Tetsuo Iron Man was the debut feature from the unpredictable Japanese director Shinya Tsukamoto. It's a foreign film, but it's not THAT kind of foreign film. As in, don't think you're going to be sitting there reading subtitles. There's really very little dialog in the film, and what's there isn't usually important. It plays something like a silent film, so definitely put it in your queue the next time you log into your movie download service, whether or not you're usually a fan of Japanese cinema.
The main character is a Japanese salary man who is sort of the Japanese equivalent of the "everyman" character. One day, metal starts growing from his body for... Well, pretty much no reason at all. It's really the same sort of Japanese surrealism as Kobo Abe writes, and drives home the same basic idea, that life is strange and unpredictable.
The movie was based on the idea of making a monster movie like Godzilla, but with a human sized beast. So the Salary Man, as he transforms more and more into a heaping hunk of metal, has to do battle with Tetsuo, who, also, has grown into a heap of metal. They have a showdown in a junkyard where both have developed the ability to absorb all of the metal around them through... Magnetism, or chemistry or something. Your guess is as good as anyone else's.
This is really what Japanese cyberpunk is all about. It's not so much about the relation between man and computers as man and industrial concepts. So the film is filled with imagery of steam and steel and junkyards and factories. The closest comparison in American cyberpunk would be Robocop, set in the industrial city of Detroit. Although Robocop has nothing on this film's style.
The movie is fast paced, sort of confusing, but ultimately, it really works well as a sort of horror movie slash action flick. It has an incredible nightmarish look to it, utilizing stop motion special effects, cheap props and costume that look more real because they're not makeup. They actually glued pieces of metal to the actors faces in order to get the look they were going for.
The movie primarily draws influence from Eraserhead and Cronenberg's Videodrome. A warning, if those movies made you squeamish, this one will, too.
Tsukamoto would later go on to create a number of incredible films, including Tokyo Fist and Bullet Ballet, and a sequel to the original Tetsuo, called Tetsuo: Body Hammer. He's now working on a third in the series, Tetsuo: The Bulletman. All of his films focus on some similar themes regarding violence, sexuality and the male ego. If you like Tetsuo Iron Man, check out Tokyo Fist, which similarly deals with the concept of rage as a component of transformation.
He's also gone on to have a career as an actor (he plays a major character in this film), starring as a major character in Ichi the Killer. His career is certainly one to watch. Twenty years after his debut, it's clear that he's just warming up. - 42629
The main character is a Japanese salary man who is sort of the Japanese equivalent of the "everyman" character. One day, metal starts growing from his body for... Well, pretty much no reason at all. It's really the same sort of Japanese surrealism as Kobo Abe writes, and drives home the same basic idea, that life is strange and unpredictable.
The movie was based on the idea of making a monster movie like Godzilla, but with a human sized beast. So the Salary Man, as he transforms more and more into a heaping hunk of metal, has to do battle with Tetsuo, who, also, has grown into a heap of metal. They have a showdown in a junkyard where both have developed the ability to absorb all of the metal around them through... Magnetism, or chemistry or something. Your guess is as good as anyone else's.
This is really what Japanese cyberpunk is all about. It's not so much about the relation between man and computers as man and industrial concepts. So the film is filled with imagery of steam and steel and junkyards and factories. The closest comparison in American cyberpunk would be Robocop, set in the industrial city of Detroit. Although Robocop has nothing on this film's style.
The movie is fast paced, sort of confusing, but ultimately, it really works well as a sort of horror movie slash action flick. It has an incredible nightmarish look to it, utilizing stop motion special effects, cheap props and costume that look more real because they're not makeup. They actually glued pieces of metal to the actors faces in order to get the look they were going for.
The movie primarily draws influence from Eraserhead and Cronenberg's Videodrome. A warning, if those movies made you squeamish, this one will, too.
Tsukamoto would later go on to create a number of incredible films, including Tokyo Fist and Bullet Ballet, and a sequel to the original Tetsuo, called Tetsuo: Body Hammer. He's now working on a third in the series, Tetsuo: The Bulletman. All of his films focus on some similar themes regarding violence, sexuality and the male ego. If you like Tetsuo Iron Man, check out Tokyo Fist, which similarly deals with the concept of rage as a component of transformation.
He's also gone on to have a career as an actor (he plays a major character in this film), starring as a major character in Ichi the Killer. His career is certainly one to watch. Twenty years after his debut, it's clear that he's just warming up. - 42629
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Templeton "Faceman" Peck (Dirk Benedict), the consummate ladies' man; Sgt. Best Movie Download The fight against cocaine is the source of much friction between the U.S.A. You may mess up now and again but, hey, everyone makes mistakes.
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