Belladonna of Sadness

"A soul wandering in love… Belladonna, a flower that blooms with the sap of tears…"

1973 1h 27m JA

👍

7.4

SOLID

★7.4TMDB · 380

AnimationDramaFantasy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An evil feudal lord rapes a village girl on her wedding night and proceeds to ruin her and her husband's lives. After she's eventually banished from her village, the girl makes a pact with the devil to gain magical ability and take revenge.

“A soul wandering in love… Belladonna, a flower that blooms with the sap of tears…”

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Cast

Aiko Nagayama
Jeanne / Belladonna (voice)
Takao Itō
Jean (voice)
Tatsuya Nakadai
The Devil (voice)
Masaya Takahashi
The Lord (voice)
Shigako Shimegi
The Lord's Mistress (voice)
Masakane Yonekura
The Priest (voice)
Natsuka Yashiro
The Witch (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Eiichi Yamamoto
Writers: Yoshiyuki Fukuda, Eiichi Yamamoto
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

87 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

53 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Eiichi Yamamoto, shot by Shigeru Yamazaki. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Masahiko Sato. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Masashi Furukawa shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Aiko Nagayama and Takao Itō and Tatsuya Nakadai carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A soul wandering in love… Belladonna, a flower that blooms with the sap of tears…".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Eiichi Yamamoto directs. Shigeru Yamazaki behind the camera. Masahiko Sato scores. Masashi Furukawa cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

187 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
353 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by Eiichi Yamamoto, shot by Shigeru Yamazaki. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Masahiko Sato. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Masashi Furukawa shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Aiko Nagayama and Takao Itō and Tatsuya Nakadai carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "A soul wandering in love… Belladonna, a flower that blooms with the sap of tears…".
9IMDB entry: tt0071203 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 20 themes, including "rape", "magic", "surrealism", "pact with the devil".
11Released under 18 different titles around the world.