Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Shinya Tsukamoto

 
Actor: Shinya Tsukamoto
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Actors
  • Occupation: Actor, Director, Writer, Cinematographer
  • Active: '90s-2000s
  • Major Genres: Horror, Drama
  • Career Highlights: Gemini, Tokyo Fist, Vital
  • First Major Screen Credit: Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)

Biography

Constant comparisons to such distinctive celluloid experimentalists as David Cronenberg and David Lynch may give the uninitiated an idea of what to expect aesthetically and thematically from the works of renegade Japanese filmmaker/actor Shinya Tsukamoto, though as complimentary as they may be, the comparisons ultimately don't do justice to the remarkably original and frantic essence of his hauntingly jarring cinematic nightmares. From the cringe-inducing, hyper-kinetic body horror of Tetsuo: The Iron Man to the creeping deliberation of Gemini, Tsukamoto's intriguing body of work has isolated critics and audiences while building a strong fan base who share his technophobe paranoia and cyber-punk sensibility. Born in Shibuya, Tokyo, in 1960, Tsukamoto found inspiration early in his childhood from the television series Ultra-Q. Making his directorial debut via Super-8 film around the age of 14, the future director later found creative outlet in painting and theater. Briefly putting his filmmaking on the backburner to concentrate on writing, directing, and acting in the theater troupe he created at the Fine Arts division of Nihon University, Tsukamoto briefly took a job at a commercial film studio upon graduation, and soon after quit to again purse stage work with his troupe, Phantom Theater, in 1985. Resurrecting his filmmaking dreams the following year, Tsukamoto began work on The Phantom of Regular Size, a film that would ultimately be the precursor to his breakout hit, Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989). Though he would further flex his punk sensibilities with The Adventure of Denchu Kozo the following year, it was the all-out sensory assault of Tetsuo that would make Tsukamoto an international cult figure. Its use of nearly every cinematic trick in the book gave the tale of urban industrialization and its frightening effect on man a remarkably distinct energy and though it isolated audiences, it provided solid proof that the developing visionary possessed a strong aesthetic sensibility. His next film, Hiruku the Goblin, took a more conventional approach to horror that, while not altogether ineffective, still found the director attempting to find a balance between the chaos of Tetsuo and a subdued approach more palatable to the masses. Following shortly after with the more traditional but equally disturbing Tetsuo II (1992) proved slightly more successful in regards to finding this balance, and fans fearing a sell-out were relieved to find his uniquely frightening vision undiluted by success and larger budgets. Although his next film, Tokyo Fist, was remarkably free of the industrial paranoia of his previous works, the tale of a salary-man turned viciously determined pugilist retained his themes of pain and transformation, albeit internalizing it more in flesh and mind than with metal. And though Bullet Ballet failed to live up to the growing expectations of his hungry fan base, Tsukamoto gracefully hit his stride with perhaps his most effective film to date, the viscerally chilling and sometimes Kubrick-esque Gemini (1999). Inspired by the Edogawa Rampo story Soseiji (The Twins), Gemini constructed an almost unbearable dread in its tale of unbridled lust and brotherly conflict, while taking Tsukamoto's usual theme of transformation to a whole new level. In addition to directing, Tsukamoto also appears as an actor in both his own films and those of his contemporaries, working and forming bonds with such filmmakers as Naoto Takenaka (119 [1994]) and the similar-minded Takashi Miike (Dead or Alive 2 [2000] and Ichi the Killer [2001]). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Search unanswered questions...

Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

Wikipedia: Shinya Tsukamoto
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Shinya Tsukamoto
塚本晋也

Shinya Tsukamoto at the Venice Film Festival 2009
Born January 1, 1960 (1960-01-01) (age 49)
Tokyo, Japan
Occupation Director, Producer, Writer, and Actor
Years active 1989-present

Shinya Tsukamoto (塚本晋也 Tsukamoto Shin'ya?) is a Japanese film director and actor with a considerable cult following both domestically and abroad.

Contents

Biography

Tsukamoto started making movies at the age of 14, when his father gave him a Super 8 camera. He made a number of films, ranging from 10-minute shorts to 2-hour features, until his first year at college when he temporarily lost interest in making movies. Tsukamoto then started up a theatre group, which soon included Kei Fujiwara, Nobu Kanaoka, and Tomorowo Taguchi, all of whom would continue to work with Tsukamoto up through the filming of Tetsuo: The Iron Man. [1]

One of their theatre productions at this time was Denchu Kozo no boken. At the end of the production, Tsukamoto didn't want to waste all the effort they had put into building the set, so he decided to shoot a film version. [2]

Tsukamoto's early films, Futsu saizu no kaijin (A Phantom of Regular Size) and Denchu Kozo no boken (The Adventures Of Electric Rod Boy) made in 1986/87, were short subject science fiction films shot on colour 8 mm film. In both films he made aggressive use of jarring editing, stop-motion animation, bizarre sound effects, and grotesque or outlandish subject matter. Denchu Kozo concerned itself with an unhappy young boy with an electricity pylon growing out of his back, who is transported into the future and must do battle with cyborg vampires trying to destroy sunlight.

His black & white 16 mm feature Tetsuo: The Iron Man, made in 1988 and shot in the same low-budget, underground film-production style as his previous films, established him internationally and created his worldwide cult. This extremely graphic but also strikingly-filmed fantasy deals with a guilt-consumed man whose body begins turning gradually into metal, and includes an iconic scene in which the protagonist's penis is revealed to have turned into an electric drill. The movie is an allegory about the destruction of nature by man. Tsukamoto has stated he has a love-hate relationship with Tokyo, and in the end the characters of this film set out to destroy it. Tetsuo is considered the definitive example of Japanese Cyberpunk.[3]

Tsukamoto's next film, Hiruko the Goblin, was a more conventional horror film, about demons being unleashed from the gates of hell. He then created a sequel to Tetsuo: The Iron Man, named Tetsuo II: Body Hammer, which revisited many of the same ideas as the first movie but with a bigger budget and shot in color on 35 mm film. In Body Hammer, a salaryman's son is kidnapped by a group of thugs, who then force the man's nascent rage to make him mutate into a gigantic human weapon. The film diverges from the original in a number of ways, not the least of which being that it tries to supply understandable motives for everyone involved. Many critics cited this as a weakness, since the nightmarish, transiently surreal feel of the first film, aided by accident or design by a lack of effort at coherence, proved one of its strongest assets.

Tokyo Fist (1995) again dealt with the idea of rage as a transformative force (similar to David Cronenberg's The Brood). Here, a meek insurance salesman discovers that an old friend of his, now a semi-professional boxer, may be having an affair with his fiancée. The salesman then enters into a rigorous and self-destructive boxing training program to get even. Here, Tsukamoto showed he was not simply interested in wild, outlandish fantasy, but in blunt realism as well. However, he does not completely abandon the fantasy that has become his trademark - unnatural amounts of blood are depicted as issuing from the actors.

Bullet Ballet (1998) drifted even further from fantasy and science fiction, and more into a sort of film noir territory. A man (played by Tsukamoto) discovers that his longtime girlfriend committed suicide with a gun, and becomes obsessed with getting a gun just like that one. His single minded behavior causes him to run afoul of a gang of thugs, especially when he shows interest in the young girl who is one of their compatriots. Many critics complained the second half of the film lost the direction and momentum of the first half, but it was clear that Tsukamoto was trying to take more risks with his ideas than before.

Gemini (1999) was a lush and disturbing adaptation of an Edogawa Rampo story, in which a country doctor with pretensions of superiority has his life torn apart when another man who appears to be his exact duplicate enters his life. Things are complicated further by the twin taking control of his wife, an amnesiac with a criminal background. Many hailed it as being Tsukamoto's best film ever and it certainly compares favorably to Tetsuo in terms of both story, visuals and execution.

A Snake of June (2002) once again found Tsukamoto employing the formula of two men in competition for one woman, as a young lady is blackmailed into perverse sexual behavior against her husband's will -- until her husband finds that he enjoys the blackmail more than the blackmailer does.

Vital (2004) continues Tsukamoto's move towards a more organic theme in his work, again featuring a love triangle, this time consisting of two women and one man. The story concerns a young man whose girlfriend is killed in a car crash whilst being driven by him. He is a medical student and is given her body to dissect in class (whether by coincidence or intentionally is not clear).

Tsukamoto also acted in and directed the short film Haze in 2005.

In 2006, Tsukamoto directed the horror thriller Nightmare Detective (Akumu Tantei). The film centres around a vagrant with the supernatural ability to enter the dreams of others and a police officer who pleads with him to help her solve a series of bizarre murders committed by a serial killer with a similar ability, played by Tsukamoto himself. While Nightmare Detective is in some ways an un-Tsukamoto film, Tsukamoto has stated that he is satisfied with the movie, and travelled to South Korea to promote the film. Recently it was announced that there is going to be a sequel to the film, with Tsukamoto wanting to make it into a trilogy.

It's worth noting that Tsukamoto acts in nearly all of his films, with the exception of those that he worked on as a 'director for hire' (namely Hiruko the Goblin and Gemini). Tsukamoto has appeared in many other director's films as well, such as Takashi Miike's Ichi the Killer and Dead or Alive 2: Birds, and Teruo Ishii's Blind Beast Vs the Dwarf (2002), and recently in Welcome to the Quiet Room (2007). He is also a successful voiceover artist for TV advertising in Japan. He performs as voice actor for the character Vamp in PlayStation 3 game Metal Gear Solid 4 that was released in early 2008. [4]

Filmography as director

Year English title Japanese title Romaji Notes
1974 Genshi-san 原始さん Genshi-san Early Super-8 short (10 min).
1975 Story of a Giant Cockroach 巨大ゴキブリ物語 Kyodai Gokiburi Monogatari Super-8 (50 min).
1975 Wings 翼 Tsubasa Super-8 (25 min).
1976 Cloudy 曇天 Donten B&W Super-8 (60 min).
1977 地獄町小便小僧にて飛んだよ Jigoku Machi Shouben Kozou ni te Tobenda yo Super-8 (120 min).
1978 New Wings 新・翼 Shin: Tsubasa Super-8 (40 min).
1979 蓮の花飛べ Hasu no Hana Tobe Super-8 (90 min).
1986 The Phantom of Regular Size 普通サイズの怪人 Futsu Saizu no Kaijin Super-8 (18 min).
1987 The Great Analog World 電柱小僧の冒険 Denchu Kozou no Boken Super-8 (47 min).
1989 Tetsuo: The Iron Man 鉄男　ＴＥＴＳＵＯ Tetsuo 16mm B&W [5] (67 min)
1991 Hiruko The Goblin ヒルコ　妖怪ハンター Hiruko Youkai Hanta 35mm [6] (89 min)
1992 Tetsuo II: Body Hammer 鉄男 II　ＢＯＤＹ　ＨＡＭＭＥＲ Tetsuo II: Body Hammer 35mm [7] (83 min)
1995 Tokyo Fist ＴＯＫＹＯ　ＦＩＳＴ Tokyo Fist 16mm [8] (87 min)
1998 Bullet Ballet BULLET BALLET　バレット・バレエ Bullet Ballet 16mm B&W [9] (87 min)
1999 Gemini 双生児-GEMINI- Sôseiji 35mm [10] (83 min)
2002 A Snake of June 六月の蛇 Rokugatsu no Hebi 16mm [11] (77 min)
2004 Vital ヴィタール Vital 35mm [12] (86 min)
2005 Haze ＨＡＺＥ Haze DV [13] (49 min)
2005 Female female　フィーメイル Fîmeiru Segment: Tamamushi.
2006 Nightmare Detective 悪夢探偵 Akumu Tantei
2008 Nightmare Detective 2 悪夢探偵2 Akumu Tantei 2
2010 Tetsuo: The Bullet Man

Awards

  • Adventures of Electric Rod Boy - PIA Film Fest (Japan) - Grand Prize
  • Tetsuo: The Iron Man - Fantafestival (Italy) - Grand Prize
  • Tetsuo - Sweden Fantastic Film Festival - Audience Award Best Feature
  • Hiruko - Fantasporto - Best Film
  • Tetsuo II - Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film - Silver Raven
  • Tetsuo II - Fantasporto - International Fantasy Film Special Jury Award
  • Tetsuo II - 3rd Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival (1992)[14]
  • Tokyo Fist - Sundance (Tokyo) - Grand Prize
  • Bullet Ballet - Sweden Fantastic Film Festival - Jury Grand Prize
  • Gemini - Neuchatel International Fantasy Film Festival - Best International Film
  • A Snake of June - Venice Film Festival - Kinematrix Film Award Feature Films
  • A Snake of June - Venice Film Festival - San Marco Special Jury Award
  • Vital - Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film - Silver Raven
  • Vital - Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival - New Visions Award
  • Vital - Fantasporto - Orient Express Section Special Jury Award

References: [15] [16]

External links

References

  1. ^ Mes, Tom (2005). Iron Man. The Cinema of Shinya Tsukamoto. FAB Press. ISBN 1903254361
  2. ^ Shinya Tsukamoto interview. Basic Tsukamoto. Pathfinder Pictures, 2003.
  3. ^ http://www.cyberpunkreview.com/japanese-cyberpunk/
  4. ^ Live Coverage of Metal Gear's Anniversary Party 1UP.com
  5. ^ Mes, Tom (2005). Iron Man. The Cinema of Shinya Tsukamoto. pg 50 FAB Press. ISBN 1903254361
  6. ^ Shinya Tsukamoto interview. Basic Tsukamoto. Pathfinder Pictures, 2003.
  7. ^ Shinya Tsukamoto interview. Basic Tsukamoto. Pathfinder Pictures, 2003.
  8. ^ Mes, Tom (2005). Iron Man. The Cinema of Shinya Tsukamoto. pg 119 FAB Press. ISBN 1903254361
  9. ^ http://shinyatsukamoto.info/BulletBallet.php
  10. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0210302/technical
  11. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0330904/technical
  12. ^ Mes, Tom (2005). Iron Man. The Cinema of Shinya Tsukamoto. pg 188 FAB Press. ISBN 1903254361
  13. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0491399/technical
  14. ^ "YUBARI INTERNATIONAL FANTASTIC ADVENTURE FILM FESTIVAL'92". yubarifanta.com. http://yubarifanta.com/index_pc.php?ct=archive.php&langue=21002. Retrieved 2009-09-19. 
  15. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0875354/awards
  16. ^ Mes, Tom (2005). Iron Man. The Cinema of Shinya Tsukamoto. FAB Press. ISBN 1903254361
v • d • e
Films directed by Shinya Tsukamoto
1980s
1990s
2000s

A Snake of June  · Vital · Female · Haze · Nightmare Detective · Nightmare Detective 2
2010s



This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Actor. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Shinya Tsukamoto".  Read more

Related answers
» More
 
TV Listings
Shinya Tsukamoto at LocateTV.com
Answer these
» More

Mentioned in

» More» More