{"id":31158,"date":"2025-04-29T22:56:21","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T05:56:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=31158"},"modified":"2025-04-29T22:56:21","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T05:56:21","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-a-tale-of-sorrow-and-sadness-1977","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=31158","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: A TALE OF SORROW AND SADNESS (1977)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray from Arrow Video is\ncurrently available for purchase.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It\u2019s a busy week for Radiance Films. Girl with a Suitcase<\/em>\nis now available on Blu-ray, as well as this Japanese effort that shares some\ncommon thematic elements. You might not think that a movie about golf would\nnecessarily have a lot of similarities with the other title listed above. But\nthose who decide to check it out will realize very quickly that the sport is\nonly a backdrop for what this feature is really all about. It\u2019s a tale of a\nwoman struggling to survive and be herself in a male-dominated world that seeks\nto control her, and how she copes with incredible pressure along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness<\/em> arrives from cult film\ndirector Seijun Suzuki (Underworld Beauty, Tattooed Life, Tokyo Drifter,\nBranded to Kill<\/em>) is a well-made, interesting and engaging story and its\nstory elements are still applicable today. And if that wasn\u2019t enough, the story\nbehind the movie is just as interesting. Once again, Radiance Films has done an\nexcellent job on this Blu-ray, which offers an improved picture and fascinating\nbonus features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unique plot involves a former model Reiko Sakuraba (Yuko\nShiraki) who is encouraged by her manager\/partner Mr. Miyake (Yoshio Harada) to\nbecome a pro golfer. But truth be told, the main character is only introduced\nten minutes into the picture. This film begins with a fashion company looking\nto manufacture a celebrity for their products. After one potential figure falls\nthrough and they learn about Reiko having a natural talent for the game of\ngolf, they begin making offers to Mr. Miyake to help push her into finding\nsuccess. Reiko soon shocks the world with a major tournament victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Unfortunately, success and money have some serious\ndrawbacks. Those around her push her to star in their TV program and sell more\nproducts. When she moves into a modern mansion, she has difficulty getting on\nwith neighbors, who see her as a member of the \u201clower-class\u201d that doesn\u2019t\nbelong with them. Then, Mr. Miyake then runs down a local in his car with Reiko\nas a passenger. The victim, Kayo Semba (Kyoko Enami) survives, and doesn\u2019t go\nto the authorities. She happens to be a fan of Reiko, and begins stalking and\nblackmailing the protagonist instead. Kayo doesn\u2019t want money so much as\nReiko\u2019s attention, lodging herself into the lead\u2019s life and family (the star\nhas a younger brother whom she cares for). The pressures of fame, fortune and\nisolation from normality really start taking their toll on Reiko, and she is\neventually pushed to the brink of sanity.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The film is fascinating in its criticism of capitalism and\nall that the system entails. While the movie was made over 50 years ago, it is\neven more relevant now than before. Almost every character in the film is using\nthe protagonist in some way or another, and Reiko has her personality ripped\nfrom her in the process. It\u2019s all darkly funny early on, and the satirical\nelements are deftly delivered. There\u2019s a hilarious game of golf played between\nMr. Miyake and an executive early on. They can barely hit a ball as they plan\nout the future career and possibilities for Reiko. We also see examples of\nmarketing people creating a new look for Reiko, all designed to manipulate the\npublic and make them buy products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The effective humor moves aside for darker material in the\nsecond half of the picture, when Reiko and Mr. Miyake lose control over the\nsituation and begin a downward spiral. The scenes with Kayo are incredibly\ncreepy, as she ultimately suggests that Reiko sleep with her own husband in\norder to make their relationship even closer. Every character is\npsychologically and\/or physically damaged by the close. Mr. Miyaki gets so\nfrustrated that his temper gets very out of hand with executives and the\nfeature climaxes with disturbing scenes of violence involving Reiko\u2019s young\nbrother that send chills down the spine. It\u2019s a surreal but ultimately\neffective display of extreme commercialism altering people and undoing lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The movie is also impressively shot. This director is known\nfor using a lot of color and this title is no exception, with greens from the\ngolf courses and clothing popping off the screen. The modern mansion design\nwith yellow walls and other unique color choices is also interesting,\nparticularly as it is contrasted with blood being split and red flames burning\neventually burning around the home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a lot going on, and while the film could probably do with moving at a slower pace to let its themes sink in, it\u2019s still extremely effective. This is one of those movies that you\u2019re unlikely to forget after taking it in. It was ahead of its time and cleverly shows how people are turned into celebrities and crack under pressure. This is with little to no concern from the executives who made them and are more than ready to move on and start using another individual for their own profit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The image quality is solid, considering the feature has been\nhard to find and that the studio behind it has never been particularly\ninterested in restoring it. There is some grain here and there in some scenes,\nbut this is a strong widescreen image overall. The more colorful and surreal\nmoments of the film look striking and really pop. This is probably the best the\nmovie has ever looked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Blu-ray includes a couple of notable extras. There is\nan informative film critic commentary. The speaker offers a lot of information\nabout director Suzuki and his career, in addition to the ways he portrays women\nin his stories. She notes that female characters display more physicality than\nin other pictures of this and later eras. The speaker is impressed with the way\nhe depicts women, and in this case showing one slowly being turned into a\nproduct by those around her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The disc also comes with a great interview with the film\u2019s\neditor. He shares his personal relationship with Seijun Suzuki and what was\ngoing on behind the scenes at the time. There was a ten-year break between this\npicture and his previous entry because he had been blacklisted by Nikkatsu, the\nstudio whom he worked for. While the moviemaker had been making B-pictures and\ngaining more and more fans (particularly among university students and young\naudiences), for pushing boundaries and dealing with complex themes, his bosses\ndidn\u2019t like his work. After warning him that he was \u201cgoing too far\u201d with his\nstories, they started cutting his budgets. When Branded to Kill<\/em> came out\nand was successful, his angry employers blacklisted him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The editor notes that he and others came out to support\nSuzuki and his fight with the studio. After a lawsuit and ten years away from\nfilmmaking, he finally got another directing job with A Tale of Sorrow and\nSadness<\/em>. And yes, even after so long, he made another film that pushed\nbuttons and dealt with controversial themes. Of course, his works are now held\nin high regard, but the speaker goes into all the difficulties Suzuki endured\nto get his projects made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The disc also comes with a trailer, and like other Radiance\nFilms titles, a booklet with writing on the movie, and a reversible sleeve with\noriginal and newly commissioned artwork for the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Radiance Films have discovered another unusual and\nengrossing picture with A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness<\/em>. It will impress\nanyone who enjoys international cinema and movies that attack the status quo. I\nwas very impressed with the film (particularly with the satirical elements\nabout creating celebrities in the first half of the movie) and am happy to have\ndiscovered it. The distributor has printed 3000 copies of the Blu-ray and it is\nnow available, so snatch it up while you can.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray from Arrow Video is currently available for purchase. It\u2019s a busy week for Radiance Films. Girl with a Suitcase is now available on Blu-ray, as well as this Japanese effort that shares some common thematic elements. You might not think that a movie about golf would necessarily have a lot of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":31159,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[108,563,564,565,566,567,2923,2928,6251,8479,9319,10385,16584,17693,17914,24632,24690],"class_list":["post-31158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-108","tag-a-tale-of-sorrow-and-sadness","tag-a-tale-of-sorrow-and-sadness-blu-ray-disc-review","tag-a-tale-of-sorrow-and-sadness-blu-ray-review","tag-a-tale-of-sorrow-and-sadness-film-review","tag-a-tale-of-sorrow-and-sadness-review","tag-blasts-from-the-past","tag-blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review","tag-drama","tag-golf","tag-horror","tag-japan","tag-radiance-films","tag-satire","tag-seijun-suzuki","tag-yoshio-harada","tag-yuko-shiraki"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31158"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31158\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}