Iron Man: The Cinema of Shinya Tsukamoto by Tom Mes

by Tom Mes

"Shinya Tsukamoto is one of Japan's leading filmmakers. Fully authorised by the director and featuring first hand accounts from many of his close collaborators, Iron The Cinema of Shinya Tsukamoto is an in-depth look at the life and work of an intense, groundbreaking filmmaker who counts Quentin Tarantino, Tsui Hark, novelist William Gibson and the Matrix directors The Wachowski Brothers among his most loyal fans." Illustrated with hundreds of stills, behind-the-scenes pictures and rare photographs from Tsukamoto's private collection. Plus a complete filmography with cast and crew credits, and detailed information on DVD availability.

Genres: Film, Japan, Nonfiction

Hardcover

First published July 10, 2005

About the author

As a film critic he has contributed to publications that include Film Comment, Sight and Sound, Rue Morgue, De Filmkrant, Kateigaho and many others. He has provided liner notes and audio commentaries for numerous DVD releases of Japanese films around the world. He also has a background in animation as a scriptwriter and storyboard artist.

Tom Mes is a writer and translator of books.

Reviews

[Un-j · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great career overlook on Shinya Tsukamoto. Not essential reading for non-fans, but this is probably the best book about him we'll get. If you are a big fan of him, this is essential.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered Tetsuo, the film, back in the late 90s/Early 00s and have followed Shinya Tsukamoto's films as much as I have been able ever since.

He is an incredibly original director and this book does an excellent job of providing the background to his work. The first three chapters provide an overview of Tsukamoto's ewarly life, and then we get into the real meat of the book -- an in depth look at his filmography fro Tetsuo to Vital, one chapter per film.

This is absolutely fascinating and has left me wanting to dig out a bunch of DVD's. And to fill some of the gaps in my collection.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading Tom Mes' Miike book I went straight into this. In comparison this book comes across a little slight but it makes up for it in being incredibly in-depth with so much amazing information on Shinya pre-Tetsuo. I absolutely love Shinya's work and Mes does it great credit. He has a fairly casual style at times but it works well for a cult like icon like Shinya. Great read. Would love a follow up.

[Kyle Warner · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is no other director quite like Shinya Tsukamoto and no two Tsukamoto films are ever the same. He is a writer, director, producer, actor, editor, cinematographer, and even works on the publicity and posters for his films. A one man band and proud of it.

No matter how many five-star films he may make in his career, Tsukamoto will likely always be remembered as the director of Tetsuo: The Iron Man, and thus referred to as a master of cyberpunk. However, his filmography and this book make it very clear that his interests go far beyond the cyberpunk genre. He is, I think, one of the most original filmmakers in the world, and one of the most successful at blending violence/body horror with unique human issues/topics like feminism, depression, jealousy, and social decay.

Tom Mes of midnighteye.com puts together an excellent book, detailing Tsukamoto's youth in theatre, as well as in depth coverage on his films, with interviews from Tsukamoto, casts, and staff. The book also features some nice, rarely seen BTS photos. The one issue I have with the book is not really the book's fault; at this point, the book is a little dated. The last film covered in detail is 2004's Vital. This leaves out recent films like Haze, Nightmare Detective 1 & 2, Tetsuo: The Bullet Man, and Kotoko. If an updated second edition one day became available, I'd be happy to add it to my collection. In the meantime, Mes' reviews for some of the recent Tsukamoto films can be found on midnighteye.com, as well as a nice 2011 interview with the director.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book for a wicked director! I love this chaps movies, and the three films of his that are the real corkers, Tetsuo, Tokyo Fist and A Snake of June are all in here! Mes gets it all really well too(more than me I have to say) and reading this sheds joy on the movies. Look at all the increased enjoyment i'm getting now! Honestly its not all just arty bollocks - promise!

[Tyler Dixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing detailed life and work of one of Japan's best and most interesting directors. There were times when I couldn't put it down, which is rare for nonfiction. There was also a great deal of valuable filmmaking advice for independent filmmakers that I found to be very helpful.

[Perry Ruhland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good production info on the films, but the prose and analysis fall flat for me.