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Balancing elements of cyberpunk, body horror, and psychological drama, Shinya Tsukamoto‘s filmography ranges from the metallic nightmares of “Tetsuo: The Iron Man” to the meditative intensity of “Killing“. Given this diversity of his oeuvre, spanning multiple eras from his early student films in the 1980s to his latest works, creating a ranked list of Tsukamoto’s filmography felt essential for the members of Asian Movie Pulse. With this in mind, we crafted a ranking that should resonate with viewers who have watched at least half of his 16 features. This ranking does not include Tsukamoto’s student films, shorts, or the segments he directed for various omnibus projects. However, we chose to include “Haze” since its second version runs over 45 minutes, making it eligible as a feature. The voting panel consisted of Sean Barry, Rouven Linnarz, Andrew Thayne, and Panos Kotzathanasis. Here are the results.

16. Tetsuo: The Bullet Man (2009)

Given...

Considering the link between spirit and body has been one of the main themes in his work, perhaps it was only a matter of time before the Japanese director would explore the world of sports. While “Tetsuo II: The Body Hammer” already dealt with the body being altered through outside forces, in this case post-industrial culture and modernity’s obsession with physical optimization, Tsukamoto’s next project would go in a different direction. However, keen observers will quickly notice many similarities between this film and “Tokyo Fist” which may not only serve as an extension of these issues, but also as a visual allegory for the fragility of our bodies, and their connection to our spirit.

Tokyo Fist is screening at Five Flavours

Another interesting parallel, which, for example, author Tom Mes points out, is how the story of “Tokyo Fist” mirrors its director’s biography too. Even though Shinya...

Stars: Tomorô Taguchi, Shinya Tsukamoto, Nobu Kanaoka, Sujin Kim, Hideaki Tezuka, Tomoo Asada, Iwata, Keinosuke Tomioka | Written and Directed by Shinya Tsukamoto

After kickstarting his career with 1989’s Tetsuo: The Iron Man, writer/director Shinya Tsukamoto returned to the Japanese body horror series 3 years later with Tetsuo II: Body Hammer – an unconnected sequel which takes its own journey regarding a man’s transformation into machine. The opening moments show the camera acting as an unseen character’s perspective, stalking an unnamed salaryman who gets killed after the unseen character holds out his index finger like a gun and fires it.

The story then cuts to Taniguchi Tomoo (Tomorô Taguchi), a married salaryman with a young son named Minori. Adopted as a child, Tomoo questions his unknown past and the reasons for his recurring nightmares. His world is turned upside down when two men kidnap Minori and inject the father with an unknown substance.

Shinya Tsukamoto’s Tetsuo II: Body Hammer (1992) isn’t so much a follow-up to his monochromatic frenzy of an original as it is a new approach to the same themes he explored in the first go around. 1989’s Tetsuo: The Iron Man is an industrial nightmare – a scouring pad to the grey matter. Body Hammer […]

The post ‘Tetsuo II: Body Hammer’ – Cyberpunk Body Horror Classic Spawned a Wild Sequel 30 Years Ago appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

We have an eclectic array of home media offerings coming out this week, led by the latest from Neil Marshall, The Reckoning. Shadow in the Cloud, featuring Chloë Grace Moretz, is also headed to Blu-ray and DVD this Tuesday, and if you missed the previous release of the Shinya Tsukamoto set from Arrow, they are releasing a standard Special Edition version of Solid Metal Nightmares as well.

Other Blu and DVD releases making their debut on April 6th include Doors, Sleepless, Dawn of the Beast, Lurking in the Woods, and Killer Karaoke.

The Reckoning

After losing her husband during the Great Plague, Grace Haverstock (Charlotte Kirk) is unjustly accused of being a witch and placed in the custody of England’s most ruthless witch-hunter, Judge Moorcroft (Sean Pertwee). Forced to endure physical and emotional torture while steadfastly maintaining her innocence, Grace must face her own inner demons as the Devil...

Arrow Video is excited to announce the July slate of titles on their subscription-based Arrow Video Channel, including acclaimed undead comedy Zombie for Sale and Gamera: The Complete Collection, all twelve films starring mankind’s greatest defender: a fire-breathing mutant turtle.

An infectiously funny slice of modern Korean cinema where Train to Busan, The Quiet Family and Warm Bodies collide to create Zombie for Sale, a memorable rom-zom-com from debut director Lee Min-jae. For the first time ever, fans can trace the decades-long evolution of Gamera, from the “friend of all children” in his more light-hearted earlier films, to the Guardian of the Universe in the groundbreaking 1990s reboot series, often hailed as three of the best kaiju films ever made.

Zombie for Sale and Gamera: The Complete Collection will be available July 1st on the Arrow Video Channel in the Us and the UK. Additional new titles available July 1st include Creepshow 2,...

Arrow Video is excited to announce the July slate of titles on their subscription-based Arrow Video Channel, including acclaimed undead comedy Zombie for Sale and Gamera: The Complete Collection, all twelve films starring mankind's greatest defender: a fire-breathing mutant turtle.

An infectiously funny slice of modern Korean cinema where Train to Busan, The Quiet Family and Warm Bodies collide to create Zombie For Sale, a memorable rom-zom-com from debut director Lee Min-jae. For the first time ever, fans can trace the decades-long evolution of Gamera, from the "friend of all children" in his more light-hearted earlier films, to the Guardian of the Universe in the groundbreaking 1990s reboot series, often hailed as three of the best kaiju films ever made.

Zombie for Sale and Gamera: The Complete Collection will be available July 1st on the Arrow Video Channel in the Us and the UK. Additional new titles available July 1st include Creepshow 2,...

Arrow Video is excited to announce the June rollout of titles on their subscription-based Arrow Video Channel, including the exclusive debut of Miguel Llans&#243's Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway. A hit on the international festival circuit, the film boasts an Irish-accented Joseph Stalin, a kung-fu-fighting Batman, a mix of Afro-futurism, Cold War paranoia, Lynchian surrealism, the dystopian world of Philip K. Dick and 60s exploitation cinema.

Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway is available June 1st exclusively on the Arrow Video Channel in the Us and the UK. Additional new titles available June 1st include The Woman (UK/Us), Bloodtide (UK/Us), Dream Demon (UK/Us), White Fire (UK/Us) and The Stuff (Us). The Arrow Video Channel is available on Apple TV in the UK and Us, as well as on Amazon in the UK.

In Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway,...

We're back with another edition of Horror Highlights! In today's installment, watch the short film The Mother of Beauty, check out the new red band trailer for Becky, and find out what's coming to the Arrow Video Channel:

The Mother Of Beauty Short Film: "In ‘The Mother of Beauty’ a single mother-to-be lives in isolation on the edge of the wilderness. She makes a living through her work with vulture culture: using the remains of dead animals to create art and memorialize the lives that once were. As she attempts to overcome the struggles of parenthood, the forces of life and death pull her in opposing directions, and she must find a way to reconcile the two before they tear her apart."

Director: Nick Meunier

Producer: J.W. Cole

Co-producer & Writer: Lonnie Nadler

Starring: Tristan Risk

Director Of Photography: Steven Hayes

Production Design: Rob Warren

Editor: Adam MacKay

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Becky Red Band Trailer: "Spunky and rebellious,...

‘Tetsuo’ was originally released in 1989.

Tokyo-based studio Nikkatsu Corporation has struck a deal with Japanese director Shinya Tsukamoto to handle international sales on nine of his cult library titles, including Tetsuo: The Iron Man, originally released in 1989.

One of the most famous examples of Japanese cyberpunk, the black-and-white sci-fi horror catapulted Tsukamoto into cult stardom both in Japan and internationally. Nikkatsu has also picked up the film’s sequel, Tetsuo II: Body Hammer (1992), which revisited the same theme of a man being slowly transformed into a metal weapon, but was made with a bigger budget and shot in colour.

Nikkatsu...

By Jaim Cleeland

This essay will examine how the male body is portrayed in Tetsuo: Iron Man and Tetsuo II: Body Hammer. The two films present an alternative response to mainstream Japanese cinema in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Both films can be viewed as queering traditional heteronormative Japanese masculine identity. Not since the essay Daraku-ron (An Invitation to Total Depravity) and the novel Nippon Apache-Zoko, had Japanese been depicted “as subhumans”. Which brings forth the question, does Tsukamoto’s characters in his two films represent the subhuman or uber maschine mensch?

In an early scene in Tetsuo: Iron Man the viewer sees a series of photographs of male athletes. The photographs have been placed on the ground in an industrial yard and are framed by metal and scrap iron. It is a space which can be viewed as dirty, and where broken machinery ends up.

“Tetsuo II is neither an abandoned child, nor a child smothered in love. He’s kind of a cynical, a child with mixed feelings.”

(Shinya Tsukamoto on “Tetsuo II: Body Hammer”)

After his debut feature “Tetsuo: The Iron Man” had gained him a reputation among independent film circles internationally, Shinya Tsukamoto had become one of the most interesting artists coming from Japan. 1989, the year of the film’s release, as well as the following years, would be a busy time for the director who received numerous offers for other features, and for music videos along with the opportunity to work abroad. However, the director was more interested in perfecting his style and the themes he had begun including in the first “Tetsuo”-film, and while the first entry was still in production Tsukamoto was already planning a possible sequel to the film.

Although the notion of making...

Tiff’s Midnight Madness program turned 25 this year, and for two and half decades, the hardworking programers have gathered some of the strangest, most terrifying, wild, intriguing and downright entertaining films from around the world. From dark comedies to Japanese gore-fests and indie horror gems, the Midnight Madness program hasn’t lost its edge as one the leading showcases of genre cinema. In its 25-year history, Midnight Madness has introduced adventurous late-night moviegoers to such cult faves as Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused and Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs. But what separates Midnight Madness from, say, Montreal’s three and half week long genre festival Fantasia, is that Tiff selects only ten films to make the cut. In other words, these programmers don’t mess around. Last week I decided that I would post reviews of my personal favourite films that screened in past years. And just like the Tiff programmers,...

Special Mention: The Fake Trailers from Grindhouse (2007, USA): The four fake trailers featured in the otherwise disappointing Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino double-feature: Machete by Robert Rodriguez, Werewolf Women of the SS by Rob Zombie, Thanksgiving by Eli Roth and Don’t by Edgar Wright-are all very entertaining trips down horror/exploitation film memory lane and are easily the best part of the film.

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2) Other Notable Horror Films Of The 2000’s:

This list focuses on films that are partially successful and even touch on brilliance at times but ultimately don’t pull everything together to fully deliver on their promise.

Intacto (Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, 2001, Spain):

This film about a group of people blessed with supernatural good luck has a great premise, several great scenes-the revelation of the plane crash early in the film, the blindfolded race through the trees and the Russian roulette climax-plus the welcome presence of...

★★★★☆ This week, Third Window Film release two of Japanese cinema's most iconic cult movies. Shin'ya Tsukamoto's Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989) and Tetsuo II: Body Hammer (1992) - two duel towering monstrosity of heavy metal horror with a fragrant disregard for narrative convention - both ignore traditional cinematic boundaries for an inventive mixture of shocks, gore and balls-to-the-wall eccentricity. The first film, Tetsuo: The Iron Man, opens with a peculiar man known only as the 'metal fetishist' inserting scrap metal into in his body. Whilst experimenting with his new mechanical form, a businessman driving his car hits him in the street.

Read more »...

Japanese and cult film fans were given real cause for excitement recently, with the announcement by Third Window that they would be releasing Shinya Tsukamoto’s seminal classics “Tetsuo: the Iron Man” and “Tetsuo II: Body Hammer” on high definition Blu Ray for the first time. This really came as no small news, as despite being much loved and highly influential, the films, originally released back in 1989 and 1992 respectively, had hitherto only been available on pretty shabby bare bones DVD and VHS editions, a sorry state of affairs indeed. As usual with Third Window, the region 2 double bill comes with some very worthwhile extras, chief amongst which are the inclusion of “The Adventures of Denchu Kozen”, Tsukamoto’s original 45 minute student film, plus an exclusive interview with the director himself, along with the usual trailers and such. Shot in black and white, “Tetsuo: the Iron Man” starts off in shocking fashion,...

Director: Shinya Tsukamoto. Review: Adam Wing. For the first time in the world ever, two of the most popular Japanese cult films are available in glorious high definition. Director Shinya Tsukamoto (Snake of June, Tokyo Fist) supervised the transfer of this highly anticipated blu-ray release, featuring the first two films of the series and a 45-minute movie Tsukamoto made in his student days, called ‘The Adventures of Electric Rod Boy’. 1989’s Tetsuo: The Iron Man was shot in black in white, followed by a colour sequel three years later. Essentially an extended remake with a bigger budget, Tetsuo II: Body Hammer didn’t perform quite as well as the original back home, but both films have built a cult following around the world. It’s hardly surprisingly either. Tsukamoto’s surreal nightmares have been compared to the works of David Lynch and David Cronenberg, with the influence of both directors oozing from every frame.

The defining films of the cyberpunk movement are coming soon to Blu-ray from Third Window Films!We had the first news of Tetsuo: The Iron Man and Tetsuo II: Body Hammer coming in high definition back in April, now we've got details to go along with the excitement!  Third Window Films' managing director, Adam Torel, has sent over the details on these new releases exclusively for Twitch readers.On October 8th, 2012, to coincide with the release of Shinya Tsukamoto's latest masterpiece Kotoko, Third Window Films will be releasing his cult classics Tetsuo: The Iron Man and Tetsuo II: Body Hammer for the first time in the world on Blu-ray and also on DVD. Both films have been digitized from their original negatives with Shinya Tsukamoto supervising...

The 2012 installment of the Edinburgh International Film Festival runs from June 20th to July 1st, and marks the return of major awards of incarnations prior to 2011′s edition. This year’s line-up is distinctive in its feeling of being a heavily curated affair courtesy of artistic director Chris Fujiwara, rather than just a selection of films out in a few months time (though there’s still a few of those, obviously). I will be providing Sound on Sight’s first ever coverage of Eiff over the coming weeks, and this year’s line-up is an especially enticing blend of buzz films, intriguing retrospectives, global or international premieres, and an array of eclectic content.

The Michael Powell Award honours the best British film selected from the British Gala section, and the competition will include documentaries for the first time. Documentary The Imposter, a hit at Sundance, receives its UK premiere, as...

In advance of Shinya Tsukamoto's just announced appearance at the Edinburgh Film Festival with his recent critical hit, Kotoko, Third Window have cut a brand new trailer for the film and it looks fucking intense. The film screens in Edinburgh on 25 & 26th June as part of a Shinya Tsukamoto Spotlight section at the festival, along with Tetsuo and Tetsuo II: Body Hammer.  Here's Third Window's synopsis and great new trailer.Shinya Tsukamoto burst onto the international film scene with Tetsuo the Iron Man ('89), his first feature film that greatly influenced many creators around the world. He followed up with Tokyo Fist ('95), Bullet Ballet ('98) and then, A Snake of June ('02). That film which depicted life in an urban community and the...

The legend of Tetsuo continues when the latest film in the violent and surreal cyber-cinema series, 2009’s Tetsuo: The Bullet Man, comes to DVD from IFC on June 28 for a suggested retail price of $24.98.

A sci-fi action thriller of the nuttiest order, Tetsuo: The Bullet Man was written and directed by Japanese filmmaker Shinya Tsukamoto, the creator of the two Tetsuo cult movie favortites: Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989) and Tetsuo II: Body Hammer (1992).

Man merges with machine in Tetsuo The Bullet Man.

This latest film in the series revolves around office worker Anthony (Eric Bossick), who lives in Tokyo with his family and is pushed over the edge after he witnesses his young son Tom getting killed by a hit-and-run driver. Violent emotions begin to grow in Anthony, whose body starts to transform as his cells turn into iron. When the driver who killed Tom reappears and horrible truths...

Shinya Tsukamoto is something of a legendary Japanese cult film director. His 1989 movie Tetsuo: The Iron Man brought him a worldwide following as the unconventional and graphic film was met with quite some acclaim. Later, he brought Tetsuo II: Body Hammer. Now the acclaimed director is bringing us a third film in the series titled Tetsuo: The Bullet Man. A trailer has been released for the movie that you can find after the jump.

by Barry Hollywood

Masuoka is obsessed with fear; he spends his nights seeking out strange happenings in Tokyo, recording them on his camera, but the extreme emotions he searches for remain elusive. Then he records a suicide in the subway system and upon reviewing it finds the fear he is looking for.

Searching the tunnels beneath Tokyo leads Masuoka to a series of caverns, one of which holds a strange girl, chained to the wall. He rescues her and brings her to his apartment but soon discovers the girl’s appetite for blood.

Marebito is an accomplished piece of filmmaking: Directed by Takashi Shimizu who gave us the Ju-on series of films and Rinne; written by Chiaki Konaka who also penned Serial Experiments Lain and Malice@Doll. Marebito was filmed in only 8 days and stars legendary director Shinya Tsukamoto, the creator of such cult classics as Tetsuo: The Iron Man,...

In recent weeks, four (count ‘em, four!) more Tff 2010 films were picked up for distribution: Tetsuo: The Bullet Man; Sons of Perdition; The Arbor; and Ticked-Off Trannies. Full details are not yet available about the release plans, but we're sharing what we know so far... IFC Films has acquired North American rights to two of the three films in Shinya Tsukamoto's acclaimed Tetsuo trilogy: Tetsuo III: The Bullet Man (which premiered at Tff 2010) and Tetsuo II: Body Hammer, which was made in 1992. The Bullet Man, Tsukamoto's first film in English, follows the story of Anthony, who turns into a human weapon when his son becomes the victim of a hit-and-run car accident. From the Tff catalog: 'In a time where technological advancements are constantly reshaping the way we function on a basic level, Tetsuo forces us to engage and become a part of what we're watching: a reminder ...

HollywoodNews.com: IFC Films, the leading American distributor of independent and foreign films, announced today that the company has acquired North American rights to two films from director Shinya Tsukamoto’s acclaimed Tetsuo trilogy: Tetsuo III: The Bullet Man, the third installment in the series and the first new Tetsuo film in nearly 20 years, and Tetsuo II: The Body Hammer (1992), the second film in the series. The series tells the story of a man who, upon getting angry, becomes a human weapon. The company plans an early 2011 release for both films.

Shinya Tsukamoto was among a group of directors responsible for a revival of innovative and daring Japanese cinema beginning in the early 1980’s. Tetsuo I: The Iron Man (1989), Tsukamoto’s first major feature and a now legendary cyberpunk classic, was one of the seminal films made during this period. The Tetsuo films have won worldwide acclaim for their inventive visual effects and industrial themes,...

Year: 2009

Directors: Shinya Tsukamoto

Writers: Shinya Tsukamoto/Hisakatsu Kuroki

IMDb: link

Trailer: link

Review by: Bob Doto

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Ever wake up and think: "Yes. Today is the day I'd like to have my inner ears tied to a seven-story turbine as it vomits the digested inhabitants of an insane asylum, while the inside of my eyes are continuously violated watching a conveyor belt sexually molest itself?" Ever feel that way? Yes? Great! Perhaps you'd enjoy Tetsuo: The Bullet Man.

Shinya Tsukamoto's third installment in the Tetsuo empire deals with much of what every other Tetsuo film deals with: the human as machine. Typically, this theme plays out with a man turning into a twisted and monstrous metal "thing" after being traumatized by an event. In The Bullet Man the trauma comes from a father's son being run over with a car multiple times. This, of course, was...