Overview: 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, Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman) cause a hit-and-run accident, the victim begins to blackmail Reiko, intruding further and further into her personal life.

This was Seijun Suzuki’s comeback film after being blacklisted by the film industry for ten years. Though adapted from a popular manga, the bold visuals and absurdist plot twists are vintage Suzuki.

Blu-ray Verdict: Cult director Seijun Suzuki returned 10 years after he was fired by Nikkatsu for making the box office failure Branded To Kill - a bizarre 1967 Yakuza masterpiece - with this surreal satire / thriller. Reiko (über hottie Yoko Shiraki who is naked a lot), a professional model, is groomed to the higher ranks of the golf circuit by the editor of a golfing fashion magazine in order to promote their latest range of sporting-wear.

When she turns out to be good at the sport, her success leads to a blackmail scheme hatched by a deranged stalker / fan. Very different from Suzuki’s 60’s pop art crime gems, this rare film is truly a uniquely dark comment on fame and celebrity. The last scene blew my mind into tiny pieces.

Simply put, Suzuki is one of the best. Always challenging, always rewarding. Trademark to his wild perspective is that he’s called it Tale of Sorrow, but it’s so funny and entertaining. It’s weird, cool, unexpected, sexy - everything a really jaded art-wastrel is looking for. [J.K.]

Bonus Features:
High-Definition digital transfer
Uncompressed mono PCM audio
Audio commentary by critic and author Samm Deighan (2025)
New interview with editor Kunihiko Ukai (2025)
Trailer
Newly improved English subtitle translation

A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness (1977) - New Trailer

Official Purchase Link

www.radiancefilms.co.uk