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Tetsuo - The Iron Man (Special Edition) by Shin'ya Tsukamoto
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DVD detailsActor: Kei Fujiwara, Naomasa Musaka, Nobu Kanaoka, Shin'ya Tsukamoto, Tomorowo Taguchi Director: Shin'ya Tsukamoto Cinematographer: Kei Fujiwara Cinematographer: Shin'ya Tsukamoto Editor: Shin'ya Tsukamoto Producer: Shin'ya Tsukamoto Writer: Shin'ya Tsukamoto DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Japanese (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled Picture Format: 1.33:1 Running Time: 67 minutes DVD Release Date: 2005-07-19 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Studio: Tartan Video
DVD Reviews of Tetsuo - The Iron Man (Special Edition)DVD Review: Stop Comparing Tetsuo To Eraserhead! Summary: 4 Stars
As a fan of original quality films - and a hater of pretentious arthouse trash - I'm concerned about the constant references to David Lynch's Eraserhead here. Yes, both Tetsuo and Eraserhead are weird films shot in black-and-white. But after that, the similarities end. Instead, let's run down the differences:
Tetsuo = kinetic, interesting, good acting, solid special effects, understandable, satisfying, and engaging
Eraserhead = slow, boring, bad acting, horrible special effects, insoluble by design, pretentious, and annoying
Shinya Tsukamoto made Tetsuo as a kinetic, interesting, and engaging film. The opening sequence immediately grabs the viewer, and the female flesh-metal zombie scene - a classic horror sequence in its own right - basically earns the viewer's attention for the rest of the film. David Lynch made Eraserhead as a slow, boring, and annoying film. The opening sequence is nothing short of irritating, and after 30 minutes the viewer's patience is taken to the limit when inflicted with such an utter waste of celluloid. Some dude pops his head into space, only to then walk around aimlessly for minutes on end, encountering nothing of importance or interest.
The acting in Tetsuo, although over the top, is pretty good. The actress who played the flesh-metal zombie was awesome, and the lead actor was admirable. The acting in Eraserhead was abominable in every possible respect - I've seen trees that were less wooden.
The special effects in Tetsuo were used advantageously. The camera work was sped up during the chase scenes and the stop-motion animation was fantastic, providing the metal effects. Eraserhead mishandled almost everything. The decapitation scene was pitifully fake, and the stop-motion was pointlessly wasted on - get this - a worm.
Finally, the difference that truly sets Tetsuo and Eraserhead apart is the simple fact that Tetsuo is mostly understandable, comprehensible, and thoughtful. It's truly a revenge story that touches upon the relationships between man and machine (i.e., flesh and iron). Eraserhead is just dim-witted - as if the filmmakers were shooting random takes that were thoughtlessly spliced together to the detriment of comprehensibility.
In the end, Lynch isn't even in Tsukamoto's class here. Tsukamoto is a master who is excellent at balancing originality and entertainment while avoiding the pitfalls of pretentiousness and incomprehensible artistic nonsense. Lynch is simply a hack who likes to make a film that only he can remotely understand because he doesn't bother to include the necessary communication to the viewer. Perhaps he should have kept this tripe in his basement. And perhaps the reviewers on this website could have refrained from drawing parallels between Tetsuo and Eraserhead. It would have saved me 90 minutes of torture.
The fact that Tsukamoto succeeded in making the outrageous endeavor known as Tetsuo entertaining is simply amazing, but experiencing Lynch's dismal failure known as Eraserhead adds a great deal of emphasis. Movies that are both crazy and entertaining are difficult to make. So please stop comparing a master with a hack, lest you morph into a flesh-metal zombie.
More Tetsuo - The Iron Man (Special Edition) reviews: 1 2 3 4
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