Tetsuo: The Iron Man / Tetsuo II: Body Hammer Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Tetsuo: The Iron Man / Tetsuo II: Body Hammer Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 13, 2012

Japanese director Shinya Tsukamoto's "Tetsuo: The Iron Man" (1989) and "Tetsuo II: Body Hammer" (1992) arrive on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Third Window Films. The supplemental features on this release include original Japanese and UK trailers; video interview with director Shinya Tsukamoto; the short film "The Adventures of Electric Rod Boy" (1987); and more. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles for each film. Region-B "locked".

Mutating

Tetsuo: The Iron Man (67 min/1989)

One could tell from the opening scenes that this film will end up in places where other films rarely go – if ever. In an abandoned factory, a man (director Shinya Tsukamoto), known only as the "metal fetishist", sticks a big piece of iron into his leg. He pushes hard until the entire piece disappears into the muscle. Then he wraps his leg and runs out. Moments later, he is hit by a car.

Some days or weeks later, the driver (Tomorowo Taguchi, The Eel, Tokyo Fist) of the car notices that his body is slowly changing into…something - small pieces of metal begin growing under his skin and eventually pop out, first around his cheeks and eyes and later all over his body. The man tries to hide his condition and stay away from his girlfriend (Kei Fujiwara, Organ), but she insists on being close to him. Eventually, he grows an insanely large metal penis and all sorts of other gadgets on his body. He uses the penis on his poor girlfriend and loses his mind - or so it seems.

Shot in black and white, Shinya Tsukamoto’s Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989) is a cyber punk soap opera which proves that Japanese minds function differently. It could be interpreted as a wacky critique on the corrosive effects Japan’s industrialization has on humanity, but it makes more sense to view it simply as a surreal experimental film that aims to shock - which it does quite well.

Shot with a 16mm camera, Tetsuo: The Iron Man looks notably raw and gritty. The film also moves incredibly fast. In fact, many of its endless quick cuts and zooms can easily give one a headache. Chu Ishikawa’s soundtrack should appeal to fans of German industrial rockers Die Krupps and possibly older Ministry fans.

Tetsuo II: Body Hammer (81 min/1992).

The sequel to Tetsuo: The Iron Man actually has something of a plot - though, aside from a few common themes, there is virtually nothing that connects it with the first film. A gang of skinheads kidnaps the son of a middle-aged man (Tomorowo Taguchi). While tracking them down, the man’s body begins to mutate, and he develops something of a fetish for raw metal. Then a scientist working for the skinheads performs some sort of experiment on him, and the man transforms into a giant cyborg. He goes berserk and begins exterminating the skinheads in all sorts of unusual ways.

Shot in color and clearly with a much bigger budget, Tetsuo II: Body Hammer reminds of Tony Maylam’s Split Second, possibly with a whiff of Kenneth Anger’s eccentricity. It is a wacky revenge film set in an industrial future where men have become machines, though they don’t yet realize it.

There are plenty of visuals that are hard to forget, but Shinya Tsukamoto’s attempt to reintroduce the madness from the first film and make sense of it does not work very well. The Japanese director is at his best when he leaves it to the viewer to figure out how to interpret the crazy visuals, not when he does all the brain work. Still, Tetsuo II: Body Hammer definitely has the right energy, which qualifies it as a good companion piece to the first film.

Tetsuo: The Iron Man / Tetsuo II: Body Hammer Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.34:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted 1080p transfers, Shinya Tsukamoto's Tetsuo: The Iron Man and Tetsuo II: Body Hammer arrive on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Third Window Films.

The screencaptures included with our review appear in the following order:

1. Tetsuo: The Iron Man: 1-12.
2. Tetsuo II: Body Hammer: 13-24.

Arriving with brand new high-definition transfers supervised by director Shinya Tsukamoto, the two films look quite incredible. The first film, in particular, often looks astonishing - depth, detail and especially clarity are outstanding. The outdoor sequences boast crispness that I don't recall even being present on any of the film's DVD releases (see screencapture #4). Color grading is also very convincing - there is a wide variety of blacks, grays and whites which look very healthy. More importantly, there have been no problematic lab corrections. Naturally, Tetsuo: The Iron Man has the raw look a film shot in 16mm should. All in all, aside from a couple of tiny specs popping up here and there, this is a remarkably strong presentation of Tetsuo: The Iron Man, which I think will surprise quite a few of its fans.

Tetsuo II: Body Hammer looks as healthy as the first film. Detail and clarity are very pleasing, while color reproduction is excellent. Again, there are no traces of excessive denoising/degraining corrections. Edge-enhancement is also not an issue of concern. There are no compression issues to report in this review either. I did notice a few specks, but like the first film Tetsuo II: Body Hammer looks quite spectacular in high-definition. Fantastic work, Third Window Films. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Tetsuo: The Iron Man / Tetsuo II: Body Hammer Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 tracks on this disc, one for each film. For the record, Third Window Films have provided optional English subtitles for the two films.

The inclusion of the lossless tracks is a major bonus. Both films have very strong industrial soundtracks that add quite a bit to the unique atmosphere. There are also all sorts of different random sounds and noises that have also benefited from the improved audio resolution. Generally speaking, dynamic movement is better in the second film, but this should not be surprising as the budget for it was obviously bigger. There is little dialog in the two films but it is crisp and stable. The English translation is excellent.

Tetsuo: The Iron Man / Tetsuo II: Body Hammer Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: All of the supplemental features are placed on a separate DVD, which is encoded in NTSC (480/60i).

• Trailer - original Japanese trailer for Tetsuo: Iron Man. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (3 min).

• Trailer - original Japanese trailer for Tetsuo II: Boy Hammer. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (4 min).

• UK Trailer - original UK trailer for Tetsuo: Iron Man. In Japanese, with imposed English subtitles. (2 min).

• Interview - in this video interview, director Shinya Tsukamoto talks about the start of Kaijyu Theatre and his first encounter with Tomorowo Taguchi, his early films, the influences behind Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Tetsuo II: Body Hammer and the fact that it is not a standard sequel to the first film, etc. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (19 min).

• Denchu Kozo No Boken - Shinya Tsukamoto's short film Denchu Kozo No Boken a.k.a The Adventures of Electric Rod Boy (1987) tells the story of a young boy who is constantly bullied at school because he has a rather big electric rod growing on his back. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles (45 min).

• Background to Denchu Kozo No Boken - Shinya Tsukamoto quickly explains how the film came to exist. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (6 min).

• Trailers - trailers for other Third Window Films productions.

Tetsuo: The Iron Man / Tetsuo II: Body Hammer Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Shinya Tsukamoto's Tetsuo: The Iron Man and Tetsuo II: Body Hammer's transition to Blu-ray brings back some memories. If you remember those big independent video stores we used to have, then you know exactly what I mean -- these films were carried by everyone, on VHS and DVD. If a video store had a Special Interest section and the owners knew what they were doing, you would have found them there. Guaranteed. Everyone knew that they had a cult status. Third Window Films have done a phenomenal job with this release. Boasting brand new transfers supervised by Shinya Tsukamoto, Tetsuo: The Iron Man and Tetsuo II: Body Hammer look quite incredible. If you are interested in Asian cinema, you want these films in your collection. In my opinion, they are essential modern classics. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.