The third film in Tsukamoto’s series started by the staple underground horror masterpiece, Tetsuo: The Iron Man. Shot in digital HD with a theme song by Trent Reznor, will it compare?
by Adam Rosina
Tetsuo: The Iron Man was, and in many ways still is, the extreme film proving ground. When exploring the labyrinthine world of underground cinema, you either stumble upon this flick or have it forced upon you by an all-too-eager (and likely somewhat sadistic) friend, and how you react to it determines whether you continue down the rabbit hole or retreat back to the safety of mainstream cinema. Shinya Tsukamoto’s 1989 feature-length debut (“feature length” is generous; it clocks in just over an hour) was pure weaponized cinema; a violent speed-freak take on cyberpunk built upon a foundation of existentialist and psychosexual themes. Also, it had a drill penis. Tsukamoto made a name for himself with Tetsuo, and built a career that paralleled that of David Cronenberg (his closest western analogue), making films that slowly moved away from the fantastic and into the realm of the psychological (Tokyo Fist, Bullet Ballet, A Snake of June), while maintaining his focus on the visceral. Tsukamoto returned to the world of Tetsuo in 1992 with the release of Tetsuo II: Body Hammer, an ambitious follow up that, while a good film in its own right, didn’t have nearly the same impact as its predecessor. Which brings us to 2011, and the North American release of Tetsuo: The Bullet Man, the third film in the series and Tsukamoto’s first English-language film, designed to reintroduce the Tetsuo concept to the international film world. Does it succeed in matching the artistic triumph of the original? Not exactly…
Another year, another underwhelming Oscar ceremony. Sure thing The King’s Speech cleaned up, as expected, winning four of the Big Five. Inception did well with the tech awards, but as it is a genre picture (and thereby considered only slightly above pornographic movies in the eyes of the Academy), it was otherwise snubbed. Here’s a breakdown of the awards that I had particular gripes about, or was wholeheartedly behind. (WARNING : Enormous shitstorm about Inception’s poor performance ahead. Proceed at your own risk.)
Best Art Direction : Alice in Wonderland If you read my piece on this film (in the April/May 2010 Issue), you know how I feel it film and anyone involved in its creation. If you haven’t, here’s the short of it: Motherfuck all of you. But speaking about the art direction in particular, this was easily the most visually underwhelming and outright godawful looking of Burton’s films. You know, the director who made his name crafting visually striking films? I dunno if I blame the art department or Burton for putting them on a leash; either way, this was far from award-worthy.
Best Cinematography : Inception
Absolutely no complaints here. Goddamn beautifully shot film.
Best Supporting Actress : The Fighter (Melissa Leo)
Complete upset for me. I felt sure that Hailee Steinfeld had this one in the bag. No slight against Ms. Leo; she delivered a great performance, but Steinfeld stole the show right out from under Bridges and Dammon in True Grit, and for a fourteen-year old newcommer, that’s quite the accomplishment. Regardless of this loss, I expect nothing but good things from this little lady in the future, and look forward to seeing her grow as an actress (there was absolutely no way to say that without unintentionally sounding like ten tons of pedo-creepy, believe me, I tried).
Best Screenplay : The King’s Speech
And so the bitching commences. Lemmie get things straight before I proceed. I didn’t hate The King’s Speech. I felt it was an all-around well made movie. It just did nothing for me. It was just too safe. Too, at the risk of sounding immature and uncultured, boring. That said, David Seidler did an adequate job with the script. It’s just that neither the script, nor anything else about the film seemed all that remarkable. More to come on that later. My hopeful was of course Nolan, but it was clear long before the actually ceremony that there simply wasn’t a chance in hell of that going down.
I love Tetsuo: The Iron Man. I mean, really love it. Like, filthy bathroom stall love. It’s easily my favorite cult film, if not my absolute favorite film of all time. Director Shinya Tsukamoto (A Snake in June, Nightmare Detective) used stark B&W photography, a combination of stop motion animation and live action, and a hyperkinetic editing style seemingly designed specifically to induce motion sickness to tell a tale of ever-encroaching technological malevolence, obsessive erotic desire and MOTHER FUCKERS TURNING INTO METAL BEASTS AND DUKING IT OUT ON THE STREETS OF TOKYO. It’s wonderfully nonsensical and supremely disturbing (one legendary sex scene gave horrifying new meaning to the colorful euphemism “drilling a girl”) nature has earned it accolades from the likes of cyberpunk author William Gibson and NIN’s Trent Reznor, and cemented it as a bona fide classic among fans of underground Japanese film and extreme cinema in general. Tsukamoto’s follow up, Tetsuo II: Body Hammer, was disappointing by comparison to the instant classic that came before it, but not without its own merits. Now, 22 years after the release of the original, Tsukamoto returns to the film that launched his career with the release of Tetsuo: The Bullet Man.
Made specifically for the North American market, Bullet Man is Tsukamoto’s first English language film, and from the looks of the above trailer, he is clearly having an easier go at directing in the foreign tongue than his buddy Takeshi Miike has in the past (see Miike’s Imprint for an idea of how wrong this could have went). A further appeal to Western audiences is the casting of US born actor Eric Bossick (mostly known for his motion capture and voiceover work in video games) in his big screen debut. What little story that can be gleaned from the trailer seem to follow the same beats as the first two films, with a meek salaryman (Bossick) experiencing a traumatic event (here the death of his son), after which his rage fuels his transformation into the titular Tetsuo as he seeks revenge, all the while being pursued by a mysterious aggressor (again played by Tsukamoto himself). The film favors the series’ trademark stop motion and prosthetic makeup effects over CGI, and while I was initially concerned these techniques would not hold up after two decades, after watching the trailer I have no doubt Tsukamoto made the right call, as the special effects are just as effective as they were in the original. The trailer is somewhat misleading in its claim, “Featuring Music by Trent Reznor”, but worry not, hardcore Tetsuo fans. Longtime Tsukamoto collaborator Chu Ishikawa (of band Die Eisenrost) returns to score Bullet Man with his signature brand of percussion-heavy industrial noise, with Nine Inch Nails only contributing the film’s closing theme.
After making its rounds at the festivals this past year, the film is finally getting a release here in the states, courtesy of IFC Midnight, in both Video-On-Demand format starting on January 19th and a limited theatrical run beginning on January 21st in NYC. No word yet on how limited of a release this is gonna be, but here’s to hopping more major US cities get a taste of Tsukamoto’s newest work of twisted brilliance.
release date : June 1, 2010 released by : self released info : 1st album . 6 tracks . 28:47 run time genre : electronic / industrial reviewed by : Jason Draper
It’s been less than nine months since Trent Reznor announced the indefinite hiatus of Nine Inch Nails. While this EP didn’t come out under his former moniker, it’s hard to deny the similarities in the musical content. Working with his wife Mariqueen Maandig (former West Indian Girl) and Atticus Ross, Reznor has created a concise EP that feels like natural progression from 2008s The Slip.
In a genre in which bands continue to release unmemorable albums, it is Maandig’s vocal hooks that make How to Destroy Angels stand out amongst their peers. They have a similar effect as a spring-cleaning on an old country home. The music still has the abrasive tones that you come to expect, yet the vocals even it out, and at times make the songs pleasantly hypnotic. It’s strange to walk around humming the melody from an industrial song, as if it were a radio pop song, but that is exactly what the album has done to this listener.
recommended tracks : 3.6 if you like you may like : Nine Inch Nails, West Indian Girl, Sneaker Pimps overall 9 . music 10 . lyrics 8 . recording quality 10
Tetsuo: The Iron Man was, and in many ways still is, the extreme film proving ground. When exploring the labyrinthine world of underground cinema, you either stumble upon this flick or have it forced upon you by an all-too-eager (and likely somewhat sadistic) friend, and how you react to it determines whether you continue down the rabbit hole or retreat back to the safety of mainstream cinema. Shinya Tsukamoto’s 1989 feature-length debut (“feature length” is generous; it clocks in just over an hour) was pure weaponized cinema; a violent speed-freak take on cyberpunk built upon a foundation of existentialist and psychosexual themes. Also, it had a drill penis. Tsukamoto made a name for himself with Tetsuo, and built a career that paralleled that of David Cronenberg (his closest western analogue), making films that slowly moved away from the fantastic and into the realm of the psychological (Tokyo Fist, Bullet Ballet, A Snake of June), while maintaining his focus on the visceral. Tsukamoto returned to the world of Tetsuo in 1992 with the release of Tetsuo II: Body Hammer, an ambitious follow up that, while a good film in its own right, didn’t have nearly the same impact as its predecessor. Which brings us to 2011, and the North American release of Tetsuo: The Bullet Man, the third film in the series and Tsukamoto’s first English-language film, designed to reintroduce the Tetsuo concept to the international film world. Does it succeed in matching the artistic triumph of the original? Not exactly…
