Funeral Parade of Roses
Funeral Parade of Roses (薔薇の葬列, Bara no Sōretsu) is a 1969 Japanese drama art film directed and written by Toshio Matsumoto, loosely adapted from Oedipus Rex and set in the underground gay culture of 1960s Tokyo. It stars Peter as the protagonist, a young transgender woman, and features Osamu Ogasawara, Yoshio Tsuchiya and Emiko Azuma. A product of the Japanese New Wave, the film combines elements of arthouse, documentary and experimental cinema, and is thought to have influenced Stanley Kubrick's 1971 film adaptation of Anthony Burgess' novel A Clockwork Orange (although many of the points of comparison can also be found in earlier movies such as Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Love Is Colder Than Death).
Funeral Parade of Roses | |
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Japanese film poster | |
Directed by | Toshio Matsumoto |
Written by | Toshio Matsumoto |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Tatsuo Suzuki |
Edited by | Toshie Iwasa |
Music by | Joji Yuasa |
Distributed by | Art Theatre Guild |
Release date |
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Running time | 105 minutes |
Country | Japan |
Language | Japanese |
The title is a pun, as "rose" (bara) in Japanese can have a similar meaning to "pansy" in English slang.
The film was released by A.T.G. (Art Theatre Guild) on 13 September 1969 in Japan; however, it did not receive a United States release until 29 October 1970. Matsumoto's previous film For My Crushed Right Eye contains some of the same footage and could be interpreted as a trailer for Funeral Parade. In June 2017, it received a 4K restoration and a limited theatrical rerelease. In 2020, it received a limited edition Blu-ray release from the British Film Institute in the UK.