Tetsuo: The Iron Man Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Tetsuo: The Iron Man Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 8, 2020

Note: This version of this film is available as part of Solid Metal Nightmares: The Films of Shinya Tsukamoto.

There are two names which American film fans may need either outright introductions to or at least reminders about when coming to Solid Metal Nightmares: The Films of Shinya Tsukamoto. The first name is that of Shinya Tsukamoto himself, a fascinating cult figure with a rather long and impressive filmography as a producer, director, actor, writer, editor, cinematographer, production designer and art director (one assumes if the IMDb had a tab for craft services contributions, he'd be listed there, too), but who is still kind of curiously unknown by the general public at large on this side of the pond. The other name that may come into play with regard to this handsome new set released for the North American market by Arrow is Third Window Films, a label that releases Blu-rays in the United Kingdom and which has in fact put out previous editions of several of the Tsukamoto films Arrow has included in this set. For that reason, fans or at least those interested in “comparison studies” are encouraged to visit our listings for the Third Window Films’ releases of Tetsuo: The Iron Man / Tetsuo II: Body Hammer, Tokyo Fist, Bullet Ballet, A Snake of June, and Kotoko, not just for Svet Atanasov’s thoughts about each of the films, but also to be able to do side by side looks at screenshots as well as to size up supplemental features on each release. (A sixth film offered in this set from Arrow, The Adventure of Denchu-Kozo, looks like it's included as a supplement on Third Windows' double feature offering the two Tetsuo films.) The Arrow set does at least offer ten films in one nicely aggregated and designed package which includes a rather beautiful hardback book, which may at least recommend the set to those trying to save a little shelf space, if nothing else.

Transformation is at the core of several of the features included in Solid Metal Nightmares: The Films of Shinya Tsukamoto, and in the case of some of those films, “transformation” might be more appropriately relayed as “metamorphosis”, as in the title of one of the most famous works by Franz Kafka. If Gregor Samsa found himself horrifyingly morphed into a — well, what exactly has been the subject of some debate since various translators have decided Gregor was any number of different kinds of creatures, at least he was changing into something ostensibly living and organic. Several of the characters in Tetsuo: The Iron Man find themselves transmogrifying into half machine, half human hybrids in what might be considered an allusion to the mechanization of modern society if, that is, Tetsuo: The Iron Man were actually concerned about traditional cinematic elements like subtext.

Tetsuo: The Iron Man is what might be termed guerrilla filmmaking at its grittiest. The story, insofar as there is one, begins with a truly horrifyingly graphic sequence detailing a man (Shinya Tsukamoto) identified in the credits as The Metal Fetishist (more information than the actual film provides) slicing his leg open and inserting a metal rod in it. When he then understandably runs in anguished terror over what he's done, he promptly gets hit by a car, which seems to transfer the guy's self-inflicted nascent metal transformation to the driver (Tomoroh Taguchi). The driver then slowly begins growing metal appendages all over himself, something that complicates his relationship with his girlfriend (Kei Fujiwara).

Tsukamoto in on record as stating cyberpunk influences sparked the idea behind Tetsuo: The Iron Man, but perhaps there's more simply just a punk substratum here, in that Tsukamoto wants to offer incredibly visceral imagery without relying overly on "traditional" elements like character development (other than becoming metallic, that is) or even standard narrative techniques. This is an unforgettable film, one which some more sensitive types might actually prefer to forget.

Tetsuo: The Iron Man Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Tetsuo: The Iron Man is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.34:1. Arrow's insert book offers only very generic data on all of the transfers in this set, with aspect ratios (at times misstated) and audio data detailed, and with a simple statement that the "high definition masters were provided by Nikkatsu Corporation". Svet's review of this film came out in 2012, and without any other information to the contrary, I'm assuming that this presentation was culled from the same master that Third Window Films utilized. This is an intentionally gritty looking film, one which virtually wallows in its 16mm ambience, while also exploiting pushed contrast and a number of stylistic quirks like quick zooms, off kilter focus pulling and lots of handheld material that doesn't always support the ability to actually see fine detail. There are occasional things like hairs in the gate and other minor signs of age related wear and tear, but on the whole the element utilized is in fine shape. When Tsukamoto allows his camera to actually rest for a moment, clarity and detail levels are typically commendable.

Tetsuo: The Iron Man Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Tetsuo: The Iron Man features a pretty bombastic and even relentless sounding DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track in the original Japanese, though listing a language here may be at least a bit misleading, as a lot of this film plays out with only imagery and an accompanying clanging, appropriately metallic sounding cyberpunk score, along with the additional cacophony of sound effects. Fidelity is fine throughout the presentation, and there are no problems whatsoever with regard to damage, distortion or dropouts.

Tetsuo: The Iron Man Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

As can be seen in the last screenshot accompanying this review, this disc offers three films. I'm listing all of the supplements on the disc, since while some supplements are ostensibly specific to one feature, there's still a certain amount of spillover.

• Audio Commentary on Tetsuo: The Iron Man by Tom Mes


• Audio Commentary on Tetsuo II: Body Hammer by Tom Mes


• Audio Commentary on The Adventure of Denchu-Kozo by Tom Mes


• An Assault on the Senses (1080p; 16:31) is a really appealing visual essay by Jasper Sharp that covers a lot of material, and is an especially good starting point for those not already overly familiar with Tsukamoto.


• Archival Interviews with Shinya Tsukamoto can offer interstitial text questions followed by Tsukamoto's answers. In Japanese with English subtitles:

  Tetsuo and Tetsuo II (1080p; 18:57)

  
  

  The Adventure of Denchu-Kozo (1080p; 5:48)

• Trailers

  Tetsuo: The Iron Man Original Japanese Trailer (1080i; 3:00)

  
  

  Tetsuo II Original Japanese Trailer (1080i; 3:18) looks like it's sourced from old video with some tracking problems at the bottom of the frame.

  
  Tetsuo I and II UK Trailer (1080p; 2:00)

• Image Galleries

  Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1080p; 1:40)

  
  

  Tetsuo II: Body Hammer (1080p; 1:10)

  
  

  The Adventure of Denchu-Kozo (1080p; 00:30)

Tetsuo: The Iron Man Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Tetsuo: The Iron Man is a nightmarish freak show that is unbelievably visceral and ultimately unforgettable. This is most certainly not a film for everyone, but for those willing to witness various bodily indignities and a completely hallucinogenic basic storyline, this is one of those sui generis offerings that is almost an exhausting viewing and listening experience. Technical merits are generally solid, and the supplementary package very well done. Recommended.