Funeral Parade of Roses | |
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Japanese film poster
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Directed by | Toshio Matsumoto |
Produced by |
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Written by | Toshio Matsumoto |
Starring |
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Music by | Joji Yuasa |
Cinematography | Tatsuo Suzuki |
Edited by | Toshie Iwasa |
Distributed by | Art Theatre Guild |
Release date
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Running time
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105 minutes |
Country | Japan |
Language | Japanese |
Funeral Parade of Roses (薔薇の葬列 Bara no Sōretsu) is a 1969 Japanese drama film directed and written by Toshio Matsumoto, loosely adapted from Oedipus Rex and set in the underground gay counterculture of 1960s Tokyo. It stars Peter as the protagonist, a young "gay boy", and features Osamu Ogasawara, Yoshio Tsuchiya and Emiko Azuma.
The film was released by ATG (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 almost be interpreted as a trailer for Funeral Parade, although a true trailer was also made.
An important work of the Japanese New Wave, the film combines elements of arthouse, documentary and experimental cinema.
Funeral Parade of Roses was a major influence on Stanley Kubrick's 1971 film A Clockwork Orange. In June 2017, it received a 4K restoration and limited theatrical re-release.
The film follows the trials and tribulations of Eddie and other transvestites in Tokyo. The title is a pun, "rose"/"Bara" in Japanese is similar to the use of the word "pansy" in English slang.