It was out of print for a long time, but the anime Perfect Blue will soon be released again for home cinema. The dark psychological thriller inspired two successful Hollywood films that are as captivating as they are disturbing
Satoshi Kon directed Perfect Blue for the first time and delivered a dark psychological thriller that inspired two successful Hollywood films. Released in 1997, the anime is loosely based on the novel of the same name by Yoshikazu Takeuchi.
The film was difficult to obtain in Germany for a long time, but a Blu-ray and DVD edition in a limited edition will be released on March 22. It is therefore worth pre-ordering the film, which incidentally cannot be streamed anywhere at the moment.
This is what the animated psycho-horror film Perfect Blue is about
The young singer Mima belongs to the moderately successful J-pop group CHAM! But Mima has had enough of the cute image and leaves the band to gain a foothold in acting. A role in a crime thriller comes at just the right time, but it takes its toll on her psychologically. Especially when threatening scenes begin to emerge off the set.
A doppelganger creates a page on the internet that reveals her most intimate thoughts. She receives threatening letters from angry fans and a stalker turns her life into a nightmare. And while Mima tries to cope with the psychological pressure of everyday life and the tough film business, CHAM! achieves the long-awaited breakthrough. Her life seems to be slipping away from her more and more and, above all, her reality
(Perfect Blue)
Two masterpieces were inspired by Perfect Blue
Following the great success of the anime, the live-action film Perfect Blue – Yume nara Samete was made five years later. However, the remake received little attention in Europe, unlike the drawn film, which also inspired master director Darren Aronofsky. Two of his successful and depressing films have parallels to Perfect Blue.
Aronofsky even secured the rights to the anime. There was no remake, but he did recreate an entire scene from the film for his disturbing psychodrama Requiem for a Dream. You can see the bathtub scene from both films in the video
In Black Swan, Natalie Portman won the Oscar for her role as the mentally unstable ballet dancer Nina. Not only is the protagonist’s name similar to the anime, the storylines also have parallels. Aronofsky himself is a self-confessed fan, but according to Dazed stated that although there are similarities between the films, he was inspired by the ballet Swan Lake and not Perfect Blue.
