Tetsuo II: Body Hammer

Rating:
Summary: chaotic story of one man's fight with sanity
Review: this is one of the most intense films i've ever seen. it is more or less the same story as tetsuo: the iron man, but it goes much farther, and much more completely insane.it's definitely not a film for everbody, as many japanese films seem to have a hard time hitting home with western audiences. but if you enjoy eclectic, chaotic, and definitely too intense film, i'm sure you'll enjoy this manic trip through one man's evolution into mechinization.very visual in nature, and the sound is unbelievable. very truly one of the most effective and memorable films i've seen to date.

Rating:
Summary: Extreme but disjointed
Review: Watching this film is kind of like putting your brain in a blender on "puree". The pounding soundtrack, hyper-kinetic-Michael-Bey-on-crack camera work, and what seems like pointless and constant screaming will give many people nothing more than a headache. I am intrigued by the many people who are delineating some of the metaphors such as the "mechanization of humanity". I'm not sure of the power of its metaphor as it is far more linear and obvious than _Tetsuo I_ (and far more exploitative) - not that that is saying much. It's by far the most successful example of "live action" anime that I have seen. The heavy stop-motion fight scenes are interesting and original, with men flying through the streets, walking up the sides of buildings, projectile weapons bursting from beneath their skin. That having been said, I believe this and the live version of "Wicked City" are far more capably served by true cartoon animation - the possibilities of visual pallette are greater and probably far less challenging. The atmosphere is all there from the original - disturbing images of man/machine integration in nightmarish blacks and greys, achieved with tremendous makeup effects, gory violence on a canvas of heavy industry, splashes of color for dramatic effect here and there. And what does the almost apocalyptic ending mean? Chances are you'll be more confused than moved, but its very interesting "extreme" cinema and worth your time - although you might be persuaded to check out the much more surreal (and much shorter) _Tetsuo I : Iron Man_ before this one.

Rating:
Summary: Extreme but disjointed
Review: Watching this film is kind of like putting your brain in a blender on "puree". The pounding soundtrack, hyper-kinetic-Michael-Bey-on-crack camera work, and what seems like pointless and constant screaming will give many people nothing more than a headache. I am intrigued by the many people who are delineating some of the metaphors such as the "mechanization of humanity". I'm not sure of the power of its metaphor as it is far more linear and obvious than _Tetsuo I_ (and far more exploitative) - not that that is saying much. It's by far the most successful example of "live action" anime that I have seen. The heavy stop-motion fight scenes are interesting and original, with men flying through the streets, walking up the sides of buildings, projectile weapons bursting from beneath their skin. That having been said, I believe this and the live version of "Wicked City" are far more capably served by true cartoon animation - the possibilities of visual pallette are greater and probably far less challenging. The atmosphere is all there from the original - disturbing images of man/machine integration in nightmarish blacks and greys, achieved with tremendous makeup effects, gory violence on a canvas of heavy industry, splashes of color for dramatic effect here and there. And what does the almost apocalyptic ending mean? Chances are you'll be more confused than moved, but its very interesting "extreme" cinema and worth your time - although you might be persuaded to check out the much more surreal (and much shorter) _Tetsuo I : Iron Man_ before this one.

Rating:
Summary: Cinematic masochism at its best!
Review: What a crazy, crazy, crazy movie. Everything you think you've heard, everything you think you know about this movie is irrelevant if you haven't seen it. I think Shinya Tsukamoto is genuinely insane. Tetsuo II: Body Hammer is a nightmarish ride into hell and beyond, terrifying in its simplicity and intriguing in its complexity, and you absolutely will never, ever forget it. There's something hard to explain about this movie-- I'm kind of afraid of it, but nevertheless I feel like I have to watch it again and again and again. Watch it and you'll see what I mean. As for the DVD, it seems okay to me for a movie like this. It's a Japanese cult movie, so you can't really expect a pristine transfer, but what's there seems generally okay. I don't see the pixellation the other reviewers mention, and the movie is really dark and murky but I think that may have been what Tsukamoto wanted. As for the comment about the trailer looking better than the film, I really don't think it does. Parts of the trailer are in normal, full color, whereas most of the actual movie (including the exact same shots shown in full color in the trailer) was processed by its makers to make it appear in a somber shade of purplish blue. Other than that, it seems to be pretty much the same quality as the film itself. But I didn't see this film in theaters and I've never seen the VHS version, so I'm not much of an authority. But at any rate, Tetsuo II: Body Hammer will change your life. It will forever alter the way you think about movies and about yourself. Just go see it.