An optical film comprising a resin and birefringent needle-shaped particles, the resin being added with the birefringent needle-shaped particles and being stretched to form the optical film (hereafter designated as Optical Film A), wherein (i) the resin exhibits a positive birefringence along a stretching direction when stretched; (ii) the birefringent needle-shaped particle exhibits a negative birefringence along the stretching direction of the optical film; and (iii) the optical film satisfies the following relationships: ny(a)