Live action manga adaptation Tezuka's Barbara on Dual Format in June
13 April 2021
One of celebrated manga artist and animator Tezuka Osamu’s most adult and sexually-charged works, Barbara (1973-74) was originally serialized as a follow-up to Ayako (1972-73) in Big Comic from July 1973 to May 1974.
Barbara is an adult-orientated fantasy tale filled with love and the occult from Tezuka Osamu’s reimagining of The Tales of Hoffmann. Its story deals with the erotic and bizarre experiences of a famous novelist called Yosuke Mikura whose life is tossed upside down by a mysterious girl named 'Barbara'.
The controversial story, dealing with various taboos such as forbidden love, mystery, art, Eros, scandal and occultism, was said to have been impossible to be cinematized at the time of its original publication, but was made into a live-action film for the 90th Anniversary of Tezuka’s birth by his son Tezuka Makoto (The Legend of the Stardust Brothers) with award-winning cinematographer Christopher Doyle (In the Mood for Love) on camera and starring Japan's hottest actors Fumi Nikaido (Himizu) and Goro Inagaki (13 Assassins).
Tezuka's Barbara will be released in the UK as a Dual Format (Blu-ray & DVD) edition by Third Window Films on 28 June 2021 at the RRP of £19.99.
DUAL FORMAT SPECIAL FEATURES:
Behind the Scenes (30 mins)
Interview with director Tezka Macoto (30 mins)
Interview with cinematographer Christopher Doyle (12 mins)
