main crew, has never been shown to the public.
- The second version was completed by the end of 1972, and premiered at the 1973 Berlin International Film Festival. Aside from the placeholder shots of the first version being replaced with material created by the main team, the scene in which Jeanne makes her pact with the Devil was immediately followed by a 5-minute live-action montage shot by Daido Moriyama depicting sexual acts performed in parks and red light establishments. This version also ends with the Devil laughing in the crowd after Jeanne's execution. Because this ending was poorly-received at the Festival, Eiichi Yamamoto decided to alter it in later versions.
- The third version was used early on during the film's Japanese theatrical release. It omitted Moriyama's live-action montage, but still retained the Devil's laughter at Jeanne's death.
- The fourth version, created partway through the Japanese theatrical run, removed the Devil's laughter, and featured an instrumental version of the film's theme song over the ending. An edited presentation of this version was used for some TV broadcasts.
- The fifth version was edited for an attempted 1979 re-release. In an effort to appeal to female college students, Yamamoto cut 8 minutes' worth of material from the original camera negative, removing most of the film's scenes of sexual violence. This version also made alterations to the film's ending: a newly-animated shot of female bystanders at Jeanne's execution, whose faces morph into Jeanne's visage, was added, as well as a final montage of title cards describing the role of women in the 1789 French Revolution, with the film's final shot being of Eugène Delacroix's painting "Liberty Leading the People". Some revisions were also made to the film's opening credits roll. This version was released on VHS by Pony Canyon in the early 1980s.
- The sixth version was created in 1986 for the film's VHS re-release and first release on LaserDisc. Although otherwise based on the 1979 re-release, it reinstates all of the sexual content omitted from that version. This is the version that has remained in circulation since, and was restored in 4K for its 2016 re-release.
- ConnectionsFollows Sen'ya ichiya monogatari (1969)
- SoundtracksInside the Pale Mirror
Lyrics by Chinatsu Nakayama
Music by Masahiko Satô
Performed by Chinatsu Nakayama
Review
Featured review
Brilliant Art Come To Life For A Gruesome Story
Full Review on my blog max4movies: Kanashimi no Belladonna (international title: Belladonna of Sadness) is an experimental animation movie for an adult audience. Its plot focuses on Jeanne, a young and beautiful woman, who after being raped, has visions of the devil. It features extreme graphic content, like naked women, rape scenes, and an orgy with animals. This, alongside with Jeanne being mostly naked and the omnipresence of phallic imagery, will be appalling to some - although the movie never indulges in voyeuristic pleasures like other erotic movies. Still, the movie features undeniably beautiful images with a unique art style, ensuring that the colorful depictions of rape and torture not only fascinate but also highlight the rich underlying thematic concepts, like open sexuality, criticism against religion, and a social commentary about totalitarian regimes.
helpful•43
- max4movie
- Aug 18, 2019
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Belladonna of Sadness
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $105,841
- Runtime1 hour 26 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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By what name was Kanashimi no Beradonna (1973) officially released in India in English?
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