X

2016
Unrated
Arbelos Films
1 h 26 m

2016
Unrated
Arbelos Films
1 h 26 m

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 an...

Directed By: Eiichi Yamamoto

Written By: Jules Michelet, Yoshiyuki Fukuda, Eiichi Yamamoto

2016
Unrated
Arbelos Films
1 h 26 m

2016
Unrated
Arbelos Films
1 h 26 m

Belladonna of Sadness (1973)

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 12 Critic Reviews

70

User Score Generally Favorable Based on 13 User Ratings

7.2

My Score

Hover and click to give a rating Saved

Where to Watch

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 an...

Directed By: Eiichi Yamamoto

Written By: Jules Michelet, Yoshiyuki Fukuda, Eiichi Yamamoto

Where to Watch

Critic Reviews

Metascore

Generally Favorable Based on 12 Critic Reviews

75% Positive
9 Reviews

25% Mixed
3 Reviews

0% Negative
0 Reviews

All Reviews
Positive Reviews
Mixed Reviews
Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

Metascore

Generally Favorable Based on 12 Critic Reviews

75% Positive
9 Reviews

25% Mixed
3 Reviews

0% Negative
0 Reviews

All Reviews
Positive Reviews
Mixed Reviews
Negative Reviews

May 2, 2016

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

By Oleg Ivanov FULL REVIEW

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.

By Ignatiy Vishnevetsky FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

User Score

Generally Favorable Based on 13 User Ratings

77% Positive
10 Ratings

8% Mixed
1 Rating

15% Negative
2 Ratings

User Reviews

User Score

Generally Favorable Based on 13 User Ratings

77% Positive
10 Ratings

8% Mixed
1 Rating

15% Negative
2 Ratings

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

The New York Times

May 5, 2016

Belladonna of Sadness is compulsively watchable, even at its most disturbing: The imagery is frequently graphic, and still, after over 40 years, it has the power to shock.

By Glenn Kenny FULL REVIEW

The Seattle Times

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.

By Soren Andersen FULL REVIEW

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.

By Amanda Waltz FULL REVIEW

Jul 7, 2016

For a film that takes such pains to position itself within the feminist tradition, Belladonna of Sadness has a bad habit of lingering on the body of its protagonist, coming across as more pornographic than progressive, more exploitative than revolutionary.

By Collin Brennan FULL REVIEW

May 5, 2016

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

By Simon Abrams FULL REVIEW

See All 12 Critic Reviews

Details

Production Company Mushi Productions, Nippon Herald Films

Release Date May 6, 2016

Duration 1 h 26 m

Rating Unrated

Genres

Tagline A daring animated dramatization! Based on Jules Michelet's "THE WITCH". Beautiful Belladonna... Love and hate drove her to join the Devil! Erotic animated fantasy!

View All Details

Awards

Berlin International Film Festival

• 1 Nomination

Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival

• 1 Nomination

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