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Smallpox Tale (1975) [N/A]

Release Date:
January 1, 1975

Original Title:
疱瘡譚

Alternate Titles:
Hōsō-tan

Production Companies:
Tenjo Sajiki

Production Countries:
Japan

Ratings / Certifications:
JP: n/a 

Runtime: 34

Overview from TheMovieDB

The smallpox virus has created its own unique atmosphere in Terayama’s film where the skin of a bandaged adolescent and the surface of the filmic image are subjected to a bizarre ‘disturbance’ as snails cross the screen and nails are hammered into the skull of the ailing patient. Illness in this film is as much a psychic entity as a physical one and manifests itself in an array of theatrical tableaux from grotesque women rigorously brushing their teeth to a snooker game where the players in white face makeup behave like automata. A Tale of Smallpox uses a medical theme to chart the traumatic dream life of Terayama’s times, evincing deep-rooted concerns in the Japanese national psyche that hark back to the upheaval of Meiji modernisation and the devastation of World War Two.

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Performers

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Production

Assistant Director:
Henrikku Morisaki

Director:
Shūji Terayama

Director of Photography:
Tatsuo Suzuki

Producer:
Eiko Kujo

Screenplay:
Shūji Terayama

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