Tetsuo: The Ironman

Tetsuo: The Ironman

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Tetsuo: The Ironman

Kei Fujiwara, Nobu Kanaoka, Shinya Tsukamoto, Tomorowo Taguchi

Shinya Tsukamoto draws on the marriage of flesh and technology that inspires so much of David Cronenberg's work and then twists it into a manga-influenced cyberpunk vision. A man (Tomoroh Taguchi) awa...( read more  read more... )kens from a nightmare in which his body is helplessly fusing with the metal objects around him, only to find it happening to him in real life... or is it? Haunted by memories of a hit and run (eerily prophetic of Cronenberg's Crash), the man knows this ordeal could be a dream, a fantastic form of divine retribution, or perhaps technological mutation born of guilt and rage. Shot in bracing black and white on a small budget, Tsukamoto puts a demented conceptual twist on good old-fashioned stop-motion effects and simple wire work, giving his film the surreal quality of a waking dream with a psychosexual edge (resulting in the film's most disturbing scene). The story ultimately takes on an abstract quality enhanced by the grungy look and increasingly wild images as they take to the streets in a mad chase of technological speed demons. This first entry in his self-titled "Regular Sized Monster Series" is followed by a full-color sequel, Tetsuo II: The Body Hammer, which trades the muddy experimental atmosphere for a big-budget sheen but can't top the cybershock to the system this movie packs. --Sean Axmaker

Id: 10900347

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Recent Reviews


  • September 18, 2008
    A Japanese Lynch or Cronenberg; I can't decide. So bizarre you can't look away.
  • December 23, 2007
    Twisted artistic expeimental madness. A plot is buried deep within the dark industrial visuals somewhere but this is more demonstrating of low budget black and white photogrophy. Reminiscent of David Lynch, this is certainly more like a very bad dream than an actual film. Great e...( read more)xample of style over substance and the style being enough to sustain the running time.
  • June 8, 2007
    A low budget psychological horror shot in grainy black and white is more an exercise in cinematic surrealism than a narrative story in it's truest sense. Full of disturbing cyberpunk imagery, this is not to everyone's taste but fans of Lynch's Eraserhead and the work of David Cro...( read more)nenberg should check it out. There was also an impressive sequel made on a considerably larger budget.
  • May 11, 2007
    Bizarro film about a man who slowly becomes a machine. More of a music video than a film. Particularly memorable is the rape by machine.
  • December 1, 2006
    Still holds well to this day, Tsukamoto has certainly growed a lot as a filmaker. Some of his methods may have changed but themes are still very much the same, the lost of hummanity in urban scenarios, and how said enviroments can affect the way people live.
  • December 17, 2009
    One of the strangest movies I've ever seen. I know Tetsuo is held in high regard by many but I'm afraid I didn't like it. It started out well enough but as it dragged on it just got weirder and weirder. In fact I got bored watching it in the end. Are you supposed to not understan...( read more)d what's going on? The only good thing I will say about it is the special effects done on a cheap budget. I've tried watching other cyberpunk movies and thought that this would change my dislike of them but it hasn't. You'll love it if you like watching experimental movies but Tetsuo didn't do anything for me.
  • November 22, 2009
    This is not for every one. It an experimental art movie for "B" movie people. There is no dialoge but the music is great "industrial/techno" vibe that fits the story. I was almost going to turn it off about 5 minutes in, but gave it a chance and glad I did.
  • September 20, 2009
    insane. insane. insane. i wanted to laugh, cry, cringe, and shoot myself in the head all at once during the "sex" scene.
  • September 11, 2009
    Review coming someday...

    98/100
  • August 19, 2009
    Excellent homoerotic S&M torture porno splatter cyberpunk surrealist gorefest horror action film.

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