A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness: Limited Edition – Radiance Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Japan, 1977
Director: Seijun Suzuki
Writer: Gan Yamazaki
Cast: Kyôko Enami, Yoshio Harada, Masumi Okada, Shûji Sano, Yoko Shiraki, Jô Shishido

Release Date: April 28th, 2025 (UK), April 29th, 2025 (USA)
Approximate Running Time: 93 Minutes 5 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: 15 (UK), NR (USA)
Sound: LPCM Mono Japanese
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A,B
Retail Price: £14.99 (UK), $39.95 (USA)

"The editor of a sports magazine grooms fashion model Reiko (Yoko Shiraki) to become a pro golfer, while retaining exclusive rights to her likeness. Reiko’s popularity soars after she wins her first tournament and she becomes a media sensation, but when she and her manager (Yoshio Harada, Zigeunerweisen) cause a hit-and-run accident, the victim begins to blackmail Reiko, intruding further and further into her personal life." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness was transferred in High-Definition by the Shochiku Corporation. The film was supplied to Radiance Films as a High-Definition digital file and is presented in the original aspect ratio."

A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 33.1 GB

Feature: 27 GB

The source looks excellent; flesh tones look correct, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity and compression are solid, contrast and black levels are strong throughout, and there are no issues with digital noise reduction.

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Japanese with removable English subtitles. The audio is in great shape. Dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced and robust when it should. That said, when compared to Cinema Epoch’s 2009 DVD release, this new transfer is a substantial upgrade, and it is like seeing A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness for the first time.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 25 seconds, LPCM mono Japanese with removable English subtitles), an interview with editor Kunihiko Ukai (19 minutes 54 seconds, LPCm stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an audio commentary with film critic and author Samm Deighan, reversible cover art, removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings and a 32-page booklet (limited to 3000 copies) cast & crew information, an essay titled Sorrow, Sadness and the Sweet Smell of Excess written by Jasper Sharp, an archival review titled The Realisation of a Seijun Suzuki film written by AAtsushi Yamatoya, and information about the transfer.

Summary:

After directing an incredible forty films over a twelve-year span (1956–1967) for Nikkatsu, director Seijun Suzuki would be unceremoniously fired by Nikkatsu’s president, Hori Kyusaku. He would declare that "Suzuki’s films were incomprehensible, that they did not make any money, and Suzuki might as well give up his career as a director as he would not be making films for any other companies."

Following his exile from Nikkatsu, Seijun Suzuki would retreat to television, directing three projects: Good Evening, Dear Husband: A Duel (1968), There’s a Bird Inside a Man (1969), and A Mummy’s Love (1970), while he awaited the verdict in his court case against Nikkatsu, who terminated his contract after Branded to Kill (1967).

Though Seijun Suzuki would win his case of defamation against Nikkatsu, his career would come to a halt after being blacklisted by all the major studios in Japan. There would be a ten-year gap between Branded to Kill, the last film that he directed for Nikkatsu, and his return to the big screen with 1977’s A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness.

Seijun Suzuki is primarily known for directing flamboyant films about dysfunctional characters who quickly find themselves in over their heads as they try to escape the demons from their past. Seijun Suzuki’s take on the sports and entertainment worlds in A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness is reminiscent of the way that he approached the Yakuza, prostitutes, and samurai that are prominent in the films that he directed for Nikkatsu.

It is fascinating how Seijun Suzuki is able to transform the themes explored in A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness by drawing similarities from the plot and its characters that show that they are not that different from the Yakuza, prostitutes, and samurai that populate his other films. Beneath every surface are layers of reality, and Seijun Suzuki, just like the characters in his films, never reveals their true intentions until this moment of truth arrives in A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness.

The heroine of A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness Reiko is an insecure model. It is her need for acceptance that leads to her manipulation by a character named Mr. Miyake, whose ultimate goal is to make her a dominant golfer. Reiko eventually falls for Mr. Miyake, who is cold and brazen toward her.

Reiko is a determined woman whose desire to please Mr. Miyake leaves her broken and exhausted. She practices at one point so much that her hands start bleeding. During her tournament debut, she faints before her last shot. And lying on the ground, she looks over at Mr. Miyake, who motions for her to get back up. Wanting to please Mr. Miyake, she gets up and sinks the shot, only to collapse again.

The first act of A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness focuses on her training; the middle of the film shifts the focus to her rise as a star; and the last act details her downward spiral.

The femme fatale of A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness is an obsessed fan named Senboh, who, through blackmail, works her way into Reiko’s life. The most disturbing moment and the event that signals Senboh's state of mind is a scene where she cuts up an autograph that she received from Reiko "Ginzu style". Senboh engulfs herself in her new-found power by forcing Reiko to cut her hair in a grotesque fashion. Once again, unable to think for herself, Reiko lets her stalker manipulate her life until chaos reigns supreme. Eventually, Senboh finally reaches her own breaking point when she invites several hanger-ons to Reiko’s house for a party. Reiko is literally eaten alive by the very masses that made her famous. With everyone at the party disregarding Reiko’s boundaries as they mock her and rummage through her belongings.

After this impromptu party reaches its conclusion, it becomes painfully obvious to Senboh that she’s been used and tossed aside. The other key person in Reiko’s life is her younger brother Jun, whom she takes care of. Junis is overly protective of his older sister, and he becomes increasingly jealous the more attention that is paid to her, with whom he once shared an inseparable bond.

Visually, A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness demonstrates that Seijun Suzuki, despite his prolonged break from filmmaking, has not lost a step. With the scene that leaps out as classic Seijun Suzuki being a hit-and-run sequence that uses slow motion to emphasize that tragic event.

During the chaos, Reiko tries to leap from the moving car. She's then reined back in by Mr. Miyake, who stops the car at the edge of a cliff. This scene symbolically shows that they finally went too far and that there are consequences for their actions. The most satisfying moment visually is a montage sequence that shows several closeups of Reiko at the various stages of her evolution.

Yoshio Harada is cast in the role of Mr. Miyake. He had a long and varied career, and some of his notable films include Stray Cat Rock: Wild Measures ’71, Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance, Shogun’s Samurai, Hunter in the Dark, Onini: The Fire Within, Party 7, and 9 Souls. After working with Seijun Suzuki for the first time on A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness, they would collaborate on four more films: The Fang in the Hole, Zigeunerweisen, Kageroza, and Yumeji.

A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness' most remarkable performance is Kyôko Enami's in the role of Senboh, Reiko’s stalker. Other notable films that she has appeared in include The Wolves, The Fall of Ako Castle, and the Gambling Woman series. Cast in this film’s lead role, Reiko, is an actress named Yoko Shiraki, and A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness appears to be her only film. And one of Seijun Suzuki’s frequent collaborators from Nikkatsu, Joe Shinodo, has a brief cameo as a cop. Ultimately, A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness is a decadent tale about obsession and the pitfalls of fame.

A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness gets an excellent release from Radiance Films that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a trio of informative extras; highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer